A three-game winning streak comes to an end in New York.
The Atlanta Hawks were in action on the road on MLK Day against the New York Knicks but couldn’t extend their winning streak as they fell to the Knicks 119-110 on Monday afternoon.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 27 points, while De’Andre Hunter added 22 points off the bench. For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson poured in 34 points with Mikal Bridges adding 26 points for the hosts.
Heading into the game, the Hawks were still without Zaccharie Risacher due to injury, but another tweak to the starting lineup was made instead — one that has been subject to much discourse online — as Onyeka Okongwu started at center ahead of Clint Capela.
The Hawks began the game well, quickly opening up a 10-point lead behind strong shooting and a positive start for Okongwu at center. However, the first timeout of the game marked a turning point in the first half, after which the Hawks began to slow offensively, and the Knicks clamped down on defense causing the Hawks to commit more turnovers.
The Knicks overturned the deficit, and by the beginning of the second quarter the momentum was very much on their side.
The Hawks began to rally and took an eight-point lead into the third quarter but failed to start the second half in the manner they would have wanted, and it was New York who came out the more aggressive side and quickly wiped out the Atlanta lead. Behind strong third quarters from Brunson (12 points) and Bridges (14 points), the Knicks pushed their lead to eight points, and while the Hawks would wipe this lead by the early fourth quarter it would only prove temporary.
The Hawks’ fourth quarter offense struggled to make an impression, and it was this stretch after tying the game at 94 apiece that would define the game.
The Hawks made costly miscues, with a turnover from Hunter on this play, as he and Bogdan Bogdanovic don’t quite see eye-to-eye, and Hunter’s pass to Bogdanovic sails out of bounds:
Hunter is caught ball watching on the next defensive play as Precious Achiuwa cuts behind Hunter, receives the pass and finishes at the rim. Hunter then immediately commits another turnover as his inbounds pass ends up out of bounds:
Miles McBride would hit a high arcing shot to give the Knicks a five point lead, while the Hawks’ next offensive possession can only lead to a Okongwu three-point attempt in the corner:
Okongwu has shown he can hit that shot at times this season, but the Knicks will be more than happy to let him have it in the fourth quarter.
A missed layup from Karl-Anthony Towns is not punished by the visitors, who have several bites of the cherry — inside and outside — between Young’s three, Okongwu’s follow inside, and Bogdanovic’s three, all missed:
The Hawks are given with another offensive possession after a foul, but Young loses grip of the ball at the sideline, resulting in a turnover:
The Knicks punish another Atlanta turnover, as Cam Payne hits a three-pointer and draws a foul from Young to give the Knicks a four-point play:
A technical foul Payne sandwiches the play, but when Payne completes the four-point play the Knicks now hold and eight point lead. The Hawks kept pace for the rest of the quarter, but could never bring the lead below five points. The Knicks would extend the lead to their game-high of 10 points.
The Hawks were unable to overturn the lead and lose by nine points in a tightly contested, heavily officiated affair.
“We had good stretches, particularly when we pushed the ball and moved the ball,” said Hawks head coach Snyder postgame. “We got stagnant at times. They have a lot of length with Bridges and OG and guys on the perimeter that make it hard on you, particularly if you allow them to be shifted. We’ve got to do a better job taking care of the ball. Defensively too in the third quarter, that was the problem. There were stretches in the game where we didn’t do the things we have to do from an execution standpoint to play at the level we need against a really good team.”
The Hawks’ turnovers in particular were extremely costly: 23 Atlanta turnovers leading to 29 New York points. In a game where no team led by more than 10 points, this had a profound impact on the game and had the Hawks been able to limit these turnovers they would have had a good opportunity to win this game.
Let’s take a look at some of these turnovers.
The Hawks certainly had their fair share of poor passes that lead to turnovers, such as this pass from Jalen Johnson intended for Okongwu:
Off the screen from Capela, Young is doubled but is able to pivot into space, however, his pass inside to Capela is ill-advised and results in a turnover:
Bogdanovic’s attempted wrapped pass escapes the wrong-footed Garrison Mathews, resulting in another turnover:
Young’s attempted pass forward is easily telegraphed by Payne, who pulls up for a made three:
Young racked up nine turnovers in the game, including this looping pass to an unsuspecting Hunter bounces out of bounds:
Finally, not a pass this time, but Bogdanovic plows through Bridges after the handoff for another turnover:
The Knicks deserve some credit for their efforts in helping create a number of Atlanta turnovers.
The rotation from Town behind the line forces Bogdanovic to make the quick pass to Capela, who can’t handle the pass and the turnover is committed:
On the dig, Josh Hart disrupts the drive from Young, off of whom the ball last touches out of bounds, resulting in a turnover (following a coach’s challenge from the Knicks):
More firm resistance from Towns in the paint on Capela helps force a turnover, and the Knicks push in transition to score:
Capela has his pocket picked from Hart, the Knicks lead the push in transition, and great resistance from Dyson Daniels isn’t rewarded as Capela loses the rebound, leading to a New York basket:
Finally, in the fourth quarter, Jalen Johnson’s alley-oop attempt to Capela is broken up by McBride, resulting in a turnover:
A combination of Atlanta mistakes and some firm New York defense contributed to these costly 23 turnovers — always difficult to win NBA games committing 23 turnovers, and the Hawks, arguably, did well to remain so close in the game for so long despite these turnovers.
It’s a shame, really, because the Hawks generally played well on the night, shooting strong percentages (even if they only attempted five free throws in the second half compared to 17 in the first half) across the board: 47% from the field, 43% from three, and 77% from the line. However, it just wasn’t as strong as the Knicks, who shot 52% from the field and possessed a notable advantage in points off of turnovers.
The Knicks are one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference and will likely have home court advantage. The Hawks can be satisfied with their performance (aside from the turnovers) in that they went toe-to-toe in a scrappy, poorly officiated game on the road and despite 23 turnovers — also featuring big games from Brunson and Bridges.
“It’s tough to beat the Knicks on the road, no matter what,” said Snyder. “They played well tonight. They shot well, Brunson and Bridges in particular. Jalen (Brunson), he’s a hell of a player, that’s going to happen. He got in foul trouble, Dyson got in foul trouble, it was a choppy game early. He’s capable of making tough, contested shots and he did that tonight.”
The major talking point for the Hawks going forward, however, will likely center (no pun intended) around Okongwu starting over Capela. Okongwu was a positive on the game in the starting lineup (14 points on 7-of-10 shooting), and Capela initially played very well off the bench but had his difficult moments finishing near the rim.
Snyder was not asked about Okongwu stepping into the lineup postgame, so the thoughts of Snyder and whether he was satisfied with what Okongwu brought to the starting lineup is unknown for now, and if it will continue going forward.
The Hawks (22-20) are back in action on Wednesday as they begin a three game home-stand, beginning against the Detroit Pistons (22-21).
Until next time!