Dyson Daniels, take a bow at center court.
Jalen Brunson is the engine of the best offense in the NBA, but Daniels drew the assignment and smothered Brunson for much of Wednesday night, forcing a 5-of-15 shooting effort for 14 points.
Meanwhile, Trae Young returned to being the WWE heel in Madison Square Garden that Knicks fans love to hate, scoring 22 (on 22 shots) with 11 assists. In the final seconds, with the game decided, Young took on the Knicks logo at half court, pretending to blow on and then roll dice, then scooping up money like he was at Las Vegas craps table.
“We should win the game if we don’t want him to do that,” Brunson said.
Young sparked a Hawks offense that, down the stretch, kept getting alley-oop dunks on an unimpressive Knicks defense that couldn’t buy a stop. D’Andre Hunter came in off the bench and hit four 3-pointers on his way to 24 points, while Jalen Johnson had 21 points and 15 boards.
All that powered Atlanta to a 108-100 win in Madison Square Garden.
Atlanta advances to Las Vegas and the semi-finals of the NBA Cup, where the Hawks will take on the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
This game showcased how the NBA Cup is just different from a regular season game — it was playoff-level intensity and physicality much of the night.
New York’s problem was Atlanta played more like a classic Tom Thibodeau team, using that physicality and their length to be disruptive on defense and dominate the boards — Atlanta had 22 offensive rebounds on the night, grabbing the board on 36% of their missed shots.
The Knicks got out to an early lead behind a fast nine points from Mikal Bridges, while the Hawks started the game 1-of-7 from 3. New York led pretty much the entire first half and into the third quarter, rarely by double digits but Atlanta was not taking advantage of the Knicks’ defense.
Then came the third quarter and a 27-8 run that changed the game.
After that, the Knicks could never get their offense flowing against the length and athleticism of the Hawks’ defense. Plus, the referee let this game get Rucker Park physical with no calls, which frustrated New York. The Knicks got 21 points from Josh Hart, plus 19 points and 19 rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns, but he battled foul trouble in the fourth quarter, eventually fouling out. New York got 14 bench points, compared to 43 for Atlanta.
In the end, the Knicks couldn’t find an offensive flow through the physicality and couldn’t get a stop. Now they are staying home, will face Orlando next week, and get some time to think about it.
Atlanta is off to Las Vegas.
