In front of a rowdy and dynamic Madison Square Garden crowd, the Atlanta Hawks fell in Game 2 of their first-round matchup to the New York Knicks 101-92.
The Hawks will now go back home with a tied series at one game apiece and play the next two games at State Farm Arena.
Trae Young shined once again with 30 points, including 20 in the first half, on 11-20 shooting and seven assists. His ability to try and involve others while drilling two shots from 30-feet away led the Hawks to a 57-44 lead at halftime.
Bogdan Bogdanovic’s 18 points helped, but he missed several open shots down the stretch, leading to a 38% shooting night on 21 shots. De’Andre Hunter scored 18 points on 3-10 shooting (9-11 on free throws) and grabbed six rebounds. But the bigger picture: these shooting woes spread across the entire team.
The Hawks shot just 39% from the field and 28% from three-point range as a team. They came out of halftime and scored just 35 points over the next 24 minutes, including a 5-18 third quarter from the field.
The two benches contrasted on both ends of the floor: the Hawks bench was outscored by the Knicks’ 55-22.
The Hawks big men also struggled. For Clint Capela, it became a lack of shots: he only took five, scoring just four points. He also had 12 rebounds and five blocks.
At the other spot, John Collins’ early foul troubles limited him to just 15 minutes. He didn’t score a point for the first time in his four-year NBA career. The starting bigs, Collins and Capela, were not their usual selves and provided little help on offense.
The Knicks came out of the gate aggressive and bought in-defensively––a constant trait in teams that Tom Thibodeau coaches. But on the offensive end, New York followed up a 50-point first half with 55 in the second half, outscoring the Hawks 57-25 over the stretch.
Derrick Rose led the Knicks with 26 points in 39 minutes, both team-highs. He orchestrated the offense and found ways to get to the rim and finish with various layups reminiscent of his pre-injury days.
Julius Randle, named the NBA’s Most Improved Player yesterday, scored 15 points on 15 shots and added 12 rebounds.
Reggie Bullock finished with 15 points, including four three-pointers, and played a substantial role in the Knicks’ second-half successes.
The two teams will have a couple of days off before Game 3 when the Hawks host their first playoff series at State Farm Arena on Friday at 7 p.m. EST.
