Knicks Blow 23-Point Lead in 112-99 Loss to Hawks
The New York Knicks were beating the Atlanta Hawks 51-28 midway through the second quarter. Their defense was ferocious, and a balanced offense had the Hawks on their heels.
As reported by Bleacher Report, everything after that point was an abject failure for a Knicks team that has now lost three straight.
Atlanta scored 29 points in the final 6:21 of the first half to cut the Knicks’ lead to 65-57 at halftime. The Hawks then took complete control in the third quarter, where they outscored the Knicks 32-10 en route to a 112-99 victory. The Knicks had as many turnovers as points in the third quarter alone.
At one point, the Hawks had outscored the Knicks 79-37 over a 25-minute stretch.
The Knicks simply had no answer for Dejounte Murray, who dropped 36 points on 14-of-27 shooting and nine assists while amassing six of the Hawks’ 12 steals. His performance helped the Hawks overcome a cold night from Knicks arch-nemesis Trae Young, who shot 7-of-22 en route to 17 points.
The Hawks notably put up 16 more shots than the Knicks in part because they grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and committed just seven turnovers to New York’s 16.
The Knicks’ best effort came off the bench thanks to Immanuel Quickley, who posted 11 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Evan Fournier (three points on 1-of-6 shooting) and Julius Randle (14 points on 4-of-12 shooting) notably struggled for the starting five.
This was a deeply concerning loss for the Knicks, who were coming off a 121-108 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers after being outscored 37-15 in the final quarter. They’ve lost each of their last three games by double digits to the Milwaukee Bucks, Cavs and Hawks, all of whom have playoff aspirations.
It’s a far cry from the Knicks’ three-game win streak earlier this season against a trio of losing teams in the Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets.
Twitter took the Knicks to task for their collapse.
new owner of the New York Knicks. pic.twitter.com/AJuLTgZkky
— 4kTrae (5-3) (@NSC_Hawks) November 3, 2022
If thibs ain’t fired by tomorrow, I ain’t watching anymore Knicks game, same shit for the last 20 years. You got coach who got high egos and can’t adjust and think outside the box.
— Jasonyc7 (@Jasonyc777) November 3, 2022
HUMILIATING performance from the Knicks
— KnicksMuse (@KnicksMuse) November 3, 2022
Adjustments have to be made
https://twitter.com/TheCohencidence/status/1587979757634916352
https://twitter.com/TimBontemps/status/1587984975172980738
What the Knicks did tonight, absolutely cannot happen. Simply unacceptable.
— Brandon Tierney (@BrandonTierney) November 3, 2022
This Knicks loss is reminiscent of the several they had last year in which they were leading and, one ill-advised substitution after another, watched that lead slip away while doing nothing to stop it
— kris pursiainen (@krispursiainen) November 3, 2022
The players that play the best and hardest should be playing the most.
