Knicks-Hawks takeaways: New York finds its edge in Game 4, but Jalen Brunson’s dip remains a concern

With the New York Knicks facing the prospect of an unprecedented 3-1 hole against the underdog Atlanta Hawks, Game 4 was a reminder of just how intense and effective they can be by dialing in defensively. The Hawks struggled to score all night in a 114-98 loss, shooting just .415 from the field and committing 18 turnovers.

Karl-Anthony Towns was the difference-maker Saturday putting up a triple double — 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists — and was a +16 while dominating both ends of the floor. OG Anunoby was New York’s other star with 22 points on 56% shooting with 10 rebounds and a +19. CJ McCollum led the Hawks with just 17 points and was 0-for-4 from 3.

Advertisement

On to the takeaways …

Atlanta’s offensive illusion dissipates

At some point, the math had to even itself out. It was nothing short of a miracle that the Hawks, who entered into Saturday’s game with a negative net rating — 12th best out of 20 possible playoff teams — all while scoring at a bottom-six rate, somehow found themselves with a shock 2-1 series lead. If the first three games of this series was the Hawks’ success by the mitigation of their offensive woes, Game 3 was the amplification of their shortcomings. Simply put, Atlanta doesn’t have the firepower and shot-making depth that New York possesses, having to rely on ball movement, physical defense and transition opportunities to potentially muck up the game. In the first half, the Hawks scored a measly 76.7 points per 100 half-court plays, a figure that didn’t improve much in the second half. The lack of spacing Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels provide, despite their important defensive contributions, makes New York’s aggressive defensive scheme even easier. This series has been a wonderful redemption arc for residents of CJ McCollum island but outside of his heroics, there’s not much meat on this Hawks’ bone to sustain them in a best-of-3 series.

Knicks remembered how to play Knicks basketball

The Knicks, who established themselves as a top-10 defense during the regular season, cranked up the pressure in Game 3, with high pickup points, an immense amount of physicality and a collective spirit. Credit to the likes of Josh Hart, Miles McBride, Jose Alvarado and even Jordan Clarkson who refused to allow CJ McCollum an inch of space, ultimately forcing Nickeil Alexander-Walker to attempt to pick up ballhandling and playmaking duties — who promptly responded with five first-half turnovers and zero assists. To be honest, the Knicks, through three games of this series, had been getting bullied at both ends of the floor and needed some light, much-needed dust-ups to reenergize and refocus them. Head coach Mike Brown’s most commonly used lineups all maintained a healthy possession advantage, consistently forcing turnovers (12 Hawks coughups in the first half), while limiting them to just 44 points in the paint, a woeful 24.4% shooting from 3 and no breathing room on the boards. McCollum was still able to find pockets of space to be effective, but he never truly found a rhythm strong enough to make this game realistically competitive.

Advertisement

Brunson’s dip is worrisome

The dip in Jalen Brunson’s efficiency — from 53.1 effective field goal percentage in the regular season to 47.2 against the Hawks — is arguably the biggest reason why the Knicks find themselves all even with a very pesky Hawks team. All night, Brunson struggled to create separation from Dyson Daniels, his primary defender, but also failed to dislodge himself when Atlanta switched different options onto him. One of the knocks against Brunson, despite the various areas he excels in, has always been his inability to score against length. It becomes an increasingly frustrating issue for Brunson, even when a smaller defender like Gabe Vincent — with a 6-7 wingspan — is latched onto him, because it negates the “mismatch hunting” that isolation-heavy teams tend to lean on during the playoffs. Brunson finished with 19 points on 7-for-18 shooting, a cautionary tale if the Knicks have real plans on progressing deep into the playoffs.