NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Johnson scored 26 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 116-100 victory over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.
De’Andre Hunter had 22 points off the bench, and Dejounte Murray finished with 21.
“It was a collective effort. We did a great job of keeping things simple, and we executed coming out of the gate and playing strong,” Johnson said. “Even when they made a run in the third quarter, we kept our composure to maintain that lead. I thought that was huge and a step in the right direction.”
Donte DiVincenzo led the Knicks with 21 points, and Bojan Bogdanovic had 19.
Jalen Brunson, who suffered a left knee contusion early in Sunday’s game at Cleveland, and Shake Milton, who signed with the Knicks on Tuesday, did not play.
The Hawks led by a game-high 22 points early in the second quarter and were still up 54-33 when the Knicks went on a 13-2 run to trim their deficit to 10.
Atlanta scored the next five points and led 61-50 at halftime.
They still led 70-55 when the Knicks went on a 21-6 streak and tied the game 76-76 on Josh Hart’s short jumper with 1:47 remaining in the third.
After another tie, the Hawks scored the final five points and led 83-78 after the third.
Hart’s 3-pointer with 6:27 left in the game brought the Knicks within four, 95-91, but the Hawks finished the game on a 21-9 run.
“Their runs came on the offensive glass. We know that is something they do very, very well and in transition,” said Hawks coach Quinn Snyder. “We really executed down the stretch on both ends. We did give up a couple of threes, but they were contested, which has been a point of emphasis for us.”
Atlanta scored the game’s first six points and never trailed. The Knicks failed to score until Isaiah Hartenstein converted a free throw at 8:26.
The Hawks led 33-15 after the first quarter as the Knicks shot a dismal 22.2% (6 of 27) from the field and 13.3% (2 of 15) from 3-point range, with DiVincenzo going a woeful 1 of 9 from behind the arc.
The Knicks attempted a season-high 52 3-pointers but only made 16 (30.8%).
“It wasn’t the game plan. It’s just our offense of driving and kicking,” DiVincenzo said. “When you look at the whole first half, we were getting good looks, everybody was getting open looks, and they weren’t falling. When they started falling, everyone started to gain confidence, and we made those runs. And the fourth quarter just kinda tailed off.”
Saddiq Bey scored 17 points, and Clint Capela added 13 for the Hawks.
Precious Achiuwa scored 15 points, Hart had 14, and Miles McBride and Alec Burks each finished with 11.
UP NEXT
Hawks: Host Cleveland on Wednesday.
Knicks: Host Orlando on Friday.
