By Norman Castro
EBC Sports International New York Bureau
NEW YORK (Eagle News) — After a devastating loss against the last place Chicago Bulls on the road, the Knicks bounced back from an up and down stint to defeat a young Atlanta Hawks team 111-107 Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.
Kristaps Porzingis led the way with 30 points, eight rebounds and three block shots. Doug McDermott posted 23 points off the bench and Jarrett Jack added 19 as the Knicks won their 12th home game, the second most in the NBA this season.
In the first quarter, the Hawks ball movement stifled the Knicks defense early on with crisp passing to cutters for easy field goals under the basket. The scoring went back and forth as the Knicks found a rhythm on offense led by Jack’s aggressive play by attacking the rim and creating his own jumpers. Both teams shot respectively from the field as the Hawks jumped to a 24-21 lead to end the quarter.
In the second quarter, the Hawks kept attacking the Knicks’ defense as Taurean Prince, Luke Babbitt, and Ersan Ilyasova dominated on offense. With time running down, both Babbit and Ilyasova came up big with three clutch three-pointers for the Hawks to tie up the score and take the lead 52-51 at the end of the first half.
Opening the second half, both teams continued a back-and-forth affair as the Knicks kept fighting from behind. The Hawks poured the pressure with Miles Plumlee adding an early spark scoring a reverse dunk and a put back dunk. The Knicks were not to be outdone as McDermott hit two key three-point shots and the pressure defense overwhelmed the Hawks. The Knicks took control with a 76-75 lead entering the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, McDermott’s aggressive skill on offense continued and rookie Frank Ntilikina showed life off the bench scoring seven straight points in the final quarter as the Knicks went with a smaller lineup that also included Ron Baker, Lance Thomas and Porzingis. The smaller lineup produced an 11-0 run to increase their lead. The Hawks tried a late rally but fell short in the end.
The Knicks bench contributed to a total of 45 points for the night.
“Our bench was great. They were setting the tone defensively. They came in focused. We needed some fresh energy [and] the bench was good especially Doug and Ron. At the end, we grinded this game out and did what we needed to,” said Porzingis.
The Knicks look to stabilize before facing Lonzo Ball and the Los Angeles Lakers at home Tuesday night.
(Eagle News Service)