Knicks 113, Hawks 108 “It feels so good to want to win games again. ECF!!!”
The Knicks rolled into Atlanta to close out a tough road trip, and rolled out with a huge comeback win. The dynamic duo known as “Quivers,” along with kick-ass performances from Julius Randle and RJ Barrett, pushed the Knicks over .500 seven games into the season. Shwinnypooh recaps the W.
The Knicks have played seven games this year. They are now above .500 after those seven games. Again, break up the Knicks!
This was a game I didn’t expect this short-handed Knicks team to win without the services of Alec Burks and/or Frank Ntilikina. The Atlanta Hawks, and specifically Trae Young, represented a matchup that seemed beyond the capabilities of the players at the Knicks’ disposal, sans the aforementioned two players. I just didn’t trust Elfrid Payton chasing Trae around screens for four quarters, and through two-and-a-half of ‘em, it played out exactly that way.
The game took on an expected pattern as the Knicks dominated the paint, while the Hawks rained triples from outside. At various points in the first quarter and the second, the Knicks seemed poised to make Atlanta roll over, but thanks to a combination of sloppy execution and lack of focus, primarily from Elfrid Payton and Kevin Knox — the latter would make amends later — the Hawks were not only able to get their footing back in the game, but take a 58-54 halftime lead.
That lead would balloon up to 13 early in the second half as the Hawks came out determined to get Trae going, and with Payton determined to not provide a shred of resistance. Thibs called a timeout to instill a sense of urgency in Elf, but it was for naught. On this night, he simply could not be stirred to arms.
Enter Immanuel Quickley.
After a short-but-shitty stint in the first half, IQ returned to the game with just under three minutes left in the third quarter, with the Knicks down 12. They never looked back.
A triplet of threes helped carve the deficit to just four entering the final frame. From there, the Knicks controlled proceedings. Quickley and his partner in crime, Austin Rivers — jointly, Quivers — contained penetration defensively as the Hawks resorted to desperate jumpers and frantic paint forays throughout the fourth. Offensively, the Knicks ran things through Julius Randle, but the benefit of playing two guards who require attention as floor spacers was palpable.
The Knicks chopped and chiseled a deficit into a seesaw game, and finally into a decisive lead. But the Hawks wouldn’t quit. With the Knicks up four, De’Andre Hunter nailed a triple to cut the deficit to 107-106. The Knicks responded with Rivers canning a triple on the ensuing possession to stretch the lead back out to four. The Hawks took possession, but immediately lost it on an offensive foul, and a Randle tip shot stretched the lead to six with 46 seconds left, and the Knicks never looked back.
Another fantastic team win.
Notes
The ‘90s Knicks might be my favorite Knicks, so it’s been incredibly fucking annoying to see team after team — completely uncommitted and uninterested in what made those teams forever endearing to Knicks fans — pretend they cared about bringing that “energy back to the Garden.” This year’s Knicks eschewing that verbiage entirely from their preseason bravado was encouraging. Even more encouraging has been Austin Rivers. The man simply has nuts the size of grapefruits and has been about it since he got here. Be it a knockdown triple, or a necessary rim attack, Rivers has been ready to provide — and in that there’s been a hint, and I do mean a hint, of John Starks in his play. These Knicks aren’t going to play for the stakes those Knicks played for, but they can establish a foundation to help get them there. Rivers has come across as one who’s interested in being a part of that process, and I love it.
Rivers wasn’t alone off the bench. Immanuel Quickley was absolutely brilliant in his second half run after a less than an inspiring first half. His team-high +17 didn’t exaggerate his impact. With the Knicks floundering as Elf did annoying Elf things, his introduction provided spacing and defensive resistance at the point of attack that was paramount to the Knicks’ eventual comeback. I could go on forever about Quickley, but he has surely silenced the skeptics of his late first round selection if nothing else. Malachi Flynn who?
Julius Randle was, again, absolutely magnificent. He carved up the Hawks inside, generated quality looks for others, and dominated the glass with 17 rebounds. This was yet another star-level performance, without which the Knicks would have been nowhere near a victory. His transformation this season has been nothing short of magnificent.
RJ Barrett stays owning the Hawks. He posted a 26-11-5 line on just 19 shots, and kept the Knicks within touching distance throughout the third quarter at various stages where they easily could have lost hope. Rebellions, as I’ve been told, are built on hope, and RJ was Rogue One.
Nerlens Noel was unavailable tonight, leaving the Knicks even more short-handed than expected. That meant more Randle-at-the-5 minutes, which Thibs matched up with the Hawks going small with Collins at the 5 as best he could. It’s still a work in progress, but the Knicks held serve in those minutes.
Elfrid Payton was awesome in the first quarter. I truly mean that. And I want to get that out of the way, because after that he was complete and utter dog shit. Forget his annoying offensive possessions that went nowhere and ended with bricks of his own making; on defense, he didn’t get shredded so much as just completely ceased playing defense from the second quarter onwards. The Hawks simply ran Trae Young off of screens, and Elf showed no verve or spirit to bother fighting over them. That was the primary factor in the Knicks going from up 50-43 with just over four minutes left before half to 73-60 down with 8:30 left in the third. Even a timeout and a Tom Thibodeau scream session couldn’t coax better effort from him. Maybe that was for the best.
Kevin Knox was truly awful in the first half. He seemed a half step late, and even when he stuffed Cam Reddish on a drive (that he had allowed to happen) it opened up the opportunity for an easy put-back. However, his two triples in the third quarter were critical to the Knicks’ eventual comeback, especially his buzzer-beater rainbow corner triple to cut the deficit to four at the end of the third.
Mitchell Robinson’s ability to balance his desire to blocking shots and making smart, effective rotations defensively remains key. It wasn’t his best night, but he was still largely effective despite his rim-running prowess remaining dormant without a point guard capable of providing any type of pull-up shooting threat.
Reggie Bullock stinks. His minutes have to be up for grabs, because, well, he’s simply not very good at NBA basketball. I think both Burks and/or Ntilikina will be in the rotation over him before all is said and done.
Quivers, btw:
I’m sorry, but the type of bullshit foul hunting Trae Young goes for sucks total ass to watch. Sure, that means the same applies to some of the shit Quickley goes for. Maybe let’s eliminate that element of the game entirely. I don’t want to watch foul shots more than actual basketball. Do you? Thibs gets it.
Cam Reddish seemed really mad from the jump. I enjoyed him getting a technical because he was so pissed that Knox rejected him at the rim. Cry more, loser.
I inordinately despise these Hawks. I’m not sure what it is, but I truly do not enjoy losing to them at all.
Chalk this up as yet another game where Thibs’ coaching decisions have borne fruit. Thibs, notorious for his love of veterans, benched Payton and Bullock for most of the second half in favor of Quickley and Rivers, respectively. That choice keyed the comeback that sees the Knicks sitting at 4-3 now after seven games.
Apropos of nothing, the Nets are 3-4. Sup, Mister Nets Daily?
The Knicks were missing Nerlens Noel, Alec Burks, Frank Ntilikina, and Obi Toppin, all of whom seem obvious candidates to figure into the rotation. This team is going to have depth and in a weird-ass, pandemic-influenced condensed regular season, that might push them up the standings way more than you’d expect normally.
The Hawks seemed committed to denying the Knicks the corner threes they’ve been hunting throughout this season. Still, the Knicks found a way to win. Seems like maybe we’re stumbling into that mythical culture we’ve been searching for forever. This team fights for each other, and they’re ready to compete and battle for 48 minutes every night. I can dig it.
The Knicks are now 2-0 in 2021. Quoth Jesk Van Gundy: “It feels so good to want win games again. ECF!!!” Yes, indeed it does, and with Thibs at the helm, even with short-handed roster throughout the early part of this season, that certainly seems to be the focus. It’s been a long time since the Knicks have played for stakes late into the season, but with a roster that seems hungry for wins, and a coach ravenous for them, we may finally get that again.
