The New York Knicks defeat the Atlanta Hawks, 114-98, to tie the series 2-2.
ATLANTA – The New York Knicks finally discovered a method to not to get beat by a point in this first-round playoff series, which happened twice, and here’s what they did:
Make sure the next game didn’t come down to that.
The formula Saturday was this: Build a lead primarily with defense, let Karl-Anthony Towns cook early, apply more defense in the second half and just to be safe, keep the starters on the floor with four minutes left while up 20-plus points.
Hey, it worked to perfection.
And because of that, the Knicks and Atlanta Hawks are now tied at two games each with the series heading back to Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks were just too much for the Hawks in Game 4 and never allowed suspense to enter State Farm Arena. New York is, after all, the higher seed and bringing more overall playoff experience, for whatever that’s worth. So in that regard, logic prevailed in their favor, and now perhaps momentum is in their favor as well.
“I thought we came out with great tenacity,” said Towns, who also mentioned “desperation” to describe the state of the Knicks entering the game.
“I think it is the proper word,” he added.
Here are the takeaways from the Knicks’ rather convincing 16-point Game 4 romp:
1. Towns comes up big
He has a decided advantage in this series because his credentials outweigh all the Hawks’ big men put together. Atlanta’s biggest weakness is in the paint; the Hawks lack an imposing power player at both ends of the floor.
The Knicks spotted this obvious edge and exploited it in Game 1 when Towns scored 25 points with 10 of those coming from the free throw line. He posted up and drew fouls and flexed his skills, and this had danger signs flashing for the Hawks.
Yet for some reason, the Knicks went away from this strategy over the next two games, both losses, and it cost them.
Well, if nothing else they boomeranged back Saturday. They went to Towns early and often and Towns parked himself down low and once again made a statement.
“We just wanted to try and find different ways to get KAT the ball,” said Knicks coach Mike Brown. “He had a couple of post-ups, try to move him around so he could get a few more touches through the course of the game.”
He finished with his first triple-double in his playoff history by morphing into a playmaker, especially from the high post, where he spotted teammates.
“Opportunities presented themselves and my teammates made it happen,” he said about his 10 assists. “They made great cuts.”
Yet what spoke loudest was his rebounds (10) and his presence inside the 3-point arc. Five of his six buckets were from the paint, and once again he took frequent trips to the free throw line (nine attempts) by drawing contact.
“A special talent,” said OG Anunoby. “He can do it all.”
2. OG was masterful offensively, defensively
This was a complete effort by Anunoby, who helped clamp Hawks leading scorer Jalen Johnson while giving Atlanta fits on the other end. He had the highest plus-minus of the game at 19, proof of his value. From baseline to baseline nobody was more impactful than the Knicks forward, a major reason why this series is tied.
Anunoby is a proven defender who takes special pride in what he’s capable of doing and who he’s doing it against. He’s usually tasked with the toughest assignments on a nighty basis, and wouldn’t have it any other way.
But, offensively? He led the Knicks with 22 points (along with 10 rebounds) and put a handful of responses by the Hawks on ice with timely 3-point shots.
And how’s this for efficiency: He played 40 minutes with just one turnover.
3. The Hawks are looking for more from their Jalen
It’s hard these days to be first team All-Jalen in the NBA because it’s suddenly such a popular name among very good players. Take this series for example — Brunson and Johnson, on opposite sides, All-Stars this season, opponents at the moment.
Much like Brunson, Johnson is suddenly the face of the franchise, a spot which became vacant once it was apparent he was more of a building block than the since-departed Trae Young.
The intrigue is this: This is Johnson’s first taste of the playoffs as his team’s featured player and the results so far are mixed. He’s still looking to put his stamp on the series — the Hawks have called CJ McCollum’s number when times have been tight — and Saturday was more of a mild response by Johnson.
He never established a rhythm or struck fear into the Knicks. Or maybe the Knicks are actually giving him the ultimate sign of respect by constantly hounding him and making him their defensive priority.
Anyway: Johnson shot 4-for-12 for 14 points in Game 4, quite a change from his breakout regular season. Not only did the Knicks pressure him into tough shots, they also cut off his passing lanes, which was important; Johnson was among the league’s better passing forwards this season.
The biggest adjustment prior to Game 5 for the Hawks is to find a way to establish Johnson, much like the Knicks did with Towns for Game 4, because at times in this series he has appeared too timid.
4. Josh brought a lot of heart
The Knicks got their defensive energy from Josh Hart, who much like Anunoby made plays that not only prevented the Hawks from scoring, but put the Knicks into a nice transition game where they generated easy buckets on the break.
“When he gets locked in, he’s locked in,” said Brown. “His defensive activity, especially when it comes to ball pressure, was fabulous tonight … and we needed every ounce of it.”
Hawks coach Quin Snyder said “Josh Hart was out there guarding everybody.”
Hart mainly wanted to silence the Hawks’ biggest threats and mostly succeeded Saturday. McCollum has given the Knicks fits all series but, with the exception of a few flourishes, was harmless in Game 4. Hart also helped on Johnson, using his pressure to force those Hawks players into uncomfortable situations.
“Our intensity,” is what Anunoby said was the difference in the latest from Knicks. “We came out, we were physical from the start. We got stops and it was the energy we brought.”
The Hawks shot just 41% overall and just as important, were held to 24% from deep. They had just 44 points at halftime and 65 after three quarters, when the Knicks were well in control.
“We put ourselves in this position,” Hart said. “We were ready to answer back.”
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at spowell@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
