Karl-Anthony Towns scored 30 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, plus OG Anunoby added 24 points as the New York Knicks blew away the Atlanta Hawks 121-105 Saturday afternoon at State Farm Arena. The final score was not indicative of how the game went.
During the second quarter, the Knicks went on a 15-1 run, outscoring Atlanta 40-22 in the process.
“I thought we had good aggressiveness on the ball, and then good help, and then great effort, a second and third effort,” said Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau.
Trae Young finished the afternoon with 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting and 3-of-7 from downtown.
“When you’re defending Trae Young it requires you to do more than one thing,” added Thibodeau. “And you got to fly around. I thought we did that. And then I thought the rebounding was good.”
Zaccharie Rishacher had 12 points, Caris LeVert and Terance Mann each had 14, and Dyson Daniels had 12. The Knicks did a great job of containing Young throughout the game. Thibs was fearful about the Hawks offensive prowess.
“We were concerned about LeVert and [Georges] Niang off the bench,” explained Thibodeau. “If you don’t pay attention, they can do a lot of damage. So that team is an outstanding offensive team. And so if you let your guard down at all they can get 10 in a minute, real easy.”
The Knicks also made 13 of their first 18 threes and finished the game 15-of-29 from downtown. It was their fourth-most efficient three-point shooting performance of the season. When asked about their efficiency on offense, Thibs credited the willingness to make sacrifices.
“I think offense is about execution, right? So everyone has a job to do,” Thibodeau said. “You have to go out there and do your job, and you have to help each other. And then the game, are they blitzing somebody? Are they double teaming the post? Everyone works together, and hits the open man. Sometimes, pass up a good shot to get a great shot. But that willingness to be unselfish and play for each other is huge.”
As for the Hawks, they will get back on the court against the Utah Jazz. Tip-off is set for 6:00 pm.