After Knicks fans chanted “We Want the Nets” following New York’s Game 2 victory, the Knicks are on the brink of losing in the first round of the playoffs. The Atlanta Hawks took a controlling 3-1 series lead in Sunday’s dominant 113-96 win as the Knicks struggled in different areas.
Julius Randle entered the game having the worst field goal percentage (24.1%) through the first three games of a postseason in the shot-clock era, according to ESPN. Despite it being inefficient, this was by far Randle’s best performance throughout the entire series. Randle ended Game 4 with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists on 36 (7-19 Fg, 7-9 Ft) percent shooting. Randle and Derrick Rose carried the offensive load early on combining for the Knicks’ first 17 points.
This was the first time throughout the series that Atlanta didn’t get out to a double-digit lead at some point in the first half. In the first six minutes, the Hawks were 5-for-13 from the floor with five turnovers even as Trae Young kept them afloat.
At halftime, it was just a four-point game before Atlanta went on a 10-2 run to open the first three minutes of the second half. A Bogdan Bogdanovic three-pointer with 2.5 seconds left would cap off a series of runs in the third quarter and give Atlanta momentum heading into the fourth. The Hawks extended their lead to as much as 25 points in the fourth quarter and took advantage of their homecourt.
Young finished with 27 points and nine assists becoming the fourth player to average 25 points and 10 assists through his first four playoff games. Hawks forwards John Collins and Danilo Gallinari also had their best games of the series combining for 43 points.
Since Game 3, Hawks coach Nate McMillan has been successful in staggering the minutes of Young and Bogdanovic to keep a playmaker and shot creator on the floor at all times. He’s begun to lean away from full bench lineups due to the inefficient scoring outputs in Games 1 and 2.
Besides the move to place Rose into the starting lineup and bench Elfrid Payton, it’s been a horrendous series thus far for Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. Once again, the Knicks found themselves outgunned in a shootout with the Hawks and failed to limit Young in pick and roll sets.
Heading into Game 5, a key factor to watch would be the performance of Rose given the minutes he’s received in the series. The 32-year-old had the worst plus-minus of any player in Game 4 and could be burnt out after averaging 37 minutes through the first four games of the series.
It’d be foolish to count the Knicks out in the series given the power of Madison Square Garden and the track record of Atlanta sports teams blowing massive leads.
“Obviously we’re excited we won a game, but we know the jobs not done until the series is over,” said Young after going up 3-1 in the series. “For us, we’re still having that same mentality and try to go up to New York and finish it there.”
The Knicks will play Game 5 against Atlanta at MSG Arena in a win-or-go-home game to force a Game 6.
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