Julius Randle flirted with a triple-double and scored nine points in the final three-plus minutes Friday night for the visiting New York Knicks, who held on for a 126-120 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Randle finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists for the Knicks, who bounced back from an opening night defeat to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
Jalen Brunson hit a career-high eight 3-pointers and finished with 31 points while adding five assists. RJ Barrett scored 26 points, while Donte DiVincenzo (16 points) and Immanuel Quickley (11 points) got into double figures off the New York bench.
Clint Capela (13 points, 13 rebounds) posted a double-double and De’Andre Hunter scored 27 points for the Hawks, who have lost their first two games by six points apiece.
Trae Young had 18 points but shot just 4-for-16 from the field. Dejounte Murray scored 18 points while Bogdan Bogdanovic (16 points) and Jalen Johnson (11 points) got into double figures as reserves.
The Hawks held their lone lead, a 6-5 advantage 3:43 into the game, before the Knicks opened double-figure leads in the first and second quarters on their way to taking a 69-61 halftime lead.
The Hawks tied the score at 90-90 on AJ Griffin’s 3-pointer with 2:12 left in the third. The Knicks mounted a 15-4 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to take a 105-94 lead with 10:49 remaining.
Atlanta responded with a 14-4 run and got within one point on three consecutive possessions. The teams combined for nine straight misses and then traded two-point baskets for seven consecutive possessions, resulting in a 118-114 New York lead with 2:16 left.
The Knicks twice opened a seven-point lead in the final minutes, the last time on Brunson’s free throw with 51.3 seconds remaining, before the Hawks scored five straight points.
Brunson and Young traded turnovers, and Randle hit two free throws with 16 seconds left to put the Knicks up 124-120. Young missed an open layup four seconds later, and Randle iced the game by hitting two of his final four free throws.
–Field Level Media
