NBA: Hawks’ two-man scoring punch proves too much for Knicks
Dejounte Murray #5 and Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks smile following an altercation with Jalen Green #4 and Jabari Smith Jr. #1 of the Houston Rockets during the second half at Toyota Center on November 25, 2022 in Houston, Texas. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP
Dejounte Murray and Trae Young combined for 56 points to lead Atlanta to a 139-124 win over the visiting New York Knicks on Friday, the Hawks’ fifth consecutive victory.
It was the third time in four games that Murray and Young each scored 20-plus points. Murray finished with 29, going 14-for-25 from the field and adding 12 assists to record his sixth double-double of the season. Young contributed 27 points and six assists.
Article continues after this advertisementThe Hawks also got 20 points from De’Andre Hunter, 17 points and nine rebounds from John Collins and 14 points each from Bogdan Bogdanovic and Onyeka Okongwu.
29 points and a season-high 12 dimes from @DejounteMurray in the @ATLHawks win! pic.twitter.com/cVwijYGGXR
— NBA (@NBA) January 21, 2023
The Knicks were led by Julius Randle, who had 32 points, nine rebounds and six assists. RJ Barrett scored 23 points, while Jalen Brunson logged 19 points and nine assists. Jericho Sims amassed 12 points and eight rebounds, Immanuel Quickley scored 11 points, and Quentin Grimes had 10 points.
Article continues after this advertisementThe Knicks shot 80 percent from the field in the first quarter and took a 38-35 lead. New York was 16-for-20 from the field, with Randle missing the four errant shots. New York cooled off slightly, shooting 63.6 percent in the second quarter, and led 71-68 at halftime.
The Hawks hit 53.8 percent of their field-goal attempts before the break.
Atlanta went on a 19-3 run to start the second half and had a 13-point lead when Young hit a 3-pointer with 7:54 left in the third quarter. Randle, who scored 17 points in the period, made two foul shots to give the Knicks the lead back at 96-95, but the Hawks took a 102-101 edge in the fourth quarter.
The Hawks opened the fourth quarter with a 12-3 surge, upping the lead to 10 on a 3-pointer by Bogdanovic with 8:22 to go. New York never got within single digits again.
The Knicks were without Mitchell Robinson, who injured his right thumb on Wednesday, had surgery on Thursday and will miss at least three weeks.
Atlanta took a 2-1 lead in the season series. The final meeting will be on February 15 in Atlanta.
