N.Y. Knicks: Another Strong Second Half Effort This Time Secures Victory in Game Two

From the desk: KICKING CANS DOWN 33RD STREET WITH JIMMY

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

PLAYOFFS: ROUND ONE

Game Two

Hawks    92

KNICKS  101

FINAL

Second Half Defense Grounds Hawks

We saw this before: the Knicks get off to another slow start.  Although, I was in the car at the time listening to the radio.  

In the first quarter of game one, they were outscored by eight; Wednesday, they get outscored in the first, this time by seven.  But whereas the Knicks trailed by two at the half of game one, this time they walk off to the locker room down by a concerning 13 points.  

I'm sure Tom Thibodeau had a few choice words for his squad.  Because in the second half, the Knicks held Atlanta to 18 points in the third quarter and just 17 points in the fourth, or said another way, just 35 points in the second half.  Meanwhile, the Knicks score 32 points in a big third quarter and followed up with 25 points in the final session en route to a 57-35 second-half advantage and a much-needed nine-point margin of victory. 

Nerlens Noel was back on the floor and helped the Knicks outrebound the Hawks by a handsome 54-41 difference.  The Knicks also outscored Atlanta 42-28 in the paint.

Trae Young again leads the floor with 30 points in 35 minutes.  Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic, the two you would expect, led all shooters with 20 and 21 attempts, respectively.

Meanwhile, Tom Thibodeau once again throws some crumbs Elfrid Payton's way; five minutes.  While that's still worth pondering, Derrick Rose clocks in with a team-high 39 minutes off the bench, in which he leads the Knicks with both 21 shot attempts and 26 points.  This is also to say Julius Randle did not lead the Knicks in attempts as is his custom.  Lest we forget, one has playoffs experience, and the other does not.  Overall, the bench contributes 55 points thus accounting for 54.4% of the Knicks scoring.  Obi Toppin was both effective and opportunistic, with eight points in twelve minutes.

Julius Randle was an improved performer over game one.  His game numbers betray him.  Let's call him clutch, then.  Randle finishes with 15 points and twelve rebounds in 35 minutes.  His drive the lane floater with 1:13 left in the fourth put the Knicks safely ahead by a 100-91 margin.  

Reggie Bullock added 14 points, and RJ Barrett chipped in with 13 points in 26 minutes.  Alec Burks' scoring line also betrays him, eleven points in 30 minutes, but unlike the Hawks, he provided an extra measure of scoring depth off the bench.

Despite another precarious start, the Knicks finish strong again.  The challenge now is to get the first quarter under control because they've demonstrated in two consecutive games against the Hawks they come on strong in the second half.