Hawks offense sputters as Murray exits early in 113-89 defeat vs. Knicks

Dec 8, 2022 - 3:10 AM

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The Atlanta Hawks were back in action Wednesday evening on the road for matchup in Madison Square Garden vs. the New York Knicks. The Hawks suffered another tough loss in this one, falling by a final score of 113-89. But the game itself was not the biggest loss of the evening.

Atlanta was slow out of the gates, as Julius Randle came out hot for New York with 13 points, seven rebounds and two assists in the first ten minutes of play. The Knicks led 31-20 after the first quarter, and to make matters worse, Hawks guard Dejounte Murray left the action after just a couple of minutes with a left ankle sprain. The team ruled him out for the rest of the game before the start of the second quarter.

The Hawks struggled to score to start the second quarter, as it took more than three minutes of game action for them to get their first basket of the period. Atlanta trailed New York by as many as 18 points early in the quarter, but a 17-0 run pulled them back within one by the 4:35 mark as the Knicks went ice cold offensively in the middle of the quarter.

The Hawks switched to a zone defense after falling down early, and New York appeared to struggle to adjust to the look in the second quarter. The Knicks would however close the half on a 13-4 run and lead 53-41 heading into the half.

New York would hold their lead into the third, ahead by a 78-61 margin with under 4:30 remaining in the quarter. The Hawks offensive struggles from the first half leaked a bit into the third period, though it was actually their defense that let them down to start the second half.

Randle tallied 19 points in the third alone, giving him 32 for the night heading into the fourth quarter as the Knicks carried a 22-point lead into the final frame.

The Atlanta offense continued to sputter in the fourth, as they score just nine points in the opening half of the final quarter. The Hawks just could not make shots in this game, going 6-for-36 from three-point-range for the game in defeat. New York would take home the win behind 34 points, 17 rebounds and five assists from Randle, while Quentin Grimes had 23 points.

Trae Young led the Hawks with 19 points and six assists, but shot just 9-of-20 from the floor. Clint Capela finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

The Hawks will be back in action from Brooklyn for a matchup with the Nets on Friday evening.

Stay tuned.