Knicks takeaways from Wednesday's 116-114 win over Hawks, including another big night in Atlanta for Julius Randle

The Knicks overcame periods of cold shooting, 17 turnovers, and allowing a double-digit first-half lead to slip away as they managed to hang on in a 116-114 win over the Hawks in Atlanta on Wednesday night -- thanks to 14 offensive rebounds and clutch buckets down the stretch.

Julius Randle led New York with 29 points (on 12-for-24 shooting) and added 10 rebounds and eight assists. Jalen Brunson overcame shooting woes to tally 24 points and eight assists in 41 minutes. But it was the unglamorous work of Mitchell Robinson hauling down 15 rebounds – six offensive – and adding three steals and six points that proved to be the difference.

The Knicks, who led by as many as 13 points in the first half and saw a six-point lead entering the fourth quarter become a seven-point deficit with under five to play, improved to 6-5 on the season.

Here are the takeaways...

- Playing without RJ Barrett for the second-straight game due to migraines, the Knicks were slightly shorthanded with an eight-man rotation but did not look any worse for the wear in the opening minutes as another big Randle first quarter in Atlanta took shape with the forward scoring the visitor’s first seven points.

New York built its 11-point opening quarter edge by pushing the pace to blitz Atlanta down the floor to get into the offensive set quicker, leading to open looks from three (making four of nine) and second-chance points on five offensive rebounds – three from Robinson, who entered Wednesday night’s game as the leading offensive rebounder in the NBA. Brunson added eight points and had four assists in the quarter.

- Atlanta snapped out of its shooting slump in the second and after a 12-4 run were back into the contest as the Knicks’ second unit struggled to keep the Hawks from finding good looks. The home side rebounded to shoot 13-for-20 (5-for-8 from three) in the period.

But the second unit with Josh Hart, Immanuel Quickley and Donte DiVincenzo – who made a living finding space in the first half with six points off the bench – rebuilt the lead from to nine before Atlanta put together a 12-2 run to go up one with just under four to play in the half and forced a Tom Thibodeau timeout.

The Knicks committed six turnovers in the second and did not go to the foul line once.

- And that trend continued in the third. Quentin Grimes – who had five points in the first half on spot-up jumpers – made a pair of threes in the third, but had a pair of bad turnovers off the dribble, two of the four Knicks turnovers in the first five minutes of the second half.

But Brunson, who missed his first two shots of the quarter, knocked down back-to-back threes before Randle added another three to snap the Knicks’ offense out of a funk.

New York held Trae Young to seven points on 2-for-8 shooting through three quarters, but with 12 assists. The Knicks entered the fourth up 87-81, thanks to out-rebounding Atlanta, 33-23.

- The six-point lead was down to one after Quickley was called for a carry – the Knicks’ 16th turnover of the evening – and Young’s driving layup forced Thibs to call for time with 8:32 to play. After Randle made his third three of the night following the timeout, a 7-0 Atlanta run (with four coming from the free throw line) gave the Hawks their biggest lead of the night up to that point at 97-94.

The Knicks would miss their next four shots and Thibs would call another timeout after a Saddiq Bey tip slam made it 101-94 Atlanta with 5:20 to play. The Hawks completed the turnaround by shooting 6-for-10 to start the fourth compared to 2-for-12 for New York.

But, out of the timeout, the Knicks responded with Quickley knocking down an open three and a tough eight-footer in the lane before Brunson completed the 8-0 run with a three to put New York up by one (thanks to another Robinson offensive rebound) and force a timeout.

After a back-and-forth sequence, another Brunson three from a Randle assist and a Hart drive and layup put New York up three with 90 seconds to play. In the starting lineup for Barrett, Hart finished with nine points, eight rebounds, five assists, a block and two turnovers in 33 minutes.

The game got a little hairy with the Knicks up three and 4.1 to play when, out of a Knicks timeout, DiVincenzo failed to inbound the ball in time and gave the Hawks one more opportunity to tie the game. But a quick Burnson foul bailed out New York to send DeJounte Murray to the line for two before a lane violation while attempting to miss the second free throw intentionally.

- It was an uneven game in the end for the Knicks' second unit. Quickley scored 20 on 6-for-11 shooting, including several crucial threes. He added four assists in 28 minutes. Hartenstein added three offensive rebounds and was 5-for-9 from the floor in 17 minutes, but both finished with negative plus-minuses on the night.

DiVincenzo committed four turnovers but added four rebounds, three assists and two steals in an energetic 22 minutes.

– Grimes sustained an injury to his left hand with 10:45 to play in the fourth while attempting to block Bogdan Bogdanovic (who led Atlanta with 28 points on 8-for-15 shooting) on a fast break. He went straight to the locker room and did not return

- Young finished with 15 points on 4-for-12 shooting, but dished out a season-high 17 assists.

Highlights

What's next

The Knicks' five-game road trip continues with a stop in Washington D.C. for another In-Season Tournament group stage game against the Wizards on Friday night. The tip is set for 7 p.m.