Before the Atlanta Hawks head out on a two game road trip ahead of the 2020 NBA all-star break, tonight (Feb 9th) the Hawks hosted the New York Knicks.
The Hawks made a few big moves on Thursday before the NBA’s trade deadline but it may be a few games before we see all the players involved on the floor for Atlanta. We did get to see a familiar face hit the court tonight though as Dewayne Dedmon made his return to the Hawks this evening.
The first quarter was shaky for the Hawks offensively. Trae Young opened the gates for the Hawks hitting a three pointer to put the Hawks on the board. In his first action back on the floor, Dewayne Dedmon scored four straight points but the Knicks led after the first quarter (31-20).
The Hawks offense came to life in the second quarter. The Hawks out scored the Knicks in the second quarter (41-32) cutting the Knicks halftime lead to just two points (63-61). The Hawks went on a (16-4) run in the second that opened up the game for Atlanta. John Collins was huge in the first half finishing the half with 20 points.
Things changed for the Hawks after halftime. The Hawks came out the gates on fire in the third quarter. Atlanta went on a (11-3) run in the quarter which helped them take a ten point lead (81-71) with 6:21 left in the third quarter. The Hawks continued to put points on the board and they took a (94-83) lead into the fourth quarter.
👀 @TheTraeYoung doing Trae Young things….. Trae pulled up from Rome, GA on this shot #TrueToAtlanta pic.twitter.com/hpwvtzNLxH
— Terrell Thomas (@Eldorado2452) February 10, 2020
Something sparked the Knicks in the fourth. Despite trailing entering the fourth quarter, New York attacked the paint, played solid defense, and they cut the Hawks lead that was 15 points at one point, to (109-105) with 5:52 remaining in the fourth.
The Knicks run didn’t stop as they cut the Hawks lead to (114-112) with under 2:40 remaining in the game. After New York made it a two point game, Trae Young took matters into his own hands driving to the basket and extending the Hawks lead to (116-112) with two minutes remaining in the quarter. The Knicks weren’t finished yet. After a slam dunk by New York and a stop on defense, Knicks big man Julius Randle knocked down to foul shots to tie the game at (116-116) with 30.3 seconds left in the fourth period.
The Hawks had one more chance to win it in regulation. After stopping Julius Randle from hitting a baseline jump shot that could’ve won the game for New York, the Hawks grabbed the rebound with 1.2 seconds left and a chance to win the game. Coach Pierce called Trae Young’s number for the final shot and Trae’s floaters bounced off the rim sending the game into overtime.
Trae was so close to nailing this floater….. damn #nba pic.twitter.com/wD8FxwerVP
— Terrell Thomas (@Eldorado2452) February 10, 2020
The Knicks picked up where they left off at the end of the fourth quarter starting the overtime period by taking a (126-118) lead with under two minutes to go. Hawks all-star Trae Young then decided to showcase why he is an all-star. Young scored two straight buckets and helped create a John Collins tip in that cut the Knicks once eight point lead to (126-124) with 30 seconds remaining. Defense from Atlanta on the Knicks final possession forced the Knicks to turn the ball over giving Atlanta 11.6 seconds to tie the game or win it. Trae Young drove to the basket and was fouled. After hitting both shots, the Knicks and Hawks went into double overtime.
The second overtime period was controlled by the Hawks. Trae Young continued his attack to the rim and knocked down a few big three pointers. DeAndre Hunter was also key as he knocked down a three pointer that pushed the Hawks lead to 4 points. Trae Young hit a corner three to push the Hawks lead to 7 and the Hawks never looked back.
For the Hawks, Trae Young finished the night with his fifth career game of scoring 45 points or more. Trae Young finished the game with 48 points and 13 assist. John Collins continues to showcase his talents in the paint. Collins finished the night with 32 points and 16 rebounds.
For the Knicks, Julius Randle with 35 points, 18 rebounds and 3 assist. Reggie Bullock added 21 points and Bobby Portis added 14 points.
The Atlanta Hawks have played their final home game for the 2020 NBA all-star break. The Hawks are back in action tomorrow night (Monday Feb.10th) on the road as they face the Orlando Magic. The Hawks follow that up with a road matchup against the Cleveland Cavs on February 12th.
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