Knicks-Hawks Game 4 recap: Deciding points, star of the game, more
Knicks forward Julius Randle leaves the court after fouling the Hawks' Danilo Gallinari (not shown) during the second half in Game 4 of an NBA first-round playoff series Sunday in Atlanta. Credit: AP/Brynn Anderson
Key player: Trae Young. As it has been every game, the Knicks have yet to find a way to contain Young and keep him from doing basically anything he wants to do on offense. He finished with 27 points and 9 assists, shooting just 4 of 14 from beyond the arc. But even his misses drew multiple Knicks defenders, opening up rebounding opportunities.
Key statistic: Zero. That’s the offensive production the Knicks got from Reggie Bullock, who was unable to make Young work on that end of the floor. Bullock took just four shots and missed them all, never getting to the line against the smaller Young.
Turning point: It was the second quarter Friday that the Knicks saw the game get away. This time, down just four at the half, they stuck around for a bit — trailing by seven with after a Taj Gibson layup with 5:41 remaining in the third. But Atlanta ran off 10 straight points over the next 2:06 and it was a 78-61 lead.
Did you notice? Julius Randle showed either some leadership or frustration late in the game, shoving Danilo Gallinari with 3:05 to play, being called for a flagrant-1 foul. He said he was standing up for Reggie Bullock, who had been elbowed in the back by Gallinari on the other end, although replays seemed to show no intent on that play. Randle got high-fives from most of his teammates when he went to the bench.
Injury report Nerlens Noel remained a marginal contributor after spraining his ankle in Game 2. He came off the bench and played 14:40. He had two rebounds, one point and no blocked shots.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
