Despite achieving a winning record sans Jalen Brunson, the New York Knicks are keen not to play without their leader for an extended period.
Brunson is getting nearer to coming back from his sprained ankle, and the Knicks might have their key guard back on Saturday afternoon as they face the Atlanta Hawks.
Brunson trained at Georgia Tech on Friday as they prepared for consecutive matches in Atlanta and then at home against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. Currently holding an 48-28 record, the Knicks are considering when to reintegrate Brunson into their lineup since they have managed an 8-6 performance sans him. It seems improbable that he will participate in both contests.
"Ultimately, it comes down to their feelings and our assessment based on all considerations at hand to ensure we make a sound choice," said New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau to reporters on Friday.
He appeared sharp," said Josh Hart from New York. "Scored a lot of points but also conceded many. So pretty much as expected.
On March 6, Brunson suffered an injury during a closely contested 113-109 overtime defeat against the Los Angeles Lakers. In his absence, the Knicks dropped four out of their initial seven games. However, they have since improved with a record of 5-2 over their last seven matches. Despite this recent success, the team still had trouble facing top-tier opponents as evidenced by their 124-105 loss to Cleveland on Wednesday, where they were significantly outperformed in the second half with a scoreline of 71-45.
Since Brunson’s previous appearance, Karl-Anthony Towns has been leading the Knicks in scoring seven times and ended up with 25 points on Wednesday. OG Anunoby, who has taken charge of scoring for the team five times during Brunson's time away from play, contributed an additional 23 points and currently boasts a shooting percentage of 54.2% (77 out of 142 attempts) over his last eight matches.
In addition to Brunson, the Knicks might also welcome back Cameron Payne. Payne is listed as questionable following his absence due to a sprained ankle over the last four games, whereas Miles McBride has been ruled out for his consecutive eighth game because of a groin injury.
The Hawks (36-40) have a record of 1-4 in their last five games after going 7-2 between March 6-23. Their four losses during this period came by a total margin of 33 points, which includes their close loss to the home team Dallas Mavericks with a score of 120-118 on Wednesday.
Despite overcoming a five-point deficit with under four minutes remaining, Atlanta conceded a game-tying three-pointer from Klay Thompson and then saw Anthony Davis make a decisive floating shot with only 3.4 seconds on the clock.
Trae Young tallied 25 points but came up short on a possible game-deciding three-pointer. Over his last three contests, he has shot 19 out of 56 (33.9 percent) from the field.
After our team shot 43.3 percent, I felt we competed," remarked Atlanta’s coach Quin Snyder following the game. "Even during our defense in the final quarter, we remained assertive, but it often boils down to just a few key plays. Anthony Davis made an incredibly difficult shot—a fadeaway using only one leg. Then, unfortunately, we couldn’t secure a quality attempt when time was running short.
Currently holding the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings, the Hawks trail the Orlando Magic by just one game. They will encounter the Orlando Magic twice in their last four games remaining on the schedule.
In Atlanta’s recent game, Onyeka Okongwu had another impressive performance with a double-double in nine out of his last fourteen matches following his achievement of scoring twenty points along with grabbing fourteen rebounds on Wednesday.
This will be the fifth matchup between these teams as they face off again after their game in the NBA's play-in tournament on December 11th. The Hawks claimed victories in the initial two encounters until the Knicks secured a 119-110 triumph at home on January 20th. Their most recent clash was an exhilarating 149-148 overtime duel in New York on February 12th, where Towns tallied 44 points and Brunson ended up with 36 against Young’s impressive performance of 38 points and 19 assists.
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