Karl-Anthony Towns delivered 30 points and 11 rebounds as the New York Knicks overwhelmed the Atlanta Hawks 121-105 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
The Knicks, now 49-28, erupted for 40 points in the second quarter to seize full control of the game and maintain third place in the Eastern Conference standings.
New York shot 53.6% from the field and hit 15 of their 29 attempts from behind the arc to snap Atlanta’s defensive schemes early.
OG Anunoby added 24 points and four assists, while Mikal Bridges contributed 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting as the hosts moved closer to securing home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Josh Hart finished with a near triple-double — 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 11 assists — as Tom Thibodeau’s group improved to 9-6 since Jalen Brunson’s ankle injury on March 6.
Brunson, who participated in pregame warmups and practiced Friday for the first time in weeks, missed his 15th consecutive game.
New York outscored the Hawks 40-22 in the second quarter and led 78-53 at halftime, the most points Atlanta has allowed before the break this season.
A 15-0 Knicks run in the second quarter turned a 10-point advantage into a commanding 66-41 lead, capped by an Anunoby three-pointer.
Towns, who went 10-of-15 from the floor and 8-of-9 at the line, dominated the paint and exploited mismatches against a Hawks frontline missing Clint Capela and Jalen Johnson.
The loss was Atlanta’s third in a row and fifth in six games, dropping them to 36-41 on the season and locking them into the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.
Trae Young had 16 points and 9 assists. However, the Hawks struggled defensively throughout and allowed the Knicks to shoot above 50% in both halves.
Georges Niang led Atlanta’s bench with 13 points but was 3-for-13 from long distance as the team collectively shot 14-of-45 (31.1%) from three-point range.
Terance Mann and Caris LeVert each added 14 points, but their efforts could not overcome a lopsided first half.
New York’s bench, led by Landry Shamet’s 12 points, outscored Atlanta’s reserves 33-31 and preserved the double-digit lead into the final minutes.
With Brunson nearing a return and the team showing cohesion on both ends, New York remains a strong contender heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
