The New York Knicks escaped Atlanta with a 108-105 victory Monday night, and head coach Mike Brown said the result reflected his team’s composure during a difficult road test.
“Good win by our guys. Gutsy win,” Brown said after the game. “We went down a couple of times. Double digits. And our guys just kind of stayed with it, stayed with it, stayed with it. Nobody panicked.”
The Knicks improved to 51-28 and remained third in the Eastern Conference after surviving a final sequence that ended with a reviewed half-court shot by CJ McCollum that was ruled late. Brown credited the bench and the team’s communication during momentum swings.
“The bench was really, really, really good,” Brown said. “Just the chatter, guys encouraging one another, uplifting one another. Jose Alvarado hadn’t played the last couple games and he was into the game more than anybody else. His words were really good and meant a lot, especially the times that we got down.”
New York leaned heavily on the late-game execution of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, who repeatedly ran two-man actions in the closing minutes.
“KAT and Jalen did what they were supposed to do,” Brown said. “It’s no secret we put them in a two-man game and those guys delivered on the offensive end while everybody else kept trying to find ways to get a stop.”
Brunson finished with 30 points and 13 assists, including two free throws with 1.2 seconds left that gave New York a three-point lead. Brown pointed to Brunson’s mentality after a slow start.
“He struggled all game until that fourth quarter,” Brown said. “Great players, this is what they do. First thing is they have short memory. It wasn’t necessarily going his way the whole game, but he stayed with it and did what a great player is supposed to do by carrying us home down the stretch.”
Brown also highlighted the defensive impact of Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart.
“Josh could have easily won our defensive player of the game. He was really good defensively,” Brown said. “But it went to Mitch. Mitch was phenomenal on the defensive side of the ball. It seemed like he was all over the place.”
The Knicks held Atlanta to 105 points on 40 percent shooting, a result Brown considered significant given the Hawks’ offensive rhythm.
“You’re talking about holding an Atlanta Hawks team to 105 points on 40% shooting. It’s a pretty good night,” Brown said. “You’re not going to be able to stop them from doing everything.”
Atlanta still created problems on the glass, collecting 19 offensive rebounds. Brown acknowledged the area that needs improvement.
“We’ve got to do a better job boxing out,” Brown said. “Obviously they really hurt us on the glass, but the good part about it is they didn’t convert those 19 offensive rebounds into a ton of points.”
Brown also praised Atlanta’s development under head coach Quin Snyder.
“Quin’s done a fantastic job with this team,” Brown said. “They compete, they play hard. They’re physical, they’re long, they’re athletic, and they can all pass, dribble, and shoot.”
Despite the late-game tension, Brown emphasized the value of closing out a tough road game.
“For our guys to not get rattled at any point in the game was huge,” he said. “I applaud our guys for hanging in there, staying positive, and just trying to find a way to get a win on the road.”
