Randle scores 28, Rivers' 3 helps Knicks beat Hawks
ATLANTA (AP) — Julius Randle scored 28 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, Austin Rivers hit a huge 3-pointer and the New York Knicks rallied to beat the Atlanta Hawks 113-108 on Monday night.
Taking their second straight home loss after a 4-1 start to the season, the Hawks squandered a 13-point lead early in the second half and faded in the the closing minutes.
De'Andre Hunter brought Atlanta to 107-106 on a 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining, but Rivers answered with a trey of his own to give the Knicks some breathing room. Randle sealed it, tipping in an offensive rebound after Rivers missed on a drive.
RJ Barrett had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks.
Immanuel Quickley, who added 17 points, put New York ahead to stay on a pair of free throws that made it 103-101. But his biggest play came with the shot clock running down, when he got off a wild 3-pointer that had no chance but drew a foul from Trae Young.
Quickley made all three free throws with 2:34 remaining, pushing the Knicks ahead 106-101.
Young had 31 points and 14 assists for the Hawks. Hunter chipped in with 23 points.
New York raced to an early double-digit lead, forcing the Hawks to call a timeout after Barrett's dunk off a pass from Elfrid Payton gave the Knicks a 24-14 edge.
Atlanta finally found its offensive rhythm late in the first quarter and led 58-54 at halftime.
The Hawks started the second half on a 15-6 spurt led by Young, who dished out four assists and scored three points himself. He set up a pair of dunks by Clint Capela and a pair of 3-pointers by Hunter and Cam Reddish to give Atlanta a 73-60 lead.
But the Hawks couldn't put New York away.
TIP INS
Knicks: C Nerlens Noel (sprained left ankle), G Alec Burks (sprained left ankle), G Frank Ntilikina (sprained right knee), G Dennis Smith Jr. (contused left quad), F Omari Spellman (sore right knee) and F Obi Toppin (strained right calf) were unable to play because of injuries. ... Coach Tom Thibodeau said Burks is the closest to returning to action. “All the players will be examined when we get back (to New York) tomorrow,” Thibodeau said. “Alec is making pretty good progress right now.”
Hawks: Young has doled out at least 10 assists in back-to-back games and three of the last four contests. ... Young passed Jack McMahon for 22nd on the Hawks’ franchise career assist list. ... Capela has pulled down double-digit rebounds in fourth straight games. He also had his third consecutive double-double. ... G Rajon Rondo was active but did not get on the court. He has missed three straight games with a sore left knee.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Return home Wednesday to host the Utah Jazz — their first game at Madison Square Garden since Dec. 27 — after going 3-1 on a four-game road trip.
Hawks: Play the first of a home-and-home against Charlotte when the Hornets visit State Farm Arena on Wednesday.
___
Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at https://twitter.com/pnewberry1963 His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/paulnewberry
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports