Julius Randle and RJ Barrett charged the night and charge with each playing over 40 minutes and combining for 54 points.
But rookie goalie Immanuel Quickley, in his third NBA game, and veteran Austin Rivers took the Knicks home in the fourth quarter as they snapped a 113-108 road victory in Atlanta to end their run. four-match trip to 3-1.
The Tom Thibodeau Knicks are now a 4-3 winning ball club, by far the hottest NBA team in New York after winning four of their last five games.
As is his talent, Quickley tied a huge three-point foul at 2:34, leaving all three shots free to finish with 16 points in 19 minutes, playing almost the entire fourth quarter during which he scored 10 points.
Rivers, in his recent role as the closest, hit a huge three-pointer with less than a minute to go, and attacked Trae Young.
Randle scored 12 points in the first quarter and finished with 28 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists, dropping a timid plate from a triple-double, to continue his All-Star caliber season. The Hawks were the first team not to double the team to the emerging Knicks star.
RJ Barrett was fantastic with 26 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in 44 minutes, when the Knicks hit a 15-point deficit in the third quarter.
The Knicks have shallow depth of great man with Obi Toppin and Omari Spellman out and received a blow when Nerlens Noel was ruled out with an ankle sprain. Noel was not on the injury report.
This forced Randle to make important minutes (43). With Randle dominating inside and the Knicks attacking the edge, the club dominated the paint. Twelve of his first 14 points were in the paint. The Knicks starters built a first game 24-14 with a magnificent feed from Payton to Barrett, for the Knicks to go up to 10.
Asked why he stayed with Quickley in the fourth, Thibodeau said:
“She is OK. The way he approaches play, attitude and approach. He has that ability that opens it all up. Every day is getting better. When you’re as smart as him, pick things up quickly. We were looking and fighting, we found a group and we rode with it. “
He quickly scored on a float to start the fourth quarter, reaching 88-86. He finished 4 of 6 from the field, 2 for 3 from the 3-point line and 6 of 6 from the line.
The Knicks trailed by 15 before meeting at the last 1:30 of the third quarter. Kevin Knox hit a triple in the first bucket of the night. Quickley erupted for Duke’s former highlight, Cam Reddish, to make a comeback. And then Knox hit another 3, a buzzer from the corner after which he raised his arms in celebration as the Knicks took an 88-84 lead.