Jalen Johnson recorded a triple-double Friday night for the visiting Atlanta Hawks, who withstood a late rally by the New York Knicks to earn a 111-99 win.
Johnson finished with 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in his seventh triple-double of the season and the ninth of his five-year career.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Onyeka Okongwu scored 23 points apiece for the Hawks, who led by as many as 26 points late in the third quarter on their way to winning a second straight game — their first set of back-to-back victories since Nov. 28-30.
Atlanta’s Zaccharie Risacher scored 12 points while Dyson Daniels had 11 points. Luke Kennard added 12 points off the bench and hit 3-pointers on consecutive trips to help slow the Knicks’ furious fourth-quarter comeback attempt.
The Hawks won despite the absence of Trae Young, who missed a third straight game with a quad injury.
OG Anunoby (19 points, 10 rebounds) had a double-double and Jalen Brunson finished with a game-high 24 points for the Knicks, who got within single digits late in the fourth quarter. In the end, New York lost consecutive games for the first time since a three-game skid from Oct. 26-31.
Mikal Bridges scored 18 points while Miles McBride added 11 points for New York, which set season lows for points scored and 3-point shooting percentage (20.9%, 9 of 43)
Ariel Hukporti amassed a season-high eight points and a career-best 17 rebounds while starting in place of Karl-Anthony Towns, who sat out due to an illness.
The Knicks opened the game on an 11-2 run before the Hawks took control late in the first, when Kennard’s free throws with 1:02 left put Atlanta ahead for good 31-30.
The Hawks ended the second quarter on a 13-4 run to extend their lead to 60-47 before outscoring the Knicks 34-23 in the third. Alexander-Walker’s layup with 1:14 left in the third gave Atlanta its biggest lead at 94-68.
The Knicks scored the next 13 points, capped by an Anunoby 3-pointer, before Kennard’s back-to-back 3-pointers put the Hawks ahead 100-81 with 7:38 to go. Bridges’ 3-pointer with 1:29 left pulled New York within 108-99, but the hosts didn’t score again.
