The New York Knicks returned to action Friday, facing the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden. Although the Hawks were without Trae Young, New York was missing Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart.
Despite outscoring Atlanta 29-17 in the final frame, Atlanta won by double-digits, dominating the first three quarters. New York had an incredibly difficult shooting night, finishing the night at 21% from long range. Jordan Clarkson was the only Knicks' player to shoot above 30% from deep, as he finished only 1-for-3 from downtown.
New York didn't fare much better from the field either, as they finished at 37% as opposed to Atlanta's 48%. This was due in large part to their lack of a dominant interior presence. Without Towns and Robinson, New York was outscored 58-46 in the paint despite outrebounding the Hawks.
Having lost their previous matchup to the San Antonio Spurs, the Knicks have now lost two straight.
That being said, they did receive an update on the status of Josh Hart. Hart was sidelined for New York's most recent road trip due to an ankle injury and was re-evaluated as the team returned home.
According to NBA insider Ian Begley, Hart has been cleared to return to on-court activities in a limited capacity and will be re-evaluated again in another week.
With that in mind, New York should have Towns back soon after missing Friday's game due to illness.
However, New York won't have much time to rest as they face the Philadelphia 76ers Saturday on the second night of a back-to-back.
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