Trae Young didn’t even need to ship the punishment to the Knicks. Most of it was self-inflected. The relaxation arrived courtesy of Dejounte Murray.
In its worst efficiency of this younger season, by far, Tom Thibodeau’s squad upchucked a 23-point lead Wednesday and was pummeled by the Hawks, 112-99, for a 3rd consecutive defeat.
It was ugly.
Julius Randle was again to final season’s distress, lacking eight of his 12 pictures with 4 turnovers and simply two assists in half-hour. But it’d be unfair to single out Randle because the total the roster was uninspiring and underwhelming.
The Knicks (3-4) had 17 turnovers, virtually double Atlanta’s complete. They shot a depressing 41%. There was no silver lining.
Murray, who was obtainable for the Knicks this summer season within the commerce market earlier than heading to Atlanta, toyed with the Knicks backcourt whereas producing 36 factors on 14-of-27 capturing with 9 assists. It was the second straight recreation the Knicks had been killed by a participant they might’ve traded for in the summertime (Donovan Mitchell did the honors first on Saturday).
Young, the No. 1 enemy at MSG lately, solely logged 28 minutes as a result of he suffered an eye fixed contusion within the third quarter, the consequence of getting raked within the face by Randle. Young returned with glasses within the fourth quarter and completed with 17 factors and 7 assists.
The vitriol towards Young was extra subdued than his earlier two appearances at MSG, the place “F—k Trae Young” chants served because the soundtrack.
“You guys still talking about that?” stated Hawks coach Nate McMillan, whose workforce improved to 5-3. “Of course he gets excited. I haven’t talked to him about this. Trae feeds off of that. He’s a big moment player. You come to the Garden it’s a big moment, it’s a big place to play. All the good players in the league look forward to coming here and playing and playing well.”
Young was booed Wednesday however the expletives, in the event that they existed, had been inaudible. He additionally gave the followers no motive for venom within the first quarter, when Young missed 10 of his 12 pictures and botched a lay-in.
The Knicks pounced and took their 23-point benefit within the second quarter, however momentum shifted earlier than halftime and by no means swung again.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com