Game ID: 22500435
New York Knicks @ Atlanta Hawks
Saturday, December 27, 2025 at 8:00 PM ET
State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
ATL 27 28 34 36 125NYK 33 35 30 30 128
ATL vs NYK ScoutingATL vs NYK Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
ATL availability going into 12/19 · back-to-backOUT Porziņģis missed 4 since 12/06, out tonight
BACK Young back 12/18 after 22, 20 min since (72% of 28)
ATL availability going into 12/21 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 5 since 12/06, out tonight
BACK Young back 12/18 after 22, 20 min since (72% of 28)
ATL availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 6 since 12/06, out tonight
BACK Young back 12/18 after 22, 23 min since (83% of 28)
ATL availability going into 12/26 · 2 days' restOUT Porziņģis missed 7 since 12/06, out tonight
BACK Young back 12/18 after 22, 26 min since (92% of 28)
ATL availability going into 12/27 · back-to-backOUT Porziņģis missed 8 since 12/06, out tonight
BACK Young back 12/18 after 22, 27 min since (98% of 28)
ATL availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 9 since 12/06, out tonight
ATL availability going into 12/31 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 10 since 12/06, returns tonight: 17 min (71% of 24)
NEW Okongwu 31 to 36 min over the last 5
ATL availability going into 1/02 · 1 day's restOUT Young missed 2 since 12/29, out tonight
BACK Porziņģis back 12/31 after 10, 17 min since (71% of 24)
NEW Newell 11 to 17 min over the last 5
ATL availability going into 1/03 · back-to-backOUT Young missed 3 since 12/29, not on tonight's roster
BACK Porziņģis back 12/31 after 10, 17 min since (71% of 24)
NYK availability going into 12/19 · back-to-backOUT McBride missed 2 since 12/09, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 10 since 11/24, out tonight
BACK Anunoby back 12/05 after 9, 30 min since (90% of 33)
NEW Clarkson 16 to 26 min over the last 4
NYK availability going into 12/21 · 1 day's restOUT McBride missed 3 since 12/09, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 11 since 11/24, out tonight
NEW Clarkson 16 to 22 min over the last 4
NYK availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's restOUT McBride missed 4 since 12/09, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 12 since 11/24, out tonight
NEW Bridges 33 to 38 min over the last 4
NEW Clarkson 16 to 22 min over the last 4
NEW Kolek 11 to 18 min over the last 4
NYK availability going into 12/25 · 1 day's restOUT McBride missed 5 since 12/09, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 13 since 11/24, out tonight
NEW Bridges 33 to 38 min over the last 4
NEW Hart 31 to 37 min over the last 3
NEW Robinson 18 to 25 min over the last 3
NEW Clarkson 16 to 23 min over the last 4
NEW Kolek 11 to 24 min over the last 4
NYK availability going into 12/27 · 1 day's restOUT McBride missed 6 since 12/09, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 14 since 11/24, out tonight
NEW Bridges 33 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Clarkson 16 to 24 min over the last 5
NEW Kolek 11 to 24 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT McBride missed 7 since 12/09, returns tonight: 18 min (78% of 24)
OUT Shamet missed 15 since 11/24, out tonight
NEW Clarkson 16 to 23 min over the last 5
NEW Kolek 11 to 22 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 12/31 · 1 day's restOUT Hart missed 2 since 12/27, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 16 since 11/24, out tonight
BACK McBride back 12/29 after 7, 18 min since (78% of 24)
NEW Clarkson 16 to 22 min over the last 5
NEW Kolek 11 to 22 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 1/02 · 1 day's restOUT Hart missed 3 since 12/27, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 17 since 11/24, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 2 since 12/29, out tonight
BACK McBride back 12/29 after 7, 22 min since (94% of 24)
NEW Clarkson 16 to 23 min over the last 5
NEW Kolek 11 to 20 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 1/03 · back-to-backOUT Hart missed 4 since 12/27, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 18 since 11/24, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 3 since 12/29, returns tonight: 19 min (103% of 18)
BACK McBride back 12/29 after 7, 25 min since (106% of 24)
NEW Kolek 11 to 18 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 133, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 22 free throws a game; Johnson at 29 and Young at 24 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. Without Porziņģis (8 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 119, shooting 47 percent and 41 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brunson at 32 and Bridges at 19 a game. Without McBride (6 straight), Shamet (14 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-3 a night and Atlanta minus-8 and the defense, New York allowing 119 a night to Atlanta's 133. Call it New York 122, Atlanta 118, Atlanta keeping it close.
12/19 vs SAS 98-126 — ATL notes
ATL lost 98-126. ATL shot 40% (38 of 94) to SAS's 54%, 10 of 40 from three. The glass went 43-56 against them. Alexander-Walker led with 23 (7 of 18, 2 of 10 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); J. Johnson added 17, Risacher 11. Q4 was theirs, 26-24, the deficit cut from 30 to 28, but the other 3 periods went 102-72 against them. Alexander-Walker's -27 in 33 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/21 vs CHI 150-152 — ATL notes
ATL lost 150-152. ATL shot 52% (51 of 98) to CHI's 58%, 23 of 47 from three, and got to the line 32 times to CHI's 39. Johnson led with 36 (12 of 20, 2 of 6 from three, 10 of 11 at the line); Young added 35, Okongwu 23. Q3 was theirs, 42-33, the deficit cut from 10 to 1, but the other 3 periods went 119-108 against them. Daniels's -11 in 39 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/23 vs CHI 123-126 — ATL notes
ATL lost 123-126. ATL shot 51% (48 of 95) to CHI's 51%, 14 of 42 from three, and got to the line 20 times to CHI's 28. ATL turned it over 11 times to CHI's 16. The glass went 38-48 against them. Johnson led with 24 (11 of 23, 1 of 7 from three); Young added 22, Alexander-Walker 21. Q2 was theirs, 32-25, but the other 3 periods went 101-91 against them. They led by as many as 18. Alexander-Walker's -20 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/26 vs MIA 111-126 — ATL notes
ATL lost 111-126. ATL shot 47% (40 of 85) to MIA's 47%, 12 of 36 from three. ATL turned it over 21 times to MIA's 10, and MIA turned those into 14 steals. The glass went 42-52 against them. Young led with 30 (8 of 16, 5 of 8 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Johnson added 24, Alexander-Walker 15. Q3 was theirs, 33-27, the deficit cut from 12 to 6, but the other 3 periods went 99-78 against them. Risacher's -18 in 20 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/27 vs NYK 125-128 — ATL notes
ATL lost 125-128. ATL shot 48% (43 of 89) to NYK's 45%, 17 of 43 from three. The glass went 37-55 against them. Okongwu led with 31 (10 of 16, 6 of 10 from three, 5 of 7 at the line); Alexander-Walker added 25, Johnson 20. Q4 was theirs, 36-30, the deficit cut from 9 to 3, but the other 3 periods went 98-89 against them. Young's -13 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/29 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 113, shooting 47 percent and 33 from three, 20 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 30 and Jal. Williams at 17 a game. Without J. Williams (6 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Atlanta comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 132, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Johnson at 24 and Young at 24 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 11 a night. Without Porziņģis (9 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 113 a night to Atlanta's 132 and the glass, where OKC has been minus-1 a night and Atlanta minus-11. Call it OKC 122, Atlanta 115.
12/31 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 128 a night and allowing 134, shooting 49 percent and 41 from three, 23 free throws a game; Johnson at 26 and Young at 24 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 11 a night. Without Porziņģis (10 straight). One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 114, shooting 47 percent and 34 from three, 26 free throws a game; Edwards at 31 and Randle at 20 a game. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Minnesota allowing 114 a night to Atlanta's 134 and the glass, where Minnesota has been minus-3 a night and Atlanta minus-11. Call it Minnesota 122, Atlanta 119, Atlanta keeping it close.
1/02 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 125, shooting 46 percent and 42 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Towns at 24 a game. Without Hart (3 straight), Shamet (17 straight), Robinson (2 straight). One day's rest. Atlanta comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 124, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 20 free throws a game; Johnson at 26 and Alexander-Walker at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. Without Young (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-3 a night and Atlanta minus-9. Call it New York 124, Atlanta 119.
1/03 @ TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Toronto comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 114, shooting 44 percent and 30 from three, 23 free throws a game; Ingram at 23 and Barnes at 19 a game. Without Poeltl (5 straight). 2 days' rest. Atlanta comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 119, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Johnson at 24 and Okongwu at 22 a game. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. Without Young (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Toronto wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Toronto has been plus-4 a night and Atlanta minus-8 and the arc, Atlanta at 39 percent from three to Toronto's 30. Call it Toronto 119, Atlanta 114.
12/19 vs PHI 107-116 — NYK notes
NYK lost 107-116. NYK shot 44% (39 of 88) to PHI's 45%, 8 of 32 from three. NYK turned it over 18 times to PHI's 10. The glass went 57-36 for them. Brunson led with 22 (7 of 22, 1 of 7 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Towns added 22, Bridges 21. Q2 was theirs, 30-28, but the other 3 periods went 88-77 against them. Hart's -12 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/21 vs MIA 132-125 — NYK notes
NYK won 132-125. NYK shot 55% (47 of 85) to MIA's 47%, 20 of 38 from three, and got to the line 21 times to MIA's 35. Brunson led with 47 (15 of 26, 6 of 13 from three, 11 of 11 at the line); Bridges added 24, Anunoby 18. The hinge was Q2, 36-25: NYK came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 4. Kolek was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
12/23 @ MIN 104-115 — NYK notes
NYK lost 104-115. NYK shot 41% (41 of 99) to MIN's 45%, 11 of 30 from three, and got to the line 15 times to MIN's 23. NYK turned it over 19 times to MIN's 11, and MIN turned those into 12 steals. The glass went 55-42 for them. Towns led with 40 (14 of 24, 3 of 6 from three, 9 of 11 at the line); Kolek added 20, Bridges 15. Q3 was theirs, 27-27, but the other 3 periods went 88-77 against them. Robinson's -15 in 26 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/25 vs CLE 126-124 — NYK notes
NYK won 126-124. NYK shot 47% (44 of 94) to CLE's 52%, 21 of 44 from three. Brunson led with 34 (10 of 25, 6 of 12 from three, 8 of 10 at the line); Clarkson added 25, Kolek 16. The hinge was Q2, 37-20: NYK came in trailing by 15 and left it ahead by 2. Kolek was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
12/27 @ ATL 128-125 — NYK notes
NYK won 128-125. NYK shot 45% (43 of 95) to ATL's 48%, 15 of 43 from three. The glass went 55-37 for them. Towns led with 36 (8 of 15, 3 of 6 from three, 17 of 18 at the line); Brunson added 34, Anunoby 15. The hinge was Q2, 35-28: a lead of 6 became 13, and the lead reached 18. Robinson was the night's best plus/minus at +10.
12/29 @ NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 120, shooting 46 percent and 30 from three, 32 free throws a game; Williamson at 24 and Murphy III at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Jones (3 straight), Murray (3 straight), Jordan (29 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 121, shooting 46 percent and 40 from three, 23 free throws a game; Brunson at 34 and Towns at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without McBride (7 straight), Shamet (15 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and New Orleans minus-6 and the arc, New York at 40 percent from three to New Orleans's 30. Call it New York 119, New Orleans 118, New Orleans keeping it close.
12/31 @ SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 113, shooting 46 percent and 31 from three, 27 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 21 and Castle at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. New York comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 123, shooting 47 percent and 44 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brunson at 36 and Towns at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Hart (2 straight), Shamet (16 straight). One day's rest.
So: San Antonio wins, and the game turns on the arc, New York at 44 percent from three to San Antonio's 31 and the defense, San Antonio allowing 113 a night to New York's 123. Call it San Antonio 120, New York 116, New York keeping it close.
1/02 vs ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 125, shooting 46 percent and 42 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Towns at 24 a game. Without Hart (3 straight), Shamet (17 straight), Robinson (2 straight). One day's rest. Atlanta comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 124, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 20 free throws a game; Johnson at 26 and Alexander-Walker at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. Without Young (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-3 a night and Atlanta minus-9. Call it New York 124, Atlanta 119.
1/03 vs PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 124, shooting 45 percent and 39 from three, 23 free throws a game; Brunson at 30 and Towns at 20 a game. Without Hart (4 straight), Shamet (18 straight), Robinson (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Philadelphia comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 119, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 25 free throws a game; Embiid at 28 and Maxey at 27 a game. Without Oubre Jr. (20 straight), Watford (15 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the arc, New York at 39 percent from three to Philadelphia's 34. Call it New York 120, Philadelphia 117, Philadelphia keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NYKJB J. Brunson
JC J. Clarkson
KM K. McCullar Jr.
KT K. Towns
MB M. Bridges
MD M. Diawara
MR M. Robinson
OA O. Anunoby
TK T. Kolek
ATLAN A. Newell
DD D. Daniels
JJ J. Johnson
LK L. Kennard
NA N. Alexander-Walker
OO O. Okongwu
TY T. Young
VK V. Krejčí
ZR Z. Risacher
NYK/ATL the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Karl-Anthony Towns scores 36 and Jalen Brunson adds 34 as Knicks hold off struggling Hawks 128-125
ATLANTA -- — Karl-Anthony Towns scored a season-high 36 points with 16 rebounds, Jalen Brunson had 34 points and the New York Knicks survived Atlanta’s late comeback attempt to beat the slumping Hawks 128-125 on Saturday night.
The Hawks lost their sixth straight to wrap up a crushing 0-5 homestand. Atlanta is 5-11 overall at home.
Towns made 17 of 18 free throws while helping the Knicks take a dominant 56-38 advantage in rebounds.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker , who scored 25 points, had a steal and basket with 48 seconds remaining to give the Hawks a 125-124 lead. OG Anunoby made two free throws as the Knicks reclaimed the lead and, after he stole the ball following Trae Young 's pass, padded the lead with two more free throws.
Onyeka Okongwu led the Hawks with 31 points and 14 rebounds. Jalen Johnson recorded his 13th consecutive double-double with 20 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds before fouling out in the final minute.
The Knicks held out forward Josh Hart , who suffered a right ankle sprain in Thursday's 126-124 win over Cleveland. Guard Deuce McBride (left ankle sprain) also was inactive.
“I hope I don't have to increase guys' minutes,” said Knicks coach Mike Brown before the game. Rookie Mohamed Diawara of France was the fill-in starter for Hart.
Young, who had 30 points and seven assists in Friday night's 126-111 home loss to Miami, scored only nine points with 10 assists while playing back-to-back nights for the first time since missing 21 games with a right MCL knee sprain.
Anunoby had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who have won nine of 11 including two straight.