Game ID: 22500479
Atlanta Hawks @ New York Knicks
Friday, January 2, 2026 at 7:30 PM ET
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NYK 30 17 23 29 99ATL 33 27 34 17 111
ATL @ NYK ScoutingATL @ 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.
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
NYK availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restOUT Hart missed 5 since 12/27, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 19 since 11/24, out tonight
BACK McBride back 12/29 after 7, 26 min since (112% of 24)
BACK Robinson back 1/03 after 3, 19 min since (103% of 18)
NYK availability going into 1/07 · 1 day's restOUT Hart missed 6 since 12/27, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 20 since 11/24, out tonight
BACK McBride back 12/29 after 7, 26 min since (111% of 24)
BACK Robinson back 1/03 after 3, 22 min since (119% of 18)
NYK availability going into 1/09 · 1 day's restOUT Hart missed 7 since 12/27, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 21 since 11/24, out tonight
BACK Robinson back 1/03 after 3, 23 min since (124% of 18)
NEW McBride 24 to 29 min over the last 5
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)
ATL availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restBACK Porziņģis back 12/31 after 10, 17 min since (71% of 24)
ATL availability going into 1/07 · 1 day's restBACK Porziņģis back 12/31 after 10, 18 min since (75% of 24)
NEW Krejčí 22 to 28 min over the last 5
ATL availability going into 1/09 · 1 day's restBACK Porziņģis back 12/31 after 10, 19 min since (79% of 24)
NEW Risacher 22 to 27 min over the last 5
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.
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 130-125 — NYK notes
NYK won 130-125. NYK shot 48% (46 of 95) to NOP's 46%, 20 of 44 from three, and got to the line 19 times to NOP's 27. Brunson led with 28 (10 of 23, 5 of 10 from three); Anunoby added 23, Diawara 18. The hinge was Q4, 34-22: NYK came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 5. NYK trailed 72-75 at the half and won the second half 58-50. Anunoby was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
12/31 @ SAS 132-134 — NYK notes
NYK lost 132-134. NYK shot 48% (46 of 96) to SAS's 49%, 22 of 52 from three, and got to the line 20 times to SAS's 40. Brunson led with 29 (10 of 24, 5 of 12 from three); McBride added 21, Towns 20. Q1 was theirs, 45-36, but the other 3 periods went 98-87 against them. They led by as many as 19. Anunoby's -25 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/02 vs ATL 99-111 — NYK notes
NYK lost 99-111. NYK took 9 more shots (97 to 88), fed by 14 offensive rebounds, but shot 37% to ATL's 48%, 9 of 42 from three. Brunson led with 24 (10 of 23, 1 of 8 from three); Anunoby added 19, Bridges 18. Q4 was theirs, 29-17, the deficit cut from 24 to 12, but the other 3 periods went 94-70 against them. Clarkson's -15 in 14 minutes was the worst on the floor.
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.
1/05 @ DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 115, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 26 free throws a game; Cunningham at 28 and Duren at 14 a game. Without Harris (2 straight), LeVert (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 125, shooting 44 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; Brunson at 29 and Towns at 23 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Hart (5 straight), Shamet (19 straight). One day's rest.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Detroit giving it away 17 times a game to New York's 12 and the defense, Detroit allowing 115 a night to New York's 125. Call it Detroit 119, New York 117, New York keeping it close.
1/07 vs LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 124, shooting 44 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Brunson at 27 and McBride at 17 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Hart (6 straight), Shamet (20 straight). One day's rest. The Clippers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 25 free throws a game; Leonard at 36 and Harden at 22 a game. Without Bogdanović (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, the Clippers allowing 108 a night to New York's 124 and the glass, where the Clippers have been minus-1 a night and New York minus-6. Call it the Clippers 116, New York 115, New York keeping it close.
1/09 @ PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 107, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Booker at 26 and Brooks at 19 a game. Without Green (27 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 121, shooting 44 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Brunson at 27 and Towns at 17 a game. Without Hart (7 straight), Shamet (21 straight). One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the defense, Phoenix allowing 107 a night to New York's 121 and the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-2 a night and New York minus-3. Call it Phoenix 117, New York 112.
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 129-140 — ATL notes
ATL lost 129-140. ATL shot 47% (46 of 97) to OKC's 54%, 25 of 54 from three, and got to the line 17 times to OKC's 23. The glass went 38-49 against them. Alexander-Walker led with 30 (11 of 24, 6 of 14 from three); Okongwu added 26, Krejčí 18. Q1 was theirs, 38-35, but the other 3 periods went 105-91 against them. They led by as many as 10. Risacher's -27 in 23 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/31 vs MIN 126-102 — ATL notes
ATL won 126-102. ATL shot 49% (51 of 104) to MIN's 43%, 16 of 42 from three. ATL turned it over 8 times to MIN's 14. Johnson led with 34 (15 of 22, 3 of 6 from three); Okongwu added 17, Porziņģis 16. The hinge was Q2, 37-23: a lead of 7 became 21, and the lead reached 34. Porziņģis was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
1/02 @ NYK 111-99 — ATL notes
ATL won 111-99. ATL shot 48% (42 of 88) to NYK's 37%, 12 of 36 from three. Alexander-Walker led with 23 (9 of 20, 3 of 10 from three); Okongwu added 23, Johnson 18. The hinge was Q3, 34-23: a lead of 13 became 24. Krejčí was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
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.
1/05 @ 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 120 a night and allowing 119, shooting 45 percent and 30 from three, 24 free throws a game; Ingram at 26 and Barrett at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Poeltl (6 straight). One day's rest. Atlanta comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 121, shooting 48 percent and 41 from three, 21 free throws a game; Johnson at 26 and Alexander-Walker at 24 a game. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest.
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 41 percent from three to Toronto's 30. Call it Toronto 120, Atlanta 117, Atlanta keeping it close.
1/07 vs NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 119, shooting 46 percent and 40 from three, 20 free throws a game; Johnson at 24 and Alexander-Walker at 22 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 124, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 20 free throws a game; Murphy III at 26 and Williamson at 25 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Bey (3 straight), Murray (8 straight), Jordan (34 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Atlanta wins, and the game turns on the arc, Atlanta at 40 percent from three to New Orleans's 33 and the glass, where New Orleans has been plus-0 a night and Atlanta minus-5. Call it Atlanta 123, New Orleans 114.
1/09 @ DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 115, shooting 46 percent and 39 from three, 25 free throws a game; Murray at 26 and Watson at 24 a game. It has lost the glass by 11 a night. Without Jokić (5 straight), Johnson (8 straight). One day's rest. Atlanta comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 111, shooting 46 percent and 38 from three, 20 free throws a game; Johnson at 23 and Alexander-Walker at 19 a game. One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Atlanta has been minus-1 a night and Denver minus-11 and the turnovers, Atlanta giving it away 14 times a game to Denver's 10. Call it Denver 118, Atlanta 115, Atlanta keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NYKAH A. Hukporti
GY G. Yabusele
JB J. Brunson
JC J. Clarkson
KM K. McCullar Jr.
MB M. Bridges
MD M. Diawara
MM M. McBride
OA O. Anunoby
PD P. Dadiet
TJ T. Jemison III
TK T. Kolek
ATLAN A. Newell
DD D. Daniels
JJ J. Johnson
KP K. Porziņģis
KR Krejci
LK L. Kennard
NA N. Alexander-Walker
OO O. Okongwu
PO Porzingis
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
Johnson has another triple-double and the Hawks beat the Knicks 111-99
NEW YORK -- — Jalen Johnson had 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in his seventh triple-double of the season, leading the Atlanta Hawks to a 111-99 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 23 points and Onyeka Okongwu had 22 for the Hawks, while both Zaccharie Risacher and Luke Kennard scored 12.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 24 points. OG Anunoby had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Mikal Bridges added 18 points.
Ariel Hukporti , who replaced Karl-Anthony Towns (illness) in the starting lineup, grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds for New York.
The Knicks got off to a quick start, taking an 11-2 lead. Trailing 30-29, the Hawks scored the final four points of the first quarter and never trailed again.
Atlanta extended its lead to 60-45 on Okongwu’s short jumper with 1:16 remaining in the second quarter before Brunson’s runner cut the Knicks’ deficit to 60-47 at halftime.
Alexander-Walker’s driving layup with 1:14 left in the third quarter gave the Hawks their biggest lead of the game at 94-68 and they were ahead 94-70 at the end of the quarter.
The Knicks scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter and pulled within 94-81 before Kennard connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to end the streak.
New York mounted a final rally following consecutive 3-pointers by Bridges to edge within 108-99, but never got any closer.
The Hawks, who have won two in a row following a season-high, seven-game losing streak, became the first team to hold the Knicks to fewer than 100 points this season.
Atlanta's Trae Young (bruised right quadriceps) and Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (left ankle injury management) each missed their third straight games.