Knicks Soar Past Hawks for First Win of the Season

It got, um, "interesting" in the final minute, but the Knicks held on to beat the Hawks 126-120 Friday night in Atlanta. 

It was an important early-season victory, considering New York dropped its season-opener on Wednesday and will take a rested Pelicans team Saturday in New Orleans before heading to Cleveland. 

The Knicks needed this one, and they got significant contributions from several sources. In fact, this is one of those games where it is difficult to determine who deserves the lion's share of the praise. 

Let's begin with Barrett. There was hope among RJ acolytes that Mr. Barrett, fresh off an impressive showing for Team Canada in the FIBA World Cup this summer, would make "the leap" in Year 5. Well, the first two games of the 2023-24 campaign have certainly been encouraging. 

After scoring 24 points vs. Boston, RJ was back at it Friday night, pouring in an efficient 26 points (9-of-15 FGs), to go along with three boards, six assists and three treys. Through New York's first two games, RJ Barrett is averaging 25.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 made three-pointers while shooting 49% from the floor, 50% from downtown and 85% from the FT stripe.

He is just the fourth Knick in franchise history to tally at least 50 points and eight assists over the first two games of a season. The other three are Patrick Ewing, Julius Randle and Richie Guerin. Barrett is the first to post those stats and slash 48/50/85%

And while the raw numbers are spectacular, the ways in which he's stockpiled the stats have been just as encouraging. There were countless times Friday night when RJ drove into the teeth of the defense and found an open teammate instead of forcing a difficult, contested shot around the rim. Barrett also seems a bit more locked in defensively (he did a solid job when matched up with Tatum on Wednesday) to start the season. This is some of the best all-around ball we've seen him play. Let's see if he can keep it up. 

Barrett isn't the only Knicks diversifying his game early on this season. In the 76 complete contests he played last season, Julius Randle attempted fewer than 10 FG's just once. Well, after an inefficient opener vs. Boston on Wednesday, Randle struggled with his touch Friday night as well. However, Julius adjusted. When defenses collapsed, he sprayed the ball all over the perimeter, setting up RJ and Brunson repeatedly for good looks. 

Randle finished the game with only 10 FG attempts but dished out a team-high nine dimes. He also ripped down 12 boards. In addition, after missing four of his five FT attempts in the season–opener, Randle clanked two of his first four freebies on Friday. However, with the game hanging in the balance due to some sloppy Knicks ball-handling down the stretch, Randle stepped to the line and drained four free throws in the final 16 seconds to secure the victory. As is often the case, there were some head-scratching moments from Randle, but ultimately, he was an important reason they secured a regular-season win.

Through his first two games, he is averaging 11.5 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 3.0 made three-pointers. According to Basketball Reference, he became the first player in NBA history with more than 20 boards, more than 15 dimes and more than five treys through the first two games of a season. (Luka Doncic joined that club late Friday night).