The Knicks were already missing from the center of Mitchell Robinson, who could undergo hand surgery this week.
Their new home center, Nerlens Noel, received three early fouls. Taj Gibson Reserve was booked four fouls in the second quarter.
Atlanta made 25 free throws in the first half. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau briefly went with his alternative plan to use Julius Randle in the center and rookie Obi Toppin before power.
It is not an ideal team, especially against the center of Atlanta, Clint Capela, who finished with 15 points and 18 rebounds.
Fortunately for the Knicks, Noel came back to put a second grind on the background amid massive mistakes while the Knicks moved 2-0 since Robinson’s injury.
In the third quarter, the Hawks joined 72-66 before the Knicks held a 23-11 round. It was a race that Noel helped ignite when he made two straight blocks – one on Skylar Mays, the other on Kevin Huerter, the Albany native who fought hard (2 of 12).
“I was worried,” Thibodeau said of his centers’ wrong problems. “We talked about how I attract mistakes. It was called tight and we had to adapt. I thought Nerlens was great. It’s not an easy match. ”
The score for Noel did not necessarily go down, but he did all the defensive work that allowed the Knicks to get through. And he did this by playing through five fouls, lifting his fifth with 8:36 left.
Noel scored six points (3 of 3 from the field), adding three blocks, two steals and four rebounds, finishing a plus-17 in 27 minutes.
Gibson only scored one point in 16 minutes, but it was painful one night. Toppin was mostly a non-factor in 11 minutes.
Hawks’ Trae Young-led attack was thwarted in the fourth quarter of 28-22.
“Pick-and-roll coverage is huge when you play that team,” Thibodeau said. “You have to commit to the ball and commit to return, to commit to rejection. It takes a lot of effort. You can’t relax for a second. The chapel presses you, [John] Collins puts pressure on you, and Young has a job to do. Those guys looked at a lot of choices. I defended some of them extremely well. Some not as good as we liked. But I had a great effort from both centers. ”