NEW YORK, NY — Dominican-American superstar Karl-Anthony Towns delivered another dominant all-around performance and Jalen Brunson continued his torrid scoring stretch as the New York Knicks survived a late rally to defeat the Atlanta Hawks 128–125 on Saturday night.
Playing shorthanded and missing several key rotation players, the Knicks leaned heavily on their stars early and found timely contributions from their young bench to earn their second straight road win, improving to 22–9 on the season. New York currently owns the second-best record in the Eastern Conference and is tied for the fourth-best mark in the NBA.
Towns finished with 36 points and 16 rebounds, drawing a season-high 18 free throw attempts while controlling the game on both ends of the floor.
He dictated the tempo offensively, showing patience and poise while avoiding foul trouble and anchoring New York’s half-court offense throughout the night.
Brunson added 34 points and five assists, delivering several clutch baskets late in the fourth quarter to keep the Knicks afloat during Atlanta’s push. The All-Star guard is now averaging 32.6 points over his last 10 games, a stretch in which New York has gone 9–1.
Even on the road, Brunson’s presence was unmistakable, as Knicks fans in attendance turned State Farm Arena into “MSG 2.0,” showering their captain with MVP chants throughout the night.
Kevin McCullar Jr. was surprisingly the first player off the bench for head coach Mike Brown, and he provided an unexpected spark, turning in the best performance of his young NBA career. The second-year guard scored a career-high 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and knocked down three three-pointers. His signature moment came when he dove out of bounds to save a loose ball on an offensive rebound, then relocated to the corner and buried a three. McCullar’s energy, physicality, and defensive versatility earned him team Defensive Player of the Game honors.
Selected 56th overall after a season-ending injury at Kansas derailed his draft stock, McCullar had been widely projected as a first-round pick for much of the 2024 NBA Draft cycle. Viewed as a plug-and-play contributor at the college level, his performance against Atlanta strengthened the case for increased minutes moving forward.
“I thought our young guys stepped up,” Brown said. “Kevin was huge for us. We threw him out there, put him on different guys—had to guard Trae Young after playing in the G League all year. He’s our DPOG. If you go to Webster’s, you’d see a couple of his plays under ‘verticality.’ He was awesome.”
McCullar credited teammate Josh Hart as a major influence on his development, stating, “That’s my big bro on the team for sure. His energy is contagious. I learned a lot from him over the last year.”
OG Anunoby delivered in the closing moments despite a quiet offensive night. He scored nine of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and made multiple winning plays down the stretch. After Atlanta briefly took a 125–124 lead, Anunoby responded with two free throws, a steal on Trae Young, two more free throws, and a key defensive rebound to seal the victory.
“OG’s an All-Star if he wants to be,” Brown noted. “His size, length, strength, athleticism—his feel—he can do so much. He didn’t shoot the ball well and still had 15 and 10. That’s attainable for him nightly. He was awesome in the clutch.”
OG Anunoby was clutch on both ends of the floor Saturday night in Atlanta, helping secure a 128-125 win for the Knicks – Image Credit: NBA
Young struggled offensively for Atlanta, finishing with nine points on 2-for-10 shooting while committing five turnovers. The Hawks fell to 15–18 and remained winless since Young’s return from injury with the loss as it was evident he wanted no part in guarding Brunson on the night and New York exploited that matchup each time.
The Knicks will continue their road trip Monday night in New Orleans, encouraged by another resilient performance that highlighted both their star power and rapidly developing depth.
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