New York Knicks Take Flight in Atlanta, Handle Hawks Via 3-Pointer

The New York Knicks' stars got back on track on Friday, as a 30-point outing from Jalen Brunson paced a victory on the road against the Atlanta Hawks.

For the New York Knicks, there's no place like ... road.

Following a tough loss to the Boston Celtics in their 2023-24 season opener on Wednesday, the Knicks got back on track in the first chapter of a three-stage road trip, spoiling the Atlanta Hawks' home opener at State Farm Arena by a 126-120 final. 

Outside shooting led the way for New York (1-1), which hit 20 three-pointers in a single game for the eighth time in franchise history in a Friday night fracas. (four away from its all-time best set in October 2021). Jalen Brunson recovered from a shaky opener by sinking a career-best eight on a dozen attempts en route to a game-high 31 points, just ahead of RJ Barrett, who once again lit up the offensive box score with 27. 

Julius Randle (17 points, 12 rebounds) was one assist short of a triple-double while Donte DiVincenzo got on the metropolitan scoresheet for the first time with 16 off the bench on 6-of-10 from the field (including 3-of-5 from three). 

Atlanta (0-2) enjoyed double-doubles from Clint Capela (13 points, 13 rebounds) and Trae Young (18 points, 12 assists) but the latter was held to another brutal shooting night, hitting just 4-of-1. The Hawks won't have to wait long for potential revenge, as the Knicks are due back in Georgia on Nov. 15.

In the meantime, however, there's no rest for the Knicks, who immediately continue their three-game tour on Saturday night against the New Orleans Pelicans (7 p.m. ET, MSG/NBA TV).