NEW YORK — In their first Christmas Day game since 1989, the shorthanded Hawks lost to the Knicks 101-87 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
Next up, the Hawks (15-17) will host the Bulls on Monday at State Farm Arena.
Below are some takeaways from the loss:
1. Trae Young, Onyeka Okongwu, Lou Williams, Kevin Huerter, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Wes Iwundu, Danilo Gallinari and Sharife Cooper all missed this game in health and safety protocols, still sidelined with COVID-19. It’s disappointing for the Hawks to be so short-handed in what was expected to be an exciting rematch of last season’s first-round playoff series, which the Hawks won in five games. In particular, Young’s absence took some of the thrill from the matchup, given his dominant performance in that series (that didn’t stop the Madison Square Garden crowd from chanting some disparaging remarks about Young, however). Despite a plethora of absences, the Hawks still fielded a solid starting lineup of Delon Wright, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Cam Reddish, John Collins and Clint Capela, though the bench was thin, with Skylar Mays, Jalen Johnson and Gorgui Dieng available, plus Lance Stephenson, Malcolm Hill, Cat Barber and Malik Ellison (added on 10-day hardship exceptions to fill out the roster). The Hawks bench amassed 23 points, to 38 points from the Knicks bench.
2. COVID-19 still left the Hawks’ roster depleted, but Capela cleared health and safety protocols Saturday morning, decreasing the Hawks’ total number of players in protocols to eight. Against a much deeper, healthier team, that gave the Hawks another big man in the paint, and though Capela (six points, nine rebounds, two blocks) struggled to score in his first game back, the Knicks largely burned the Hawks from the perimeter.
3. The Knicks (15-18) started 5-for-5 from 3-point range in the first quarter, jumping to a 19-3 early lead on the Hawks, though a scrappy performance from Delon Wright (season-high 20 points, plus four rebounds, three steals and two assists) helped keep the Hawks in it until the game got away from them toward the end of the third quarter. The Knicks kept up a rigorous 3-point shooting pace — New York came in averaging 13.3 3-pointers per game, but shot 40% from beyond the arc (20-50), getting plenty of open looks. The Hawks didn’t have enough shooters available (they sorely missed Young’s scoring, explosiveness and ability to command the offense in the pick-and-roll), shooting 37.9% from the field and 34.2% from 3-point range (13-38), with Capela and Bogdanovic combining to go 4-for-19 from the field.
“I thought we over-helped (on defense),” Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. “I thought there were some times when we were in front of the ball, but our defense collapsed and (Julius) Randle does a good job of jumping and passing. And he’s kicking out to the perimeter with over-helps, and they were just really lining up and knocking down 3′s. We’ve got to read in situations like that.”
4. Amid the COVID-19 outbreak on the team this week, the lack of personnel available may have caught up to the Hawks in this one. McMillan said he didn’t see a lack of effort or energy from the team, but that some players are simply tired, having to carry a heavier load than usual with so many go-to players in health and safety protocols.
“It wasn’t a lack of energy,” McMillan said. “I think our guys are tired. They’ve been logging a lot of minutes. (Collins), Cam, those guys have been playing a lot of minutes without our guys in rotation. So I don’t think it was a lack of energy as much as it was just, it was a grinding game in Philadelphia, coming off of a back-to-back, and then it was a physical game today. We had two, three guys ask for a sub, and that’s never happened. I don’t think it was a lack of effort.”
5. It might not have looked like what the Hawks were hoping for, a highly anticipated Christmas Day game with all their weapons available, but it’s still significant for them to play on that big a stage. This marked their first game on Christmas since 1989.
Stat of the game: 20 (how many 3-pointers the Knicks, dominating from 3-point range)
Star of the game: Kemba Walker. He became the first Knick to post a triple-double on Christmas Day, with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.
Quotable: “It’s tough. This is a life-long dream for me coming true, obviously I wish I would have played better and we won this game. I’ve been watching Christmas games my entire life. ... No excuses, right, we go out there and compete, but that’s tough. You’ve got to be strong, mentally strong.” -- Collins, who had 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks, on the Hawks missing eight players in protocols for the game
