Four stitches in his top lip, the bottom lip busted as well, couldn’t stop John Collins from enjoying the Hawks pummeling the Knicks in Game 4, 113-96, Sunday at State Farm Arena.
Injured in the third quarter when battling Julius Randle at the rim (the play was called an offensive foul on Randle after a challenge from interim coach Nate McMillan), Collins was actually able to come back in the game after receiving medical attention. But the Hawks didn’t need much more from him at that point. They entered the fourth quarter with a 17-point lead and went up 26 with 3:05 left, with starters done for the day.
Both Collins and the Hawks overall successfully matched the Knicks’ physical style of play while not forgetting their own offensive game, one of skill and shooting depth. That’s helped them to a 3-1 lead in the series, a chance to finish it off with Game 5 set for Wednesday in New York.
“We have so many guys that are skilled with the basketball and we have great chemistry with each other… I feel like the sky’s the limit with this team when we do the right things,” Collins said.
He added after the game that he’s feeling OK, and just has to wait for his lip to heal up.
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
In his best game of the series, Collins finished with 22 points and eight rebounds, shooting 6-10 from the field, 2-3 from 3-point range and 8-8 from the line. He had just two fouls in his 28 minutes of play. He continues to help the Hawks’ throw Randle off his game — even though Randle led the Knicks with 23 points and added 10 rebounds for a double-double Sunday, he hasn’t been a difference-maker in this series.
Also taking his Game 3 performance into consideration (14 points, six rebounds, two assists), Collins has successfully bounced back from a rough Game 2, a 101-92 Hawks loss, when he couldn’t stay on the floor due to foul trouble (five fouls in a scoreless 15 minutes). The Hawks often look their best when getting Collins involved offensively.
“When he’s out on the floor, it just helps us so much, because he gives us that versatility to spread the floor, as well as play inside and attack,” interim coach Nate McMillan said. “(Sunday), again, defending for us, providing that scoring, rebounding, we need him out on the floor. A solid job.”
The Hawks got off to a jittery start, jacking up 3′s in the first quarter at a 2-12 rate. After a back-and-forth first half, they settled down, keeping up the defensive pressure as shots started to fall. A monster third quarter (35-22) put them’ firmly in the driver’s seat, as they continued to drain 3′s (5-9 from 3-point range in that period).
Collins had a great stretch in the third where he hit a turnaround jumper over Randle late in the shot clock, then follow it up with a 3-pointer to put the Hawks up 14, as they started to pull away.
It was one of Collins’ best games of the season, wing Bogdan Bogdanovic told him after the game.
“The way he was controlling himself the whole game, and he knew the game was going to come to him,” Bogdanovic said. “I’m sure he didn’t play the way he wanted to play first couple games, but he was calm and he was pretty confident, knowing what he was doing, and he got a rhythm back. We need him and that’s why we won, with this difference.”
Bogdanovic added 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Trae Young led the Hawks with 27 points and nine assists. Clint Capela had 10 points and 15 rebounds for a double-double, and Danilo Gallinari added 21 points off the bench.
About the Author
