NBA Player News

New York will lose two key reserves for Friday’s tilt, which means Ariel Hukporti and Jose Alvarado should be in line for additional minutes.

Anunoby had a tough night at the foul line, and every point makes a difference in a game the Knicks lost by one point. There was an injury scare during the second half, but it appeared to be nothing more than Karl-Anthony Towns stepping on Anunoby’s left foot. After spraining his left ankle during Game 1, he played 38 minutes on Monday. He should play similar minutes in Thursday’s Game 3, with the series tied at one game apiece.

Hart has recorded double-doubles in each of the Knicks’ first two games of this postseason, while also doing an admirable job of defending Atlanta star forward Jalen Johnson. In Game 2, the Knicks forward’s stat line was missing only a blocked shot, and he shot nearly 50 percent from the field. Hart and the Knicks will look to regain the momentum when the series shifts to Atlanta for Game 3 on Thursday.

Despite shooting nearly 67 percent from the field, Towns only attempted 12 shots in Game 2. That’s one less than his total in Game 1, but that 25-point effort was supplemented by a 10-of-10 night at the foul line. Towns did not attempt a free throw on Monday, and the Knicks need to do a better job of ensuring that he’s getting his touches. Atlanta does not have the size to deal with Towns, especially with Jock Landale (ankle) unavailable, but that doesn’t matter if the Knicks don’t look to exploit the advantage.

Brunson may have scored 29 points, but the Hawks made him work for every one. The Knicks’ guard needed 26 field-goal attempts, and he shot 6-of-16 from inside the arc. No other Knick attempted more than 12 shots, something that cannot happen if New York is to play deep into the postseason. Now with the series tied at one game apiece, the scene shifts to Atlanta for Game 3 on Thursday.

A game-time call for Game 2 due to right knee inflammation, Okongwu was able to play 30 minutes without any issues. And he held his own against New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns, grabbing as many rebounds while scoring three fewer points. For the Hawks to win this series, they’ll need Okongwu to hold serve more often than not against KAT, which he is certainly capable of doing. Game 3 is on Thursday in Atlanta.

New York’s Josh Hart has been solid defensively against Johnson in the first two games of this series, but the Hawks’ forward shot the ball better than he did in Game 1. After shooting 8-of-19 from the field in Game 1, Johnson made 50 percent of his attempts in Game 2. Add in the rebounds, and this was a solid effort on a night when the Hawks received key contributions from multiple players. It would be unsurprising if Johnson had a big night in Game 3 on Thursday after Atlanta grabbed the momentum with its comeback in Game 2.

Kuminga’s play in Game 2 was one of the underlying reasons why the Hawks came back to even the series. The Hawks’ forward shot 6-of-8 from inside the arc, and his defensive ability allowed Atlanta to keep Dyson Daniels (6/4/2/2/1) on the bench in crunch time. As a result, there was no one on the court the Knicks could hide Jalen Brunson or Karl-Anthony Towns on defensively, which factored into CJ McCollum taking over late. Kuminga played 35 minutes on Monday, and that may also be the case for Game 3 on Thursday.

McCollum and the Hawks appeared headed for a 0-2 deficit, but an elite fourth quarter on both ends of the floor shifted the series momentum to Atlanta. While he did miss two free throws with 5.6 seconds remaining that would have extended the Hawks’ lead to three, McCollum was outstanding throughout Game 2. Productive enough to keep the visitors within striking distance during the third quarter, McCollum was the main reason why the Hawks walked down the Knicks in the fourth. Game 3 is on Thursday in Atlanta.

Effective in 20 minutes in Game 1, Murray-Boyles played 26 minutes in Game 2. And the rookie replaced Jakob Poeltl (two points, four rebounds and one assist) in the lineup to begin the third quarter, with the veteran center not playing at all after halftime. While there is a need for Poeltl’s size, he was ineffective in Toronto’s first two games. We should see a lot more of Murray-Boyles and Sandro Mamukelashvili (12/10/2/1 with one three-pointer) in Thursday’s Game 3 as the Raptors look to avoid falling into a 0-3 hole.

The good news for Ingram in Game 2 is that he got more shots than he did in Saturday’s series opener. The bad was that he struggled mightily, shooting 20 percent from the field. Even a marginally better version of Ingram would have been enough to give the Raptors a chance to steal Game 2, much less the All-Star version the team received for most of the regular season. It goes without saying that Ingram must be better if Toronto is to have a chance of winning this series. Game 3 is on Thursday in Toronto.