Jalen Brunson, Knicks fall short in brutal late-game collapse against Hawks

ATLANTA — The Knicks and Jalen Brunson again failed when it mattered most. Finishing up a long road trip in terrible fashion, the Knicks were outscored by 10 points in the final 2:12 and fell Wednesday to the Hawks, 121-116, at State Farm Arena. Brunson, coming off his dud at the end of Monday’s loss to the Rockets, was part of the collapse again.He managed just four points in the fourth quarter, unable to counter the strong finish by Trae Young. It was a tight game throughout and a sloppy end as the struggling Knicks (3-4) wrapped up a 2-2 road trip.

They were leading by five after a trey by Karl-Anthony Towns with three minutes remaining, their biggest advantage of the second half.Then they missed on two straight possessions before Brunson hit one of two free throws to give the Knicks a one-point lead with 80 seconds left. With the Knicks trailing by one on probably the game’s most important possession, Brunson had an open 3-pointer when isolated against Atlanta’s Clint Capela.

But he hesitated and dished it to the corner for a contested trey from Towns, who bricked it. Atlanta got the rebound, dunked in transition and never looked back. “I hope the New York fans exited really, really quick,” Young said after Knicks fans tried to take over the arena. Brunson was locked up by defensive specialist Dyson Daniels, a rangy guard with quickness and size at 6-foot-5.His first half was ride on the struggle bus with three turnovers, zero assists and eight points on 3 of 8 shooting.

As a ball-dominant scorer who often requires time and several dribbles to get his shot, the ball moved better when pass-first rookie Tyler Kolek was at point guard. The 29 overall assists accumulated by the Knicks followed their offensive dud in Monday’s loss to Houston, where Josh Hart lamented the “stagnant” offense. “Offensively, we have to be more decisive, more in tune with the game,” Hart said.“Teams see that they’re going to think that’s the bluepr...