Atlanta finishes Summer League 0-5 after 90-82 loss to New York Knicks

It was the final game of the NBA Summer League for the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks, and the Hawks came into the game without a win so far. They were without first-round pick Zaccharie Risacher for a third straight game, as well as Nikola Durisic, Kobe Bufkin and Mouhamed Gueye. EJ Liddell also did not play in the game.

After starting the game well, the Hawks fell behind and never caught up, despite a close game in the final two minutes. Keaton Wallace had another breakout performance, arguably the Hawks’ best player this summer. Wallace finished with 23 points, nine assists and six rebounds. His 23 points were the game’s best. Jonathan Bowden scored 16 points, Dylan Windler had 14 and Miles Norris had 12 points in his first game of the summer. The Hawks shot 35 percent from the field and 33 percent from three-point range.

Atlanta had turnover issues again today, turning the ball over 17 times. They also weren’t able to produce much ball as a substitute.

It was an up-and-down Summer League for Atlanta, but now it’s over.

Let’s recap the Hawks’ latest performance in today’s Summer League.

Here’s the Hawks’ starting lineup. Bowden and Norris got their first Summer League starts.

G-Keaton Wallace

G-Jordan Bowden

F-Dylan Windler

F-Miles Norris

C-Rob Baker

After slow starts in the last two games, the Hawks turned things around today with a much better start. Atlanta jumped out to a 13-2 lead early in the first quarter on three-point shooting. The Knicks responded with a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to six points, but the Hawks rallied and led 20-11 with 2:38 left in the first quarter. After the timeout, the Knicks scored five straight points and the lead suddenly fell to four points.

After the first quarter, the Hawks led 21-18. Atlanta shot 35 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range. Keaton Wallace scored seven points in the first quarter and Windler had six.

New York shot 35 percent from the field and 22 percent from three-point range. Rookie point guard Tyler Kolek scored six points.

Despite the Hawks’ strong start, they didn’t shoot well in the second quarter. New York started the quarter on an 8-1 run and continued to build from there. The Hawks’ offense cooled off and the Knicks found their three-point shot. With 5:43 left in the first half, New York now led Atlanta 33-26.

While the Knicks took the lead early in the second half, the Hawks didn’t let them escape the game and fought until the end of the quarter. New York led 43-38 at halftime.

At halftime, Atlanta was shooting 35 percent from the field and 29 percent from three-point range. Keaton Wallace led the scorer with 13 points and also had five rebounds and six assists. New York shot 41 percent from the field and 30 percent from three-point range in the first half. No Knick scored more than 10 points.

The third quarter was a close game that didn’t see the lead get too big, but the Hawks couldn’t make a big enough run to really get close. Wallace was quiet in the third quarter, but Miles Norris was strong as a backup and both he and Windler reached double figures in the third quarter. The two teams continued to trade baskets throughout the quarter and New York led 67-60 heading into the final quarter of Summer League play for both teams.

The fourth quarter went the same way, and Atlanta ran out of time to score. Keaton Wallace hit a three-pointer to cut the lead from six to three with 2:48 left.

The Knicks came out of the timeout and made a three-pointer to push their lead back to six points, but Wallace answered for the Hawks with a three-pointer to cut the lead back to three points. New York moved the ball down the court and fouled the Hawks, but they only split the win and the score was 84-80 with less than two minutes left. Atlanta then committed a costly turnover to get the ball back to New York and they made a three-pointer to cut the lead back to seven points with 1:16 left in the game. Windler answered with a basket to cut the lead to five points, then the Knicks turned the ball over. Atlanta had a chance to make something happen with 57.5 seconds left in the game.

Instead of capitalizing on that opportunity, the Hawks turned the ball over, leading to New York scoring a three-pointer to make it 90-82 and the game was over. Atlanta finished Summer League winless after struggling against the Knicks today.