Brunson sinks 8 3s, scores 31 points as Knicks hold off Hunter, Hawks 126-120

By CHARLES ODUM

ATLANTA (AP) Jalen Brunson made a career-high eight 3-pointers and scored 31 points to power the New York Knicks to a 126-120 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.

Brunson made 11 of 21 shots from the field, including 8 of 12 from beyond the 3-point line. The Knicks made 20 3s.

RJ Barrett added 16 points, including two baskets in the final four minutes after Atlanta closed within two points. Barrett's jumper gave the Knicks a 118-114 lead with 2:16 remaining. Julius Randle added a 3-pointer to push the advantage to seven points.

Randle, who had 17 points, iced the win with three free throws in the final 16 seconds as the Hawks' repeated comeback attempts fell short. Randle added 12 rebounds and nine assists.

The Knicks (1-1) took a big lead of 11 points at 105-94 on a dunk by Isaiah Hartenstein. The Hawks answered with a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to one point.

Josh Hart scored for New York to stop Atlanta's run, but De'Andre Hunter, who led the Hawks (0-2) with 27 points, answered with two free throws.

Dejounte Murray and Trae Young each had 18 points for Atlanta, while Bogdan Bogdanovic added 16. Young had 12 assists but continued his poor shooting to start the season by making only 4 of 16 shots from the field. Young was 4 of 19 in Atlanta’s 116-110 season-opening loss at Charlotte on Wednesday night.

Jalen Johnson, coming off a career-high 21 points against Charlotte, provided early fireworks for Atlanta with two first-half jams. Johnson had 11 points.

Clint Capela had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawks.

UP NEXT

Knicks: Visit New Orleans on Saturday.

Hawks: Visit Milwaukee on Sunday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba