Hawks HC Quin Snyder gives Knicks credit for Game 4 aggression

The Atlanta Hawks were routed 114-98 by the New York Knicks in Game 4 on Saturday evening at State Farm Arena. The loss evened the first-round playoff series at 2-2, with Atlanta head coach Quin Snyder crediting New York’s defensive intensity as a deciding factor.

“We got stagnant,” said Snyder. “You got to give them credit, their aggressiveness on the defensive end… a team that got after it. It’s not like we didn’t compete, but we didn’t compete enough to win this game.”

The Knicks took control early and maintained it throughout. Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a playoff triple-double, finishing with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, becoming just the fourth player in franchise postseason history to accomplish this feat. OG Anunoby led all scorers with 22 points and added 10 rebounds, while Jalen Brunson contributed 19 points, including three 3-pointers. New York hit 14 shots from beyond the arc and built a double-digit halftime lead before extending it to as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter.

The Hawks were undone by cold shooting and a lack of composure with the ball. Atlanta finished the first quarter just 3-of-12 from three-point range and committed 12 turnovers in the first half compared to 11 assists. CJ McCollum led the Hawks with 17 points, his lowest output of the series, while Jalen Johnson scored 14 points on inefficient shooting, including a 3-of-10 stretch at one point. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the league’s Most Improved Player, provided 15 points, and Dyson Daniels grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

The Knicks’ physical approach showed early, targeting mismatches and attacking the paint, while also forcing Atlanta into contested jumpers. New York benefited from turnovers and maintained spacing and ball movement, preventing any sustained Hawks comeback. Even when Atlanta reduced the gap to eight early in the third quarter, the Knicks answered with scoring bursts to rebuild a double-digit lead, stretching it to 86-65 by the start of the fourth.

The result was the Hawks’ most one-sided loss of the series. With the series now reduced to a best-of-three, Game 5 is scheduled for Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, where New York holds home-court advantage.

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