Knicks display full team effort in Game 1 win over Hawks: 'Everybody stepped up and contributed'

It was a full team effort for the Knicks on Saturday night in their 113-102 win over the Atlanta Hawks to take Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

Star point guard Jalen Brunson had it going early with 19 first-quarter points and Karl-Anthony Towns delivered in the second half with 19 of his own to finish with 25 points on the night. But it wasn't just the All-Star duo, as head coach Mike Brown gave credit to others on the team who stepped up when New York needed it in the "physical game."

"We got lifts from different guys at different times, which is what the playoffs is about," Brown said. "Everybody stepped up and contributed. OG [Anunoby] hit some big shots. Josh [Hart], 14 rebounds, it's awesome, a double-double. KAT, he hit some timely buckets for us. Mikal [Bridges] was great defensively. Jalen was good for us, especially early on when we needed to get going a little bit. And even Jordan Clarkson was good in his 11 and a half minutes off the bench. Good win by our guys."

Anunoby scored 19 points on an efficient 6-for-9 shooting, while Hart finished with 10 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, and three steals to help get the win.

Brown said he's confident in the group, knowing "anybody can get going at any time" during the game. He spoke highly of Brunson's big first quarter, but was more proud of how he played the rest of the game despite making just one field goal after the first quarter.

"We felt we have capable guys, we feel like the team is deep, and anybody can get going at any time," Brown said. "I said that before, that for us it's about sacrificing and not worrying about shots, minutes, or anything like that. Just try to go do what you can to help the team win. When you have a guy like that, not getting as many shots as most people think, just keep trying to find ways to contribute.

"He was good defensively, he was good boxing out, he was good commanding a double team... and getting it out to his teammates and letting those guys make plays. So it's something that we're going to face the entire playoffs and we just have to make sure we continue to be on point about it and try to attack them however we can."

Brunson called the victory a "grind-out game" and spoke on what it means for others to step up when he wasn't playing his best. The captain finished with 28 points, but went 9-for-22 from the field and 7-for-8 from the foul line.

"It's really important. You never know what's going to happen," Brunson said. "There's going to be highs and lows of a season, highs and lows of a game. Be able to fight through and still find a way to impact is very important for us, especially at this point of the season. No matter what, you got to think positive, got to be positive, and fight through everything."