Brunson scores 28, Randle 25, Knicks rout Hawks 122-101

ATLANTA (AP)— Jalen Brunson is on quite a streak.

The New YorkKnicks are confident it’s no fluke.

Brunsonscored 28 points, Julius Randle added 25 and theKnicks cruised into their All-Star break with their third straightvictory, blowing out the Atlanta Hawks 122-101 Wednesday night.

New Yorkmoved six games above .500 (33-27) and is brimming with confidenceabout its prospects for the remainder of the regular season.

“There’sstill 22 games left,” said RJ Barrett, who chipped in 17 points andwas among six Knicks in double figures. “We’ve got to stay thecourse.”

The courselooks promising the way Brunson is playing.

In his firstseason with the Knicks after signing a $104 million deal in freeagency, he is averaging 31.5 points over his last 10 games and 23.9for the season.

Hard tobelieve he was just a second-round pick by Dallas coming off astellar college career at Villanova, where he won a pair ofnational titles.

“He’s goodand he knows he’s good,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I don’tthink anyone is surprised by what he’s doing.”

But Brunsonis hardly content. When told what his coach had said, the26-year-old guard quickly pointed out he had five turnovers.

“Whenever Istep on the court, I try to be the best player I can be,” he said.“There’s always ways I can improve, no matter what’s going on,whether I’m playing good or bad.”

New Yorksettled this one right from the start. The Knicks never trailed,building a 24-point lead in the first half and leading by doubledigits for the final 42 minutes of the game.

The only signof life from the Hawks came late in the third quarter, when theycrept within 11.

ButObiToppinand Josh Hart connected on back-to-back 3s from thesame corner early in the fourth to push the lead back to 19.

That was itfor the Hawks, who lost their second in a row to dip below .500(29-30) in what has been a hugely disappointing season just twoyears after they reached the Eastern Conference final.

Trae Youngwas held to 19 points on 4-of-14 shooting, making just one of sixoutside the 3-point stripe. De’Andre Hunter led the Hawks with 20points.

“Wedefinitely need a break,” Young said. “I’ve got faith in my team.I’ve got trust that we can make a special run.”

Randlegrabbed 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who finished with a55-40 edge on the boards.

Thibodeaufretted before the game about his team letting up heading into theAll-Star hiatus.

“You don’twant to go on break before the break,” he said.

Instead, itwas the Hawks who sleepwalked through the contest, falling behindby double digits before the game was 5 minutes old.

New Yorkstretched the margin to 34-14 late in the first period, and theHawks never got closer than 14 the rest of the opening half.

The Knicksled by as many as 24 points and were up 66-44 at the break. Randlehad 14 points over the first two quarters, while Brunson andBarrett chipped in with 12 apiece.

ShreddingAtlanta’s defense, the Knicks knocked down 51% of their shots inthe opening half, including 9 of 26 from beyond the 3-point stripe.The Hawks, on the other hand, connected on just 1 of 15 from longrange before halftime.

TIP-INS

Knicks: NewYork improved to 8-6 since C Mitchell Robinson went down with athumb injury. Jericho Sims has stepped up to fill Robinson’s spotin the starting five, while Isaiah Hartenstein is providing solidminutes off the bench. “When someone goes out, it’s opportunity forsomeone else to step in,” Thibodeau said. “We’re getting goodproduction out of that position.” ,,, New York wrapped up itsseason series with the Hawks. Each team won twice.

Hawks:Newcomer Saddiq Bey played his first game in front of the Atlantafans after being acquired at the trade deadline. He had just 2points in 18 1/2 minutes. ... The Hawks finished 5 of 26 on3-pointers. ... John Collins left in the third quarter after takingan elbow the face.