One of the loudest cheers during the Knicks’ playoff-opening win over the Atlanta Hawks was not in response to a highlight-worthy play.
It didn’t follow an impressive dunk or a crucial 3-pointer.
No, this roar occurred when Mitchell Robinson made a free throw a little more than midway through the Knicks’ 113-102 victory at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
With 5:44 left in the third quarter, the Hawks began to deploy “Hack-a-Mitch” — a strategy in which they intentionally fouled the game-wrecking Robinson, a 40.8% free-throw shooter, to send him to the line.
Robinson had checked in exactly one second earlier.
It’s a gamble teams have repeatedly taken against the Knicks during recent playoff runs: Force Robinson to shoot free throws, and hope he doesn’t make them.
The fans know this, which is why they responded so favorably to Robinson splitting his attempts during his first trip to the line, which gave the Knicks a 71-63 lead.
But less than a minute later, Atlanta intentionally fouled Robinson again. And when he missed both free throws, Knicks head coach Mike Brown removed Robinson for the final 4:49 of the third quarter.
“They were close to the bonus, so that’s something that we measure,” Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said afterward. “He’s a very impactful player, so we had an opportunity to do that and decided it made sense.”
While those were the only two instances the Hawks used “Hack-a-Mitch” on Saturday, it’s something the Knicks will need to navigate in these playoffs once again.
When he’s on the floor, 7-foot Robinson offers rare production as a rebounder and rim protector.
But Robinson shot just 18-for-46 (39.1%) on free throws during last year’s playoff series against the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics, both of whom also intentionally fouled the standout center.
“We will see how the game goes and we’ll leave him in until we think we need to make a sub,” Brown said. “And whenever we feel like we need to make a sub, we will. But we’re going to give him a chance.”
The moves come with risk for the Hawks, too, beyond the fact that they’re giving Robinson opportunities for free points.
Atlanta plays at the fifth-fastest tempo in the NBA, and repeatedly sending the Knicks to the line slows down the pace of the game dramatically.
“That’s what you’re weighing on some level,” Snyder said.
Robinson returned for the start of Saturday’s fourth quarter and played four more minutes, during which he delivered an alley-oop dunk.
He finished with three points, four rebounds and two blocks in 15 minutes off the bench, during which he was a +5.
OG OK
The Knicks endured their share of injury scares in Saturday’s win — none bigger than when OG Anunoby rolled his left ankle with 7:39 left in the third quarter.
As he pulled up for a jumper, Anunoby stepped on the foot of C.J. McCollum, causing the Knicks forward’s ankle to bend awkwardly. It was the same ankle Anunoby injured eight days earlier.
Anunoby limped to the bench, but he never went to the locker room.
And less than two minutes later, Anunoby returned to the game to chants of “OG, OG,” as Knicks fans unleashed a big sigh of relief.
“It’s OK,” Anunoby said. “I just rolled it.”
Anunoby scored four of his 18 points after checking back in with 5:39 remaining in the third — including a breakaway dunk late in the quarter on an outlet pass from Jalen Brunson.
He finished 6-of-9 from the field, including 2-of-3 on 3-pointers, and added eight rebounds.
Saturday’s game was Anunoby’s first since he hurt that ankle on April 10 against the Toronto Raptors. He missed the second half of that win in Toronto, then sat out with the rest of the Knicks’ starters in the regular-season finale.
Meanwhile on Saturday, Karl-Anthony Towns took an elbow to the head in the second quarter, leaving him in visible discomfort.
And early in the third, Brunson was left writhing in pain when McCollum kicked him in the groin while following through on a jumper. McCollum was charged with a technical foul for the incident.
“It wasn’t purposeful,” Brunson said, “so we move forward.”
C.J.’s A-GAME
Five years ago, Trae Young tormented the Knicks in the first round of the NBA playoffs, solidifying his status as an all-time New York sports villain.
On Saturday night, Young’s replacement did his best impression.
McCollum, whom the Hawks acquired in the January trade that sent Young to the Washington Wizards, led Atlanta with 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting, including 4-of-9 on 3-pointers.
The 34-year-old scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the first half alone, repeatedly finding space in the Knicks’ defense with crafty moves.
McCollum’s expiring contract was needed to facilitate the Young trade, but the veteran guard is proving to be much more than a throw-in.
“In C.J.’s case, we talked early on about him coming off the bench, and the reason for that was Nickeil [Alexander-Walker], who’d been a sixth man with some injuries, is starting and playing well,” Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said before Game 1.
“I felt like I didn’t want to adjust that at that point, and I asked C.J. to come off the bench, and he was unbelievable. And then obviously sometime later we decided to start him. But I think that sacrifice, in and of itself, is not lost on your teammates.”
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