Knicks’ Mike Brown reveals biggest lesson learned from Game 2 loss to Hawks

The New York Knicks are heading to Atlanta for Game 3 against the Hawks as the series is tied 1-1. The Knicks were in the driver’s seat for most of Game 2 until down the stretch of the fourth quarter, when they let go of the rope. The Hawks were down as much as 12 points in the fourth, and they found a way to expose the Knicks on both sides of the ball to ultimately come back and win the game.

Of course, there is a lot of criticism being thrown around on the Knicks’ side for how they executed late, and head coach Mike Brown is ready to take the heat for what happened. Ahead of Game 3, Brown was asked what he saw in the film from the previous game.

“We didn’t execute well offensively. Starting with me, I didn’t mix it up enough offensively going down the stretch. What’s not talked about enough is we gave up 42 paint points in the second half – that’s the worst of the year,” Brown said via SNY.

Mike Brown on what the Game 2 film showed him:

"We didn't execute well offensively. Starting with me, I didn't mix it up enough offensively going down the stretch. What's not talked about enough is we gave up 42 paint points in the second half – that's the worst of the year" pic.twitter.com/FHHjboAgQq

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 22, 2026

One of the main things that hurt the Knicks was that Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were both off the floor while the Hawks were making their comeback. After the game, Brown claimed that it wasn’t too big of a deal and wasn’t the main reason they lost.

“I don’t think [the game got away there]. We’ve played that lineup quite a bit since the end of the season, and that lineup’s been pretty good,” Brunson said. “We weren’t good tonight, and we turned the ball over a few too many times during that period. But we had opportunities where our starters were in and we were up eight to 10 points, and Atlanta closed it. So I wouldn’t say that specific lineup caused [the loss].”

It’s one thing to acknowledge the issues, but it’s another thing to actually fix those issues, and many will be looking to see what Brown does in Game 3.

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