ATLANTA — No Kemba Walker. No Derrick Rose. No Nerlens Noel. No Taj Gibson.
No worries.
The depleted Knicks got an improbable victory against their postseason nemeses, the Hawks, in a 99-90 upset Saturday night at State Farm Arena — and now they may have a point-guard controversy.
With Walker taking a “rest’’ day on the second night of a back-to-back, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau started Alec Burks at point guard, and the rest is redemption.
The 6-foot-6 Burks, helped by an array of young guns off the bench, poured in 23 points as the Knicks seized a significant, confidence-boosting victory over the club that bounced them in the first round of the playoffs last June.
In bouncing back from a hideous blowout loss Friday to the Suns, the Knicks improved to 11-9 after 20 games and snapped the Hawks’ seven-game winning streak.
“We’re a great team and we have a lot of depth, so I believe I can step up at any time,’’ Burks said. “It was just my night tonight. … It’s the way we play. Anyone can handle the ball at any time. That’s Thibs’ offense.’’
Burks hit 7 of 17 shots, went 4-for-7 from 3-point range and helped bother Atlanta’s superstar point guard, Trae Young. The Hawks (35.6 percent) shot poorly and Young’s 33 points went to waste.
“What Alec gives us is size,’’ Thibodeau said. “He’s going to contain the ball and his playmaking ability and shooting, add it all up. It’s a lot.’’
Burks, who signed as a free agent in 2020 to play backup shooting guard, could find himself with a promotion soon, as he has been one of the hottest Knicks. Burks couldn’t remember the last time he started at point guard, but said he believed it was with the Jazz “a long time ago.’’
Demoting Walker could be a hard sell considering his Bronx heritage and All-Star past, but the starting unit has needed a jolt for a while. And it got one versus the Hawks.
Asked if he has a decision to make on the starting lineup, Thibodeau said: “There’s always decisions to be made. We’ll do what’s best for the team.’’
“That’s big-money AB — he’s always calm and collected mot matter what,’’ said RJ Barrett, who broke out of his 10-game schneid with a 15-point, seven-rebound outing. “He got us in our stuff. He took over in the third. He’s big-time for us. It’s great that next man up mentality. We don’t miss a beat.’’
Evan Fournier seemed comfortable in a 20-point outing and the likes of Obi Toppin and rookie Jericho Sims provided sparks off the bench. The Knicks didn’t get much from Julius Randle, who went scoreless in the first half, but handled the ball a lot in a point forward role.
Randle provided some defensive grit in the second half and scored on a drive at the third-quarter buzzer to send the Knicks into the final period with an 85-74 lead.
In his second straight single-digit outing, Randle finished with eight points, shooting 3-for-14. Randle also had four assists and 11 rebounds and Thibodeau said he made “a lot of good plays for us’’ because of the Hawks “overloading’’ on him.
With the way Toppin is emerging, there could be a power-forward controversy, too. Toppin finished with 13 points and two more highlight-reel slams, going 5-for-8.
The Knicks hung with the Hawks and even led 28-27 after one. Uncannily, the Knicks pulled away into a 10-point lead with Randle on the bench — boosted by a mostly young lineup similar to the one that starred during the Las Vegas summer league in August.
Barrett joined four of the summer-leaguers — Immanuel Quickley, rookie Quentin Grimes, Toppin and Sims — in one sharp alignment.
The Knicks built a 10-point late in the second quarter with their young legs. Sims registered two blocks and a put-back dunk. Grimes, on a fast break, tossed up with one hand a high alley-oop lob that Toppin rammed home in circus-like fashion.
In another instance, Quickley, who had nine points and seven assists, threw a home-run ball for Toppin for an easy dunk ahead of the field, lifting the lead to 10. It was 47-37 and all was finally right.
“We were able to mix and match where we had Alec and Quickley together and that was really good, along with Quentin and Obi gives us speed we don’t have and Jericho is super athletic, so we were very quick to the ball,’’ Thibodeau said.
The Knicks lost their momentum, however, when Randle checked back into the game with 2:35 left before halftime. The Hawks closed the half on a 12-1 run. Young led the surge with a long 3-pointer and a floater and had 22 points at halftime. The Knicks clamped down in the second half, holding the Hawks to 14 points in the fourth quarter.
“It was a great win, especially after last night to come in and bounce back the second night,’’ Barrett said.
Thibodeau had stressed the importance of responding after the loss to the Suns.
“We played hard,’’ Thibodeau said. That was the first thing we wanted to get established. They missed shots they normally make but we were flying around.’’
