The Knicks have won eight of 11 games, and they won the eighth behind miraculous play by two of their young guns — Mitchell Robinson and RJ Barrett, whose emergences are beginning to shape a second-half Knicks run.

With 3:14 left in the fourth quarter, the New York Knicks lead the Atlanta Hawks 106-100. The ball is about to land out of bounds, off Atlanta’s John Collins, after he unsuccessfully tried removing it from Mitchell Robinson. In three minutes and 14 seconds the Knicks will have won their eighth game in 11, beaten the Hawks in the regular season for the seventh straight time and and reinforced their insistence and our hope that this year will build higher upon the last. One big reason for this is one big reason: Mitch. 

Last year, Atlanta’s Clint Capela dominated the Mitch-less Knicks in the playoffs; Collins produced an impressive 54/39/91 shooting line against New York in their five-game series. But with Capela out due to an ankle injury and Collins’ need for mindfulness re: Mitch and his long-ass arms, the sequence where Collins tried and failed to take the rebound away from Robinson was metaphor for the night and maybe, in the end, the season. These Knicks aren’t last year’s. They have a higher ceiling, one that, fittingly, they can only reach with their biggest player’s help.

It took Robinson a while to get his conditioning back, but now that it’s there we’re seeing a difference-maker at center, the only big on the team who raises its ceiling. In Mitch’s first 27 games this year, he had four double-doubles; he’s had five in his last dozen, and was a point in one game and a pair of rebounds in another from two more. He’s become a real factor on the glass, putting up career-high percentages on the offensive and defensive glass. Atlanta’s two bigs last night, Collins and Gorgui Dieng, combined for seven rebounds. Robinson had 13. His foul troubles are a thing of the past. The Knicks beat the Hawks last night for a few reasons, one being Mitch’s play. If he keeps it up, their postseason picture grows brighter, too.   

Twenty-four seconds before Collins loses the ball out of bounds, RJ Barrett splashes a 3-pointer. New York’s lead had shrunk from 17 to three and the energy was threatening to spill back into last year’s postseason vibe. But last night a lot of things felt different than last year, and this moment was emblematic of that.

RJ got a clean look at his 3-point attempt off a good look from Julius Randle. When JR gets ready to go into a mismatch with Kevin Huerter, he encounters a familiar sight. The Hawks sag into this collapsing umbrella defense, one that last spring Randle struggled with, often trying to force the issue.

This time Randle trusts Barrett enough to shoot a pass through the heart of the umbrella. RJ connected to turn a 3-point lead with the shot clock expiring into a 6-point advantage. In last year’s playoffs Barrett shot 39% from the field and 29% from deep and Randle averaged four assists. Last night RJ hit 40% from both and Randle had nine assists to one turnover. If JR and RJ step up to a new level, the Knicks do, too. Randle was the aggressor throughout the second half. When Atlanta had success against Randle in the playoffs, their confidence kept growing while he grew more scattered and confused. Last night he seemed in control.

The pass that led to Randle’s pass to RJ came from Evan Fournier, signed in part for his off-the-dribble game, something the Knicks lacked at the position last year. Fournier’s assist percentage is 33% higher than Bullock’s was last season. 3van also contributed 18 points, continuing his strong play of late: since the Indiana game where he sat on the bench the fourth, Fournier’s averaging 22.5 a game and has had a plus/minus of at least +9 in all four games. 

Right now Bullock is scoring fewer than 10 points per 36 minutes on 38/32 splits for Dallas. Fournier nearly doubles that average and is shooting 42/39. The Knicks having a wing who can shoot and create — for themselves as others — raises their ceiling that much more come playoff time.

Twenty-four seconds before Barrett’s big shot, Alec Burks is slamming the ball to the floor. Trae Young just drove to the cup for a lay-in to pull Atlanta within three, 103-100. Burks’ frustration was pro’ly similar to what a lot of fans were feeling — the bile of the past threatening to rise from the grave and haunt you. Despite the Knicks’ regular-season successes with the Hawks, there’s no forgetting the whupping New York endured in the postseason. Young, in particular, is a specter who’s hard to shake. 

Burks was another Knick whose charmed 2021 regular season looked cursed in the playoffs. He was inserted into the starting lineup Christmas Day against Atlanta, presenting a different look for Young and the Hawks than what they saw in the spring. Last night AB put up 17 points on just eight shots, corralled nine rebounds, dished eight assists and hit all seven of his free throws. Burks will never be an All-NBA player, or even an All-Star. But he’s been more than the sum of his parts since arriving in New York; it’s fair to say after a year and a half here he’s been a pleasant surprise. A lot of his teammates have been, too. New York hopes the combination of the right changes and the right steadiness will take them farther this year than last. Last night was more proof they just might do it.