ATLANTA — The Knicks were already without RJ Barrett.
Then they lost Quentin Grimes.
But a clutch shot from Jalen Brunson and an overall big night from Julius Randle was still enough to conquer the Hawks for a tight Knicks victory Wednesday night, 116-114.
After Trae Young missed a potential tying free-throw, Brunson, the crafty Knicks point guard, created space off the dribble and buried a midrange pull-up for a 3-point edge with 19 seconds remaining.
The teams then traded baskets before Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic, bizarrely, airballed a contested long 3-pointer with five seconds on the clock.
The Knicks followed with their own boneheaded moment – a five-second violation off the inbounds by Donte DiVincenzo – but Atlanta’s Dejounte Murray missed a free throw that essentially sealed the outcome.
Game over.
The Knicks (6-5), despite the injury to Grimes and illness of Barrett, capitalized on Atlanta’s stupidity for an important victory on the road.
Randle finished with 29 points in 39 minutes, shooting 12 for 24 with 10 boards and eight assists. He also buried an important layup — courtesy of a nice dish from Brunson — with about 44 seconds left.
Brunson scored 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter.
Grimes, the Knicks two-way backcourt starter, left in the fourth quarter with a left hand injury.
He tried to strip the ball from Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic with about 11 minutes left and almost immediately retreated to the locker room.
He was ruled out for the remainder of the game and didn’t come back to the bench.
A concern with those types of injuries is a fracture but the Knicks did not release any information about an X-ray.
Barrett missed his second straight game with an “illness/migraine,” according to the injury report.
Coach Tom Thibodeau only confirmed his small forward is “under the weather.”
Barrett never made it to the bench Wednesday.
Josh Hart started in Barrett’s spot and finished with nine points in 33 minutes.
Mitchell Robinson grabbed 15 boards for the Knicks.
Atlanta was playing on the second night of a back-to-back but returned Young, who missed Tuesday’s victory over the Pistons following the birth of his daughter.
The point guard missed eight of his 12 shots.
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