ATLANTA _ With a 16-point third-quarter lead over the Hawks, the Knicks appeared headed for an easy victory against one of the worst teams in the NBA.
After a sluggish first half, they had found some consistency on both ends of the floor.
But then this win became anything but easy, nearly giving away that big lead completely before escaping with a 112-107 over Atlanta at State Farm Arena on Wednesday.
The Hawks came within four points, but the Knicks managed to keep their lead from getting any slimmer.
Tim Hardaway Jr. returned after missing Monday's game because of back soreness and scored 34 points on 8-of-22 shooting, including 2-of-11 from the perimeter.
Enes Kanter had 17 points while Allonzo Trier had 16 and Emmanuel Mudiay had 11.
Kevin Knox was scoreless in nine minutes after missing all six of his shot attempts.
Frank Ntilikina had one of his best scoring games so far this season, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-4 from the perimeter.
He drained a big 3-pointer with 5:43 left in the fourth that pushed the Knicks lead to seven points after the Hawks made a run to get back into the game.
Ntilikina's defense also was strong, holding Trae Young scoreless in the first half. Young ended up finishing with 15 points. He was just 1-of-7 from the perimeter.
But Ntilikina wasn't on the floor for the game's final minutes after fouling out with five minutes left.
The Knicks had a rough first half offensively, shooting 40.5 percent from the field and 31.2 percent on 16 attempts from the perimeter.
They still went into halftime trailing by just three points, partly because Atlanta's offense was even worse, but also become of a big half from Noah Vonleh, who scored all 11 of his points before the break and drained a pair of 3s.
The Knicks outscored the Hawks, 35-18, in the third quarter but watched it nearly disappear completely in the fourth.
The Knicks' offense has been inconsistent through the early part of the season.
At times, they move the ball well, hit shots and take advantage of fast-break opportunities. Other times, they hold the ball too long and become stagnant.
Part of the reason for the inconsistency is having young players still trying to learn their roles and understand where they need to be within the offense.
"At the end of the day, majority of the guys, it's their first year, second year, coaching staff's first year here with us," Hardaway said before the game. "That's what training camp and stuff is for, but at the same time, just need a little bit more time just to make sure everything's clicking."
But much of it comes down to organization. When the Knicks become disorganized, they struggle.
Coming into Wednesday, the Knicks ranked 23rd in the NBA averaging 106.2 points per game, and were 25th in field-goal percentage at 43.5 percent. They also ranked 25th in 3-point field-goal percentage at 32.9 percent.
Ntilikina's offense has been as inconsistent as his team's.
Ntilkina had one of his more aggressive games offensively Wednesday. He finished the first half with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting and drained a 3-pointer after missing his previous 14 attempts from the perimeter.
In previous last four games, Ntilikina was averaging just 4.3 points on 24.1 percent shooting.
The Knicks need him to score like he did Wednesday.
"That's how the confidence comes and goes with these young guys," Fizdale said before the game. "I'm going to keep building them up, encouraging him to continue to let that ball go. They're open shots. They're really good shots for us. He's going to have to be able to make that shot for us to be the team we have to be. I'm going to keep pumping him to shoot it, keep pumping him to be aggressive when he gets pick-and-roll opportunities, to make plays for himself and others."
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