Atlanta Hawks vs New York Knicks Prediction, 1/2/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Atlanta Hawks vs New York Knicks

Date: Friday, January 2, 2026

Location: Madison Square Garden in New York, NY

TV: Prime Video

Madison Square Garden is the location where the New York Knicks (22-9) will take on the Atlanta Hawks (15-18) on Friday.

The Hawks took the court against the Knicks and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 128-125 in their last contest. In the matter of fouls, the Hawks left the arena with 20 while the Knicks finished the game with 25 fouls. They knocked down 15 of 43 shots from three-point range. New York finished the game shooting 84.4% at the charity stripe by making 27 of 32 attempts. On top of that, New York collected 55 boards (19 offensive, 36 defensive) and earned 3 blocked shots. New York distributed 27 dimes and had 9 steals for this game. In relation to defense, Atlanta allowed their opponent to shoot 45.3% from the field on 43 of 95 shooting. They also distributed 33 assists for the contest while creating 14 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In regard to hauling in boards, they earned 37 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the free throw line, the Hawks knocked down 22 of their 27 attempts for a rate of 81.5%. Atlanta ended the game having earned a 48.3% FG percentage (43 out of 89) and made 17 out of their 43 three-point attempts.

Onyeka Okongwu is a guy who came through in this contest. He totaled 31 points on 10 out of 16 shooting. He played for 36 minutes and grabbed 14 rebounds. Okongwu shot 62.5% from the floor and recorded 1 assist.

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Atlanta comes into this one with a mark of 15-18 this season. They turn it over 15.3 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 20.4 fouls per contest. As a team, Atlanta is pulling in 41.5 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 1,024 dimes this year, which ranks 1st in the NBA in terms of passing. The Hawks are shooting 36.9% on shots from distance (464 of 1,259) and 79.0% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 118.8 points per outing (11th in the league) while shooting 48.3% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Hawks are forcing 16.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.2 personal fouls. They surrender 36.0% on shots from distance and they rank 24th in basketball in PPG from their opponents (120.1). The Hawks defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 47.7% (1,428 of 2,991) and they surrender 45.9 rebounds per contest as a team. They are ranked 28th in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 921 surrendered this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Knicks walked away with a victory by a final of 128-125 when they faced the Hawks. The Knicks earned 36 defensive boards and 19 offensive boards for a total of 55 in the matchup. They also turned it over 14 times, while recording 9 steals for the game. The Hawks were called for 20 fouls in this matchup which took the Knicks to the free throw line for 32 tries. They were able to bury 27 of the free throw tries for a rate of 84.4%. In relation to shots from distance, New York made 15 of 43 attempts (34.9%). When this game wrapped up, the Knicks shot 43 for 95 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.3%. The Knicks allowed the Hawks to knock down 43 of 89 tries from the floor which left them with a rate of 48.3% for this game. They finished 39.5% from distance by shooting 17 out of 43 and finished the game at 22 out of 27 at the charity stripe (81.5%). In relation to rebounds, New York permitted Atlanta to pull down 37 in all (9 offensive).

Karl-Anthony Towns pitched in for the Knicks for the game. He converted 8 of 15 in the game for a rate of 53.3%, and totaled 15 rebounds. Towns earned 36 points in his 30 mins on the court and accumulated 1 assist for this contest.

New York has a mark of 22-9 on the campaign. The Knicks are committing 20.9 personal fouls every game while shooting 79.3% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 26.9 times per contest (10th in the league) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.7 times per contest. New York has scored 3,736 pts this season (120.5 per contest) and they collect 46.4 boards per game. As an offensive team, the Knicks are hitting on 47.7% from the field, which is ranked 10th in the league.

The New York defense gives up 36.8% on 3-point shots (454 of 1,233) and their opposition knocks down 77.7% of their free throw attempts. They allow 25.4 dimes and 41.2 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 10th and 5th in the NBA. The Knicks defensively are ranked 8th in basketball in PPG surrendered with 113.7. They are able to force 14.2 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 46.2% from the field (8th in the league).

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take New York and under the total points

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