NBA Twitter Blasts Knicks for Blowing 23-Point Lead vs. Hawks

The New York Knicks were beating the Atlanta Hawks 51-28 midway through the second quarter. Their defense was ferocious, and a balanced offense had the Hawks on their heels.

Everything after that point was an abject failure for a Knicks team that has now lost three straight.

Atlanta scored 29 points in the final 6:21 of the first half to cut the Knicks' lead to 65-57 at halftime. The Hawks then took complete control in the third quarter, where they outscored the Knicks 32-10 en route to a 112-99 victory. The Knicks had as many turnovers as points in the third quarter alone.

At one point, the Hawks had outscored the Knicks 79-37 over a 25-minute stretch.

The Knicks simply had no answer for Dejounte Murray, who dropped 36 points on 14-of-27 shooting and nine assists while amassing six of the Hawks' 12 steals. His performance helped the Hawks overcome a cold night from Knicks arch-nemesis Trae Young, who shot 7-of-22 en route to 17 points.

The Hawks notably put up 16 more shots than the Knicks in part because they grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and committed just seven turnovers to New York's 16.

The Knicks' best effort came off the bench thanks to Immanuel Quickley, who posted 11 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Evan Fournier (three points on 1-of-6 shooting) and Julius Randle (14 points on 4-of-12 shooting) notably struggled for the starting five.

This was a deeply concerning loss for the Knicks, who were coming off a 121-108 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers after being outscored 37-15 in the final quarter. They've lost each of their last three games by double digits to the Milwaukee Bucks, Cavs and Hawks, all of whom have playoff aspirations.

It's a far cry from the Knicks' three-game win streak earlier this season against a trio of losing teams in the Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets.

Twitter took the Knicks to task for their collapse.

The Knicks will look to bounce back Friday when they visit the Philadelphia 76ers at 7 p.m. ET in Wells Fargo Center.