Jalen Johnson Posts 14 in Hawks' 114-98 Game 4 Loss

jalen johnson scored 14 points and grabbed three rebounds in 35 minutes, and the Hawks fell 114-98 to the Knicks in Game 4 on Saturday at State Farm Arena. The loss tied the first-round series 2-2 and left Atlanta needing a cleaner offensive night after Johnson’s production dipped below his regular-season level.

State Farm Arena Game 4

Johnson’s three rebounds matched his regular-season low, a sharp drop for a forward who averaged 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists over the season. Through the first four games against New York, he has averaged 19.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists while shooting 41.9% from the field and 28.6% from 3-point range.

He said Monday at the Hawks’ training complex before the team left for New York that the playoff pace has changed the way possessions end. “The physicality is much more intense (in the playoffs),” Johnson said. “(The referees) let a lot more stuff go. There’s not as many whistles blown.”

Quin Snyder on Johnson

Quin Snyder said the answer is not to ease off. “The biggest thing for him is to continue to attack, continue to be aggressive and attack,” Snyder said. “You don’t want to get hung up on whether the ball goes in or not.”

Johnson said he needs to do more than survive those possessions. “We’ve just got to match that physicality,” he said. “Continue to find my teammates when they’re open and, if I got the rim, attack the rim strong.” He added, “Just got to play with more force.”

That is the part Atlanta has to solve in Game 5 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. Johnson has been one of the Hawks’ focal points in his first playoff series, but the Knicks have kept him from repeating his regular-season line, and his output will again sit near the center of what Atlanta can carry into New York.