Knicks Notes: Cup loss, Brunson, inconsistency, Bridges, Nnaji

The Curtsy were eliminated from NBA Cup competition on Wednesday with a 108:100 home defeat against the Hawks. They shot 26% on three-point attempts and 60% on free throw attempts. They also allowed 22 offensive rebounds, notes Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.

“Ending possession defensively (was a problem)” Jalen Brunson said. “They had a lot of offensive rebounds. Simply unacceptable.”

Brunson was held to 14 points.

“It just wasn’t our night” Brunson said. “Offensively it just wasn’t my night. They came out in transition and Trae (Young) hit a couple of key threes and at one point they had a double-digit lead and they played well with a lead.”

We have more on the Knicks:

• The loss to Atlanta is further evidence that they are far from being in the conversation as potential NBA champions, says James Edwards III of The Athletic. They were unable to consistently perform well, instead looking like world champions one game and falling to mediocre or poor teams the next game. The blockbuster moves they made were supposed to make them a great team, but so far they’ve just been a good team.
• On a positive note, Mikal Bridges seems to be settling in. Bridges has averaged 21.8 points in his last six games. Peter Botte of the New York Post points out that Bridges was benched for the better part of two fourth quarters during a four-game stretch in late November.
• They acquired the rights to Big Man James Nnaji in the Karl Anthony cities According to Toni Canyameras of Mundodeportivo.com, Nnaji plays for Basquet Girona and averages 7 points and 5.8 rebounds in 20 minutes. “The front office is tracking his progress. I will look into him in more detail in the summer, but I am of course curious about his rights.” trainer Tom Thibodeau said.