ATLANTA - Trae Young was disappointed the Atlanta Hawks let the New York Knicks rally in regulation and take a big lead in the first overtime, so after that he repeatedly took the ball and dared the visitors to foul him.
"When you had that lead late in the game and you feel like we should've won in regulation, and then they send it to overtime, it kills momentum," Young said. "That kind of took a lot of energy out of us, but we found a way to keep battling, keep making shots and getting stops on the defensive end."
Young finished with 48 points and 13 assists, and John Collins added 32 points and 16 rebounds as the Hawks won 140-135 in double overtime Sunday night.
It was the ninth time Young has scored at least 40 points this season, which ranks second in the NBA. The first-time All-Star hit all 16 of his free throws and knocked down six 3-pointers.
The Knicks' Julius Randle finished with 35 points and 18 rebounds, and Reggie Bullock scored 21 points for New York, which had its four-game winning streak snapped. Playing their third game in four nights, the Knicks dropped to 17-37 this season when trailing by 16 in the fourth quarter. They led by eight in the first overtime before letting the Hawks back in it.
"We fought extremely hard. I'm proud of my guys," Randle said before adding it was "a game like we feel we should have won. Let it slip away."
Young, who forced a tie at the end of the first overtime with a pair of free throws, hit two free throws on consecutive possessions to give the Hawks, who began the night with the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference, a 130-128 lead early in the second overtime. Atlanta called a timeout at the 13-second mark, and Young followed with two more free throws to make it 138-133.
"It's not tough when you practice it as hard as I do," he said. "I actually feel like I should be shooting a better free throw percentage this year (than .851). All it takes is concentration and practice."
Young hit two free throws to tie it at 116 with 30 seconds left in regulation, but he and Randle both missed runners on each team's final possession to force overtime.
The Knicks had a 15-point lead on Bobby Portis's pull-up jumper early in the second. New York entered halftime with a 63-61 advantage.
"We got a little bit conservative when we had a lead," New York interim coach Mike Miller said.
Collins said the Hawks, who rank second-worst in the NBA in scoring defense, need to concentrate better when they have a lead and not let opponents score so easily. He said they came out too flat to begin the first overtime.
"We didn't really hit first," Collins said. "We sort of let them hit first. I think we did the opposite in the second overtime. Hopefully it doesn't take us two overtimes to tighten up next time."
Hawks center Clint Capela, acquired last Wednesday from the Houston Rockets, wants to make his Atlanta debut as soon as the All-Star break ends Feb. 20, but coach Lloyd Pierce said the team won't rush him. He is recovering from a right heel bruise, and Atlanta wants him fully healthy before he plays.
Either way, Capela looks forward to playing alongside Young after he spent so much of his career with Rockets star James Harden.
"(Young) puts a lot of rhythm on the offense," Capela said. "It's definitely the way I like to play. We definitely should be able to do some magic together."
Capela wasn't so much surprised by the trade because "that's what Houston does," he said.
"I know that there was only me and James left since I got (there)," Capela said. "I was ready for it. I felt more like a rookie in my six years there. Here I feel like a vet."