Three Hawks Who Cost Atlanta Most in Game 4 Loss To New York

Who did not step up for the Hawks last night in their game four loss to the Knicks?

Apr 23, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) shoots against the New York Knicks in the fourth quarter during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Hawks fell short last night, losing game four to the New York Knicks and losing the opportunity to take a 3-1 series lead over them.

It was a dreadful night on offense for the Hawks, as they shot 10-41 from three and turned the ball over 18 times. The Knicks jumped on Atlanta from the start and it was not a pretty effort and resulted in a blowout loss that tied the series.

While everyone on the team had a rough night, who did the Hawks need to step up most and did not?

1. Jalen Johnson

This has not been the coming out party that Hawks fans had hoped to see from Johnson. After an All-NBA caliber season, Johnson has had a disappointing playoff series against the Knicks to say the least and last night was his worst game of the series by quite a lot. He was a -19 in nearly 35 minutes (worst in the game) and it felt like.

Johnson shot 4-12 from the field and was 1-5 from three last night, but he also only pulled in only three rebounders and dished out five assists. Johnson was one of the top playmakers in the league this year and one of the best rebounders in the league and he has not been able to get anything going. The Hawks are one of the best transition and fast break teams in the NBA because of Johnson and the Knicks would not let Atlanta get anything going in that regard.

The series is tied 2-2 and Johnson has not played well. The playoffs is more dependent on how good your halfcourt offense is and Johnson has missed the mark so far.

2. Jonathan Kuminga

Now I want to be clear, Kuminga was arguably the biggest reason aside from CJ McCollum that the Hawks won games two and three and he has been really good this series. But he was not good in game four.

Questionable shot selection and questionable defense ended up with a 10 point night from Kuminga and the Knicks limited him to just two rebounds. Kuminga can flip any game when he plays well and over the final part of the series, the Hawks need him more than ever.

3. Nickeil Alexander-Walker

This was the best shooting game from NAW, in terms of three point shooting at least, but he only finished with 15 points and also had six turnovers. His defense, which has been great this series, was subpar yesterday and his three point shot was the only thing that he had going for him. Overall in the game, he was a -17 in the near 35 minutes that he played.

Passing is not his strength and it showed yesterday with the six turnovers, but the Hawks are just simply going to need more from him if they want to close this series out.