If the Knicks were looking for bulletin board material to get back on track before game five Wednesday night, Clint Capela just handed it to them on a silver platter.
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday afternoon, the Hawks forward confidently declared that New York’s resurgent season will end at the hands of Atlanta in Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.
“We can be physical, but we can win games as well,” Capela said. “Now we’re coming to your home to win this game again to send you on vacation.”
Capela said the Knicks, who lost two straight in convincing fashion on the road in games three and four, have been trying to get physical with the Hawks, but Atlanta has been throwing it back in their faces to take a commanding 3-1 series lead heading back to New York.
“They’re trying to play tough,” Capela said. “Push our guys around, talk s--t, but we can do that too. And we showed them as soon as they came back here that we can push them around, too. We can talk s--t as well. So whatcha gonna do about it?”
The Hawks outrebounded the Knicks 48-39 in game four, which Atlanta won in a 113-96 rout. Capela finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds, while the Knicks have struggled to keep up in the frontcourt with the absence of Mitchell Robinson and the diminished minutes of Nerlens Noel, who has battled an ankle injury since game one.
“I don’t know if they’re physical, but they’re trying to be physical,” Capela said. “I feel like if they were really physical, we’d have more problems than we have. I feel like they’re trying to, but it’s not working…we showed them that we can be physical, too, so that’s why we are where we are. We have to confirm that one more time tomorrow.”
Capela and the Hawks will look to finish off the Knicks in game five at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday night. Game four ended with Julius Randle getting called for a flagrant foul for shoving Danilo Gallinari, which Randle said was in response to Gallinari elbowing teammate Reggie Bullock earlier in the quarter. Atlanta’s Kevin Huerter grabbed Noel by the leg earlier in the game, which contributed to the extra physicality.
Given Capela’s recent comments, more physical play should be expected in game five.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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