DERRICK ROSE scored 26 points, Julius Randle shook off a miserable first half to lead a third-quarter turnaround and the New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 101-92 Wednesday night in Game 2 to tie the series.

Randle was 0 for 6 with just two points at halftime. But with Rose moving into the starting lineup to open the third quarter, Randle made a 3-pointer to start the period and scored 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting as the Knicks surged into the lead.

“Obviously we were disappointed with the way we played in the first half, but I knew in the second half there’d be great fight and there was,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.

“And I think Julius hitting that shot, Julius is not going to go away. He’s going to keep coming. He’s got a great will, great determination and he’s a fighter.”

The winner of the NBA’s Most Improved Player award finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds despite another poor shooting night. He was 5 for 16 after going 6 for 23 in the opener.

But he came through with it counted along with Reggie Bullock, who made four 3-pointers in the second half and also had 15 points as the Knicks guaranteed there will be at least one more home game in this surprising season.“Obviously, throughout the game there’s going to be frustrations, but we know who we are as a team,” Randle said. “We’re never going to doubt whether we can win a game or not.”

Trae Young scored 30 points for Atlanta after having 32 and hitting the tiebreaking shot with 0.9 seconds left in Game 1. Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Andre Hunter added 18 apiece.

Game 3 is Friday night in Atlanta, where the Hawks will be allowed to welcome a full capacity crowd for the first time this season.(SD-Agencies)