The Knicks ruled Mitchell Robinson out for Friday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, marking the third straight game New York’s defensive anchor and glass cleaner has missed due to what the team is describing as load management — not a re-injury. Robinson, who has undergone two surgeries to repair stress fractures in his left ankle, is not expected to participate in both legs of any back-to-backs this season. But after playing 18 minutes against the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 27 — a game he didn’t exit due to injury — Robinson missed the Knicks’ Dec. 29 matchup in New Orleans against the Pelicans and the New Year’s Eve matchup in San Antonio against the Spurs, neither of which were back-to-backs. Friday’s matchup against the Hawks was the first leg of a back-to-back with Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers coming to town on Saturday. So it’ll be hard to sell load management, again, if the Knicks are to hold their backup center out a fourth consecutive game. Yet the numbers paint a clear picture: Friday against the Hawks marked the 34th game of the season for the Knicks, while Robinson has only appeared in 22. The backup Knicks big man is the league’s premier offensive rebounder and is averaging 4.5 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game, but he is only playing 18.5 minutes, handicapped by a load management protocol designed to keep him healthy for the long. “Shoot, we’d rather have him than not,” head coach Mike Brown said ahead of tipoff on Friday. “When we do he definitely protects us on the back side, in a lot of different ways. At the end of the day, I truly believe the guys that we have on this roster are more than capable. I’m going to keep pushing. No matter who’s in uniform, I’m going to keep pushing them to play better because I believe in them. I feel they believe in each other, too, and what we’re doing.” NEW LOOK KNICKS KIDS Mohamed Diawara made back-to-back threes in San Antonio against the Spurs on Wednesday. Ariel Hukporti had six points, six rebounds, a block and a steal. Tyler Kolek was a plus-14 in 15 minutes with three points and six assists. And Kevin McCullar Jr. is seizing his moments as they arrive, too. The Knicks may be navigating a rough stretch of injury, but their young players have answered the bell. In their three games entering Friday vs. Atlanta, here’s how the new-look Knicks kids have fared: — Diawara started two of his last three games and is averaging 9.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 0.7 blocks and 0.7 steals on 58.3% shooting from three-point range, his biggest offensive question mark entering his rookie year. He averaged 13.3 minutes during this stretch, often playing heavy minutes early and watching from the sidelines late — McCullar Jr. enjoyed his ‘Welcome to the Knicks’ moment in Atlanta: 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting from deep against the Hawks. The second-year forward, previously outside of the rotation, logged nine minutes in each of the following two games. — Kolek’s role has diminished some with McBride’s return to the lineup, but he entered Friday with 11 combined assists over his past two games and three makes from deep on six total attempts. The second-year guard had already enjoyed his breakout, averaging 12 points and 6.6 assists on 42 percent three-point shooting from Dec. 15-26. — And Hukporti, too, has had his moments showcasing his blend of speed, toughness and touch, filling in as a backup center for Robinson, often sidelined due to his ankle. BRUNSON BY THE NUMBERS Jalen Brunson‘s 29.4 points per game places him seventh in the NBA in scoring, ahead of Anthony Edwards (Minnesota), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee) and Stephen Curry (Golden State) and trailing Jaylen Brown (Boston), Nikola Jokic (Denver), Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland), Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City) and Luka Doncic (Los Angeles). Brunson is averaging 6.5 free throw attempts per game and making 5.5 of them, tying a career-best 84.7% foul line clip. Of the 20 players averaging 25 or more points per game this season, Brunson ranks 14th in attempts from the foul line with Doncic (11.8), Antetokounmpo (9.8), Portland’s Deni Avdija (9.6), Gilgeous-Alexander (9.0) and Los Angeles’ James Harden (8.7) comprising the top-three. ...read more read less