“How could you not see that?”

A fan sitting on the baseline has a clearer view than the official.

It’s the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s NBA Cup quarterfinals between the Knicks and the Atlanta Hawks – a game that Atlanta ultimately seals 108-100 as All-Star Trae Young theatrically throws imaginary dice on the center court logo Knicks throws to punctuate the win.

OG Anunoby is hunched over and holding his nose. Seconds earlier, he took a forearm to the face from Atlanta forward De’Andre Hunter while cutting to the rim – a flagrant foul that should have sent him to the line for two free throws.

Instead, the game continues. Hunter’s strong arm stops Anunoby mid-movement. He stumbles, half shoots, retrieves the ball and kicks it to Miles McBride in the corner.

Off the play, Josh Hart waves his arms in frustration: How could the official closest to the action miss such a blatant foul?

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau says he saw it coming.

“I just looked at who was refereeing and I knew what it was going to be like,” Thibodeau said after the game.

If there’s a formula to derail the Knicks’ potent offense, it’s becoming increasingly clear: disrupt the flow of the game, push the physical limits and challenge the officials to make it tight – a strategy that fits perfectly This season’s increased emphasis on physical defense suits the league.

The plan worked as New York suffered its first back-to-back losses of the season – first to the Houston Rockets, a team that embodied Dillon Brooks’ strong defensive personality, and then to those same Hawks in Atlanta, where the Knicks blew a 110-105 lead and gave up a crucial 16-6 run in the final three minutes of a loss on Nov. 6.

It worked again on Wednesday evening. Atlanta’s aggressive defense disrupted the Knicks’ rhythm early and often. On the other side, Young orchestrated a relentless series of pick-and-rolls that kept Mikal Bridges, New York’s attack point defender, in constant motion.

“There will be 50, 60 of them,” Thibodeau said of Young’s screen game. “We defended some of them really well. Some were not doing as well as they should have been. And he played some of them hard. A great player, you have to protect him with your team.”

The Knicks faltered on both ends, exposing a vulnerability they haven’t yet solved. While officiating played a role – highlighted by a crucial foul on Anunoby – it only tells part of the story. The deeper problem is that New York is struggling to achieve the physicality needed to succeed in high-risk environments like Wednesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinals.

For a team with championship aspirations, the early returns remain a mixed bag. After 25 games of the 82-game regular season, the Knicks have demonstrated their offensive brilliance, but have not yet achieved consistency on defense. They improved their record with wins against lottery-bound teams, but fell short against playoff-caliber opponents.

The numbers are telling: A 5-6 record against teams over .500 contrasts with a 10-4 mark against opponents under .500 — a disparity that masks glaring cracks in its foundation.

In the meantime, time is of the essence for this revamped squad to find its rhythm. The offseason moves that brought Karl-Anthony Towns and Bridges to New York changed the team’s identity, but the chemistry necessary for sustained success remains unclear.

“I don’t know how long it will last, but I don’t think it matters how long it takes,” Anunoby said after the loss. “As long as you find (the rhythm), it doesn’t matter when you find it.”

The Knicks hope to find that rhythm sooner rather than later. However, Wednesday night was another stark reminder of how far they still have to go.

* * *

Dyson Daniels turned his head. Jalen Brunson pounced.

It’s midway through the second quarter and Daniels – the reigning Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month – is stuck like white on rice to the Knicks’ All-Star guard, throwing him off his stride at every turn.

But on this possession, Daniels’ focus shifts for a moment and Brunson takes advantage.

Hart keeps the ball near the foul line, taking advantage of a mismatch with the smaller Young. Brunson, who had already moved away from the ball and positioned himself in the corner, begins a subtle movement toward halfcourt. As Daniels looks away to assist Hart’s post, Brunson shoots back for the corner with precise timing.

Hart recognizes the movement and delivers a sharp jump pass. Daniels recovers, but he’s one step too late. Brunson’s third corner hit the net for the second time of the night.

For Brunson, it was a rare moment of freedom. He would miss his next three attempts from deep and completely miss the three-point shot in the fourth quarter. Daniels’ defensive intensity had clearly disrupted Brunson’s rhythm.

However, an early sequence told a different story.

At 7:40 of the first quarter, Brunson gave up the ball and rolled around back-to-back screens from Hart and Towns. The second screen threw Daniels just far enough out of Brunson’s path for him to perform a mid-range pull-up while drawing a foul.

This shot was one of the rare instances where the Knicks effectively countered the relentless defensive pressure on their star guard. It underscored the urgent need for New York to rewrite the book on Brunson – a book that opponents are using to disrupt him by turning games into a physical one and taking the skilled, worldly scorer and playmaker out of his natural rhythm bring.

“All of us, myself included, have to make it even easier for him,” Towns said after the game. “Obviously in tonight’s loss there is good film and things we can learn so we can be the best version of ourselves and most importantly help Cap. He does a lot for us and I know everyone in this locker room wants to do what they can to make life easier for him.”

The Knicks need to find answers against teams like Atlanta, where defensive pressure increases and every possession feels like a chess match.

“He struggled with length all year, last year, the year before,” Thibodeau said. “They are long, the whole team is long. So I just have to read the game.”

* * *

The Knicks can’t afford for Towns to be so careless. With Mitchell Robinson still recovering from ankle surgery and Precious Achiuwa gradually returning from a hamstring strain earlier in the season, New York’s depth at center is razor-thin. This reality puts even greater pressure on Towns, whose history of dire problems makes discipline an absolute necessity.

On Wednesday night, Towns was dominant on the floor, posting stats that read like a fantasy basketball dream: 19 points, 19 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and three steals. But foul trouble limited him to just 37 minutes — a number that felt insufficient in a game where the Knicks needed him to go the distance.

Two fouls in particular proved costly. The first, a double hip check on a screen and re-screen sequence, prompted the referee’s whistle because it was a repeat offense that could have been avoided. The second, a frustrating foul in the fourth quarter, occurred when Towns tackled Jalen Johnson during a drive to the rim. Both were misjudgments, and both left the Knicks exposed.

The Hawks took advantage of Towns’ absence and forced New York to go smaller. Atlanta dominated the glass, with three players grabbing double-digit rebounds. The disparity was most glaring on the offensive boards, where the Hawks outscored the Knicks 22-12 and turned those chances into 14 second-chance points.

“I tried to look with Precious, but Karl got in foul trouble, so that changed us,” Thibodeau said after the game. “His foul problem made us different. Whether you succeed or not, you have to put your body on someone.”

Adding to the Knicks’ problems was Atlanta scoring three timely points. The Hawks started cold, hitting just 3 of 16 from deep in the first half, but found their stroke after halftime, scoring on 40% of their attempts in the final two quarters. Young’s pick-and-roll wizardry continually drew help defenders and created open looks for his teammates. He finished the game with 22 points and 11 assists and orchestrated the Hawks’ attack perfectly.

“I think we did a pretty good job (protecting Young),” Anunoby said. “I think Mikal protected him well. KAT helped him. And we all tried to clog it up, to make it difficult for him. He was just taking shots, making plays.”

Young didn’t just dominate on the stat sheet – he made his presence known in more ways than one. With the game in hand, he strolled to center court and theatrically rolled imaginary eights, taunting the Knicks crowd and adding an exclamation point to Atlanta’s victory.

The Hawks cash their NBA Cup game checks and pack for Las Vegas, where they will face the Milwaukee Bucks in the semifinals. In the meantime, the Knicks must regroup, knowing that the increasing difficulty of integrating major offseason additions is part of the process – but they also recognize the urgency of addressing their deficiencies.

Time is of the essence for this championship contender to find his rhythm. But how much patience the Knicks will have before considering measures to address their weaknesses remains uncertain.

“It took the Miami Heat years ago with LeBron (James) a whole year to figure out how to hang a banner,” Towns said. “And then other teams – the Lakers with LeBron took half, 75% of the season. You don’t know. I can’t tell you (how long it should take). I don’t have a crystal ball in front of me that can tell you how long it will take to get everything running at a consistent level.”