ATLANTA – The Knicks and Jalen Brunson failed again when it mattered most.

The Knicks ended a long road trip in terrible fashion, falling 12-2 in the 10-point final and falling to the Hawks 121-116 on Wednesday at State Farm Arena.

Brunson, who was removed from his role at the end of Monday’s loss to the Rockets, was again part of the collapse. He only managed four points in the fourth quarter and was unable to counter Trae Young’s strong finish.

It was a close game throughout and a sloppy finish as the struggling Knicks (3-4) finished a road trip 2-2. With three minutes left, they were ahead by five points after a three-pointer from Karl-Anthony Towns, their largest lead of the second half.

They then missed on two straight possessions before Brunson hit one of two free throws to give the Knicks a one-point lead with 80 seconds left.

With the Knicks trailing on what was probably the game’s most important possession, Brunson had an open 3-pointer while isolated against Atlanta’s Clint Capela.

But he hesitated and sent the ball into the corner for a contested three-pointer from Towns, who nullified the ball.

Atlanta got the rebound, dove in transition and never looked back.

“I hope the New York fans left very, very quickly,” Young said after Knicks fans attempted to take over the arena.

Brunson was locked down by defensive specialist Dyson Daniels, a slender guard with speed and height at 6-foot-3.

His first half was a struggle with three turnovers, zero assists and eight points on 3 of 8 shooting.

A ball-dominant scorer who often requires time and multiple dribbles to get his shot off, the ball moved better when pass-first rookie Tyler Kolek served as point guard.

The Knicks’ 29 total assists followed their offensive weakness in Monday’s loss to Houston, where Josh Hart lamented the “stagnant” offense.

“Offensively we have to be more decisive and game-oriented,” Hart said. “Teams realize they’re going to think this is the blueprint (to stop us).”

So the ball moved better on Wednesday, but the defense became suspicious.

The Hawks made 15 treys and shot 45 percent overall.

Young finished the game with 23 points and 10 assists. Rookie Zaccharie Risacher tied his career high with 33 points.

The Hawks are stuck between rebuilding and pursuing the playoffs.

In the 26-year-old Young, they have an old Knicks nemesis who is in the midst of a max contract extension.

They also start Risacher, a 19-year-old freshman and first overall pick who dropped 22 points in the first half on Wednesday. They traded Dejounte Murray for Daniels and conversions.

On Wednesday they were missing two of their top players, Bogdan Bogdanovic and DeAndre Hunter, both of whom were injured.

But the Knicks failed to capitalize on it and better hope these are just growing pains.

A few hours before tipoff on Wednesday, Brunson explained that despite any outside criticism of their uneven start, the Knicks were making positive progress.

“We’re moving in the right direction,” Brunson said. “I think we can’t really focus on the opinions of people outside the organization. We need to focus on what we think is going on, what we think is right. How can we fix it together? We see each other every day, we work together every day. So we know what’s going on between those lines.”

Brunson finished Wednesday with 21 points and three turnovers on 8 of 18 shooting.

Towns led the offense with 34 points and 16 boards.