ATLANTA — Jalen Brunson went through his pregame workout and then retreated to the bowels of State Farm Arena to work on his conditioning on an exercise bicycle. Mitchell Robinson was near him working too, and like Brunson held out of the lineup.

The mystery of the status for those two, both expected to be in the lineup Sunday night when the Knicks host Phoenix, was at least a moment of intrigue. The only real moment of drama the rest of Saturday afternoon came when Karl-Anthony Towns retreated to the locker room after jamming a finger on his left hand and returning shortly afterward to the bench and then to the lineup.

The game was settled shortly after it began as the shorthanded Knicks dominated the Hawks in a 121-105 win at State Farm Arena.

For the Knicks as they have made their way toward the finish of the regular season and the postseason, the more pressing issue is to make sure that Brunson, Towns and the rest of the roster are healthy when the playoffs begin.

That has meant exercising caution with the banged up players, giving them extra time as needed down the stretch to rest and rehab. However, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart said Friday that they didn’t want to take time off through the final stage of the season.

“I don’t know when guys come back but I know any team would be very much improved with Deuce McBride and Jalen Brunson,” said Towns, who led the Knicks with 30 points.

“We’re going to do everything we can because like I said before to y’all that the team and where we’re at is farther along when we’re back to integrating them.”

The Knicks won’t put their rotation pieces into bubble wrap for the final five games but wouldn’t be blamed if they proceeded with caution after the injury issues that doomed their season a year ago when injuries struck Julius Randle, Robinson, Anunoby, Hart and Brunson.

What might have been expected was Knicks rotation players getting an early breather, building up leads of as many as 31 points and taking a 28-point advantage into the fourth quarter. But Thibodeau brought Hart and Anunoby, who had another solid offensive performance with 24 points, back into the game with 6:04 to play after Mikal Bridges fouled Trae Young with the Knicks up by 27.

That ended the game for Towns and Bridges. Hart exited with 1:33 to play — one rebound short of a triple-double with 16 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds.

Asked if Hart’s numbers go into his decision whether to leave him on the floor or not, Thibodeau said, “Well, yeah, it does. He had a terrific game. And obviously, for me that’s a no-win situation because if I leave him in he’s going to be upset about that. And if I take him out he’s going to be upset about that. So I said, ‘Ah, what the hell? I’ll take him out.’ ”

“I wanted to stay in to get the last one but I wasn’t playing the game the right way,” Hart said. “I was trying to play for that. I didn’t really deserve it, and that’s probably why I didn’t get it. I was playing the game the wrong way at that point, so it is what it is.”

Thibodeau would not commit to the return of Brunson Sunday, but all indications were, after coming through practice Friday with no problems, he would return after missing 15 games.

“When he’s ready to go,” Thibodeau said. “He’s very close. When he’s ready we’ll know . . . You just take it as it comes. Whatever the team needs the most and what’s best, you’re not going to jeopardize a player’s health. So if he can play he’ll play. And if it’s better for him not to play he won’t play.

“There’s some moving parts here where we’re trying to reintegrate players that come back after being out for a while. So there’s that challenge as well.”

With his 224th victory Thibodeau passed Pat Riley to move into fourth place in wins among Knicks coaches. “All the individual stuff, it’s a byproduct of the team working together,’ he said. “I’ve had a great team. I’ve got great players. It’s a great organization, so you share in all that stuff as a group.

“As far as Pat Riley, he’s unbelievable, probably the best to ever do it. I was fortunate to be with Jeff [Van Gundy] and Jeff I put up there with anybody. Those guys had great impact on my coaching philosophy. Of course Red Holzman and all the guys that have been here, it’s an honor to be the coach here.”