Hawks Lead Knicks 2‑1
- The Atlanta Hawks now lead the New York Knicks 2‑1 in their first‑round NBA playoff series. (usatoday.com) - USA Today notes historically the Game 3 winner in tied series goes on to win the series about 74% of the time. (usatoday.com) - Atlanta's veteran scoring and changing series odds now have bookmakers favoring the Hawks to advance past New York. (usatoday.com) (nytimes.com)
Atlanta took a 2-1 lead over New York on Thursday night, edging the Knicks 109-108 in Game 3 on CJ McCollum’s jumper with 12.5 seconds left. (apnews.com) McCollum scored 24 points, and Jalen Johnson finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists for the sixth-seeded Hawks at State Farm Arena on April 23. New York’s final possession ended without a shot after Mikal Bridges lost the ball near midcourt. (apnews.com) (foxsports.com) The series had been tied 1-1 after Atlanta stole Game 2 in New York, and the Hawks have now won two straight games by a combined three points. NBA.com said Atlanta had “all the fourth-quarter answers” again in Game 3. (usatoday.com) (nba.com) That swing changed the shape of the matchup. USA Today reported that teams that win Game 3 of a best-of-seven series tied 1-1 have gone on to win the series about 74% of the time. (usatoday.com) It also changed the betting market by Friday morning. Yahoo Sports, citing BetMGM odds, listed Atlanta at -130 to win the series and New York at +110 after Game 3. (sports.yahoo.com) The seeding makes that shift sharper. New York entered the bracket as the No. 3 seed and Atlanta as the No. 6 seed, but the Hawks now hold home-court momentum with Game 4 also in Atlanta. (nba.com) (sports.yahoo.com) Atlanta’s edge has come from veteran shot-making late in games. McCollum also helped decide Game 2, and NBA.com’s Game 3 takeaways pointed to the Hawks’ poise in fourth quarters as the difference through three games. (usatoday.com) (nba.com) For the Knicks, the margin has been thin enough to keep the series alive. They lost Game 3 by one point, and the final sequence immediately turned attention to whether Tom Thibodeau should have used a timeout before Bridges’ turnover. (apnews.com) (sports.yahoo.com) Game 4 is the next pivot point. A Hawks win would put Atlanta one game from the second round, while a Knicks win would send the series back to New York tied again. (nba.com)
