Knicks favored to close out Hawks

The story here is pretty straightforward — the Knicks have taken control of this series, and now they get a clean shot to end it Thursday night (espn.com) a small favorite on the road, and that says a lot about how the last two games changed the feel of this matchup. This is no longer just “(espn.com)ta prove the first three games were the real series, not the last two?” (espn.com) ### Why are (rotowire.com) stole Games 2 and 3 by a combined two points, which made this look like a coin flip. Then New York answered with a 114-98 win in Game 4 and a 126-97 blowout in Game 5. When a team wins back-to-back playoff games by 16 and 29, oddsmakers stop treating venue as the whole story. (espn.com) ### What changed in the last two games? The Knicks started playing like the bigger, sturdier team. In Game 5 they crushed Atlanta on the glass, 4(espn.com)a speed game. That matters because the Hawks need transition, pace, and late-game shot creation to make this series uncomfortable. New York has spent two games cutting off all three. (espn.com) ### How big was Brunson’s Game 5? Huge — not just because of the 39 points, but because he slammed the door when Atlanta (espn.com)before Tuesday, then dropped 17 in the fourth quarter alone. That changed the tone going into Game 6, because now Atlanta has to worry about the version of Brunson that can turn a competitive game into a finished one in six minutes. (espn.com) ### Where does Karl-Anthony Towns fit in? He’s been the stabilizer. Towns had a 20-point, 10-reb(espn.com)6 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists in Game 5. Basically, Brunson gives New York the late-game firepower, but Towns has been the piece that keeps the floor balanced and the Hawks’ front line under pressure the whole night. (espn.com) ### Why is Josh Hart such a big pregame question? Because Hart is the glue guy for everything messy and important. The latest pu(espn.com) back issue, and that’s the kind of tag that matters more in the playoffs than it would in January. Hart rebounds like a forward, pushes the ball, defends across positions, and helps New York keep its best closing groups intact. If he’s limited, the Knicks can still win — but the game gets less comfortable. (rotowire.com) (espn.com)d sitting around Knicks -2.5 says New York is better right now, not unbeatable. Atlanta is still at home, and home teams in elimination games usually bring more force early. The catch is that the market is telling you the Hawks’ home court is no longer enough to outweigh how one-sided the underlying play has looked since Game 4. (espn.com) ### What does Atlanta need to flip? A faster game and a tighter one. The Hawks’ two wins came by one point each, with (rotowire.com)ecause New York has controlled the boards and kept Atlanta from living in transition. If Game 6 gets played in the half court, the Knicks probably have the cleaner answers. (nba.com) ### Bottom line New York earned favorite status. The(espn.com)t games, and now the question is whether Hart is healthy enough for them to finish the job cleanly in Atlanta. (espn.com)