Knicks-Hawks shift south

The Knicks and Hawks head to Atlanta on Thursday with their first-round series even, after the Hawks stole Game 2 by one point at Madison Square Garden. (nba.com) Game 3 is set for 7 p.m. Eastern on April 23 at State Farm Arena, with Amazon Prime listed as the broadcaster and 92.9 The Game carrying the local radio call in Atlanta. (nba.com, nba.com) Atlanta got here by rallying from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit in Game 2 and winning 107-106, with CJ McCollum scoring 32 points to even the series at 1-1. (nba.com, espn.com) The matchup now shifts from a Knicks home floor where New York won Game 1, 113-102, to a Hawks home floor that gives Atlanta its first chance to play the series in front of its own crowd. The best-of-seven schedule has Game 4 back in Atlanta on Saturday, April 25, before a Game 5 return to New York on Tuesday, April 28. (nba.com) The numbers through two games show why Thursday matters. New York has averaged 109.5 points in the series to Atlanta’s 104.5, but the Hawks flipped the series rhythm by closing Game 2 late instead of letting the Knicks control another finish. (nba.com) Two Knicks wings sit near the center of the Game 3 conversation: OG Anunoby and Josh Hart. Covers’ same-game parlay analysis for Thursday built its angle around those two, pointing to Anunoby’s two-way role and Hart’s work as a rebounder and possession extender. (covers.com, covers.com) Yahoo’s viewing guide framed Game 3 as the next swing game in a series that tightened immediately after Atlanta’s comeback win, with the venue change and the 1-1 split resetting the matchup into a shorter race. (sports.yahoo.com) The league’s series page lists Jalen Brunson as New York’s top scorer through two games at 28.5 points per game, while McCollum leads Atlanta at 29.0. That leaves Game 3 in Atlanta looking less like a continuation of New York’s opener and more like a test of which backcourt controls the road shift. (nba.com) By Thursday night, one team will leave State Farm Arena up 2-1, and the series that opened with a split in New York will have a new center of gravity in Atlanta. (nba.com)