Knicks-Hawks Game 3

The Knicks and Hawks open Game 3 in Atlanta on Thursday night with their first-round series tied 1-1. (nba.com) Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Eastern at State Farm Arena, after New York won Game 1, 113-102, and Atlanta answered in Game 2, 107-106. (nba.com) The split changed the shape of the matchup before the series even reached Georgia. New York led by 12 points after three quarters in Game 2 before Atlanta closed late to steal home-court advantage. (nba.com) The series pairs the East’s No. 3 seed, New York, against No. 6 Atlanta, and Game 3 now becomes the first playoff game of the matchup with the Hawks at home. Atlanta finished the regular season 46-36, while the Knicks went 53-29. (nba.com) (espn.com) Through two games, Jalen Brunson has led New York with 28.5 points and 7.0 assists per game, while C.J. McCollum has paced Atlanta at 29.0 points per game. The early scoring load has come from the backcourts on both sides. (nba.com) The wider bracket has already started to split into two tracks. By Thursday, several first-round series had produced 2-0 leads, while Knicks-Hawks remained one of the few East matchups still level heading into Game 3. (cbssports.com) (espn.com) That makes Thursday less about a comeback and more about control. The winner leaves Atlanta with a 2-1 edge in a series that now has Games 4, 5, 6 and 7 scheduled for April 25, April 28, April 30 and May 2 if needed. (nba.com) For New York, the question is whether the team that led most of the first two games can finish one on the road. For Atlanta, Game 3 is a chance to turn one late rally at Madison Square Garden into a series lead on its own floor. (msn.com)