Columnists say Knicks must finish Hawks in Game 6 after Game 5 rout

The Knicks are in the familiar playoff spot where one game feels like two. Beat the Hawks in Game 6, and the series becomes a clean, professional closeout. Lose it, and sud(espn.com)and the weird volatility of a Game 7. That’s why the reaction after New York’s Game 5 blowout wasn’t really celebration. It was more like: good, now finis(nba.com)nts from Jalen Brunson and took a 3-2 series lead, with Game 6 set for Thursday, April 30, in Atlanta. (espn.com)hange the mood? Because it was the first game in the series that looked fully under Knicks control. New York led 35-22 after one quarter and never let Atlanta turn it into a late-possession game. Brunson finally had the kind of signature scoring night people expect from him in the playoffs, and the Knicks backed it with defense and pace instead of just surviving in clutch time. (espn.com) ### Why is everyone talking about closing now? Because a 3-2 lead (espn.com)y has a Game 7 sitting there for Saturday, May 2, if necessary — and once a series gets there, the better team does not always win. One bad shooting night, one early foul problem, one hot quarter from the other side, and the whole tone changes. Basically, the Knicks earned the right to avoid that. (nba.com) ### What’s the biggest basketball rea(espn.com) York’s series leader in points, rebounds, and assists, which tells you the offense is healthier when it doesn’t ask Brunson to create every good thing himself. That balance showed up in Game 5, and it’s why some New York columnists are zeroing in on the Brunson-Towns partnership instead of treating this as another one-man playoff act. (nba.com) ### Why does Towns mat(nba.com) score, pass, and pull defenders out of the paint, Atlanta has to make harder choices. Help too much on Brunson, and Towns can punish it. Stay home on Towns, and Brunson gets cleaner driving lanes. Brunson even framed it after Game 5 as adding “another dimension,” which is the simple version of a real problem for the Hawks — New York is tougher to load up against now. (sports.yahoo.com) ### What’s Atlanta’s p(nba.com)shown in this series they can make games ugly and close, and their season is now down to one night in Atlanta. The NBA’s own series page put the pressure squarely on Atlanta’s core to deliver in Game 6, which is another way of saying New York should expect a desperate first punch. (nba.com) ### So what do the Knicks actually need to repeat? The Game 5 version of themselves — fast start, Brunson attac(sports.yahoo.com)ece. They need enough structure that the game doesn’t drift into coin-flip territory in the fourth quarter. That’s the trap. Atlanta wants emotion and variance. New York should want boring control. (espn.com) ### Why does this feel bigger than one first-round game(nba.com)ions, not just a fun playoff team. A contender is supposed to recognize the opening and end the series. If New York wins Thursday, the story becomes maturity and balance. If it loses, the story instantly becomes why it let the door reopen. (newsday.com) ### Bottom line? Game 5 gave the Knicks control. Game 6 is about proving they know what to do with it. (espn.com)