Knicks rout Hawks 140-89 in blowout

The Knicks didn’t just beat Atlanta on Thursday night. They steamrolled the Hawks 140-89, ended the series 4-2, and turned a competitive first round into a historical footnote by halftime. This was Game 6 in Atlanta on April 30 — and by the break, the real question wasn’t who would win. It was how many records New York was about to break. OG Anunoby led the scoring with 29, Karl-Anthony Towns piled up another triple-double, and the Knicks punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference semifinals. (nba.com) ### How bad was the blowout? Very bad — instantly memorable bad. New York led 40-15 after one quarter, which was the largest first-quarter lead in the shot-clock era for a playoff game, and stretched that to a 47-point halftime margin. The final 51-point gap became the biggest playoff win in Knicks franchise history. (ny1.com)0-89-game-6-rout-to-end-atlanta-s-season)) ### Who drove it? Anunoby was the cleanest summary of the night. He scored 29 points in just 27 minutes, basically because he never had to stay out there long. Towns added his second triple-double of the series, which is a wild sentence in itself for a player who has spent yea(ny1.com)d 33 assists, 16 steals, and a 59% shooting night. (ny1.com) ### What happened to Atlanta? The Hawks got buried early and never found a counter. They shot 38% from the field, turned it over 19 times, and gave up 26 points off those turnovers. New York also crushed them in transition, 35-8 on fast-break points. Once the Knicks started tu(ny1.com)orgot the scouting report. (espn.com) ### Was this series always headed here? Not really — and that’s what makes the finish stand out. Atlanta actually led the series 2-1 after three games. Then New York flipped it. The Knicks won Game 4 behind Towns’ first postseason triple-double to tie the series, took Game 5 at home, and then detonated Game 6 on the road. So this wasn’t a wire-to-wire m(espn.com). (nba.com) ### Why does Towns matter so much here? Because he changes the shape of New York’s offense. When Towns rebounds, passes, and scores at this level, the Knicks stop being a Brunson-dependent attack and become much harder to load up against. Atlanta couldn’t really solve that. The Hawks had to worry about Brunson’s control, Anunoby’s finishing, and Towns p(nba.com)ersion of New York that can make a long run feel real. The inference there is simple — balance travels better than hero ball in May. (ny1.com) ### So what changes now? New York moves on to the Eastern Conference semifinals for a fourth straight season, but this one lands differently because of the manner of the win. A normal closeout says you survived. This one said you might be getting dangerous at exactly the right(ny1.com)nba.com) ### Bottom line? The score was 140-89, but the bigger story was control. The Knicks took a live series, seized it, and ended it with a performance so one-sided that the history books had to get involved. (usnews.com)