Hawks take 2‑1 lead
- Atlanta stunned New York to take a 2‑1 lead in their first‑round series after a comeback win tonight. (x.com) - The Hawks now head home up 2‑1 with Game 3 shifting the series' momentum back to Atlanta. (sports.yahoo.com) - Playoff scoring is down this year, so these low‑scoring swings and defensive stops make Game 3s huge. (nytimes.com)
Atlanta took a 2-1 series lead Thursday night by beating New York 109-108 on CJ McCollum’s jumper with 12.5 seconds left. (nba.com) The Hawks led by as many as 18 in the first half at State Farm Arena, then survived after Jalen Brunson’s three-point play put the Knicks ahead 108-105 with 1:03 remaining. Jalen Johnson answered with a basket, and McCollum hit the winner from 15 feet on Atlanta’s next possession. (nba.com) Johnson finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists for Atlanta, McCollum scored 23, and Jonathan Kuminga added 21 off the bench. For New York, OG Anunoby scored 29, Brunson had 26, and Karl-Anthony Towns posted 21 points and 17 rebounds. (nba.com) The series opened with New York winning Game 1, 113-102, before Atlanta stole Game 2 at Madison Square Garden, 107-106, after erasing a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit. Thursday’s result gave the sixth-seeded Hawks two straight one-possession wins over the third-seeded Knicks. (nba.com; nba.com) That swing changed the shape of a matchup that began with New York as the higher seed and home-court team. The Knicks went 2-1 against Atlanta in the regular season, but the teams were separated by only six total points across those three games. (nba.com) The matchup has also turned on late-game execution. In Game 2, Atlanta hunted Brunson in switches and closed with McCollum’s go-ahead bucket; in Game 3, New York failed to get a shot off on one late possession and then ended the game on a Brunson turnover before the horn. (nba.com; nba.com) Game 4 is set for Saturday, April 25, in Atlanta, with the Hawks now holding home court and a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven series. If New York wants the series back on its side, it has to stop the late collapses that flipped Games 2 and 3. (nba.com)
