The New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks are back to square one.
Karl-Anthony Towns recorded his first career postseason triple-double—20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists—as the Knicks recovered from back-to-back one-point losses to beat the Atlanta Hawks 114-98 on Sunday and level their Eastern Conference first-round series at 2-2. OG Anunoby added 22 points, Jalen Brunson contributed 19, and the Knicks led from the middle of the first quarter until the final buzzer.
Game 5 is Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. The series is guaranteed to return to Atlanta for Game 6 on Thursday regardless of the outcome.
Towns Makes History for Knicks
The triple-double made Towns the fourth player in Knicks history to record one in a playoff game, joining Walt Frazier, Dick McGuire, and Josh Hart. For an 11th-year All-Star who has carried significant expectations since arriving in New York, it was the kind of defining postseason moment this series needed from him.
The Knicks held a 68-44 lead at halftime—a margin built on the back of efficient ball movement and a defence that finally answered the questions raised by Games 2 and 3. They extended it to 20 by the end of the third quarter, and by the fourth, “Let’s go Knicks!” chants were echoing through State Farm Arena with reserves on the floor and the game long decided.
What Changed Defensively
The biggest adjustment New York made was on CJ McCollum—the Atlanta Hawks guard who had delivered the decisive shots in both of the previous two games. McCollum led Atlanta in scoring again with 17 points, but the Knicks held him scoreless from beyond the arc after he had made nine three-pointers across the first three games. That is the difference between a player who is a handful and a player who is a problem.
“CJ’s a handful, so we’ve just got to keep trying to find ways to show him different looks,” said Knicks coach Mike Brown. The Hawks got 15 from Nickeil Alexander-Walker and 14 from All-Star Jalen Johnson, but neither was enough to compensate for McCollum’s reduced impact.
The Knicks’ Mindset Going In
Brunson pointed to the second half of Game 3—a game New York lost by one—as the foundation for Sunday’s performance. Even in defeat, the Knicks had found something worth carrying forward.
“Obviously, we didn’t win Game 3, but I think the way we played in the second half as a team propelled us to play the way we did tonight,” he said. “We’re trying to continue to push that forward.”
He was equally clear about what this team needs to sustain. “The way we’ve been able to play on both sides of the ball these past five quarters is how we’ve got to play.”
Two straight losses, both by a single point, and the Knicks came to Atlanta and won by 16. The series is level. Madison Square Garden is next.
