The Atlanta Hawks staged a dramatic comeback to defeat the New York Knicks 107-106 in Game 2 of their first-round NBA playoff series on Monday night at Madison Square Garden, evening the matchup at 1-1. CJ McCollum led the charge with 32 points, including nine in the fourth quarter. The Knicks squandered a 12-point lead in the final period.
Atlanta overcame a 12-point deficit entering the fourth quarter, matching the largest playoff fourth-quarter collapse in Knicks franchise history. McCollum, who finished with nine points in the period, repeatedly outmaneuvered Jalen Brunson down the stretch. With just over two minutes left, he floated a high shot off the glass for Atlanta's first lead since early in the third. Moments later, he drove past Brunson to extend the advantage to three points, then hit a fading jumper from the corner after Brunson tied it with a 3-pointer. McCollum missed both free throws with 5.6 seconds remaining, but Mikal Bridges' final jumper rimmed out for New York. Nickeil Alexander-Walker contributed a key 3-pointer and a strip leading to a Jalen Johnson finish late in the game. Through two games, McCollum has scored 58 points while pushing the pace for the Hawks. The incident stemmed from Game 1, when McCollum received a technical foul and $2,500 fine after contact with Brunson on a jumper. “I shot a jumper and Jalen thought we were at a Broadway show,” McCollum said afterward. The MSG crowd responded by chanting profanities at him before and during Game 2. Knicks coach Mike Brown sat both Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns for the first four minutes of the fourth, allowing Atlanta to cut the lead to nine points. Towns scored 14 in the third but went scoreless on two shots in the final frame, not touching the ball in the last four minutes. “I don't think the game got away there. We've played that lineup at end of regular season and it was pretty good,” Brown said.
