The Atlanta Hawks rallied to defeat the New York Knicks 107-106 in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden, evening their playoff series at 1-1. CJ McCollum led the comeback despite the team's poor shooting in the second half. Game 3 heads to Atlanta on Thursday.
The Hawks overcame a shaky performance to steal the victory on the road. They shot just 1 for 12 from three-point range after halftime and struggled with rebounds early, yet held firm defensively. Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker limited Jalen Brunson, who scored 29 points but shot inefficiently at 52.2% true shooting over the two games. Knicks coach Mike Brown noted Atlanta's desperation and edge on 50-50 balls in crunch time. Hawks wing Corey Kispert said, 'Nobody on our side blinked. Nobody flinched.' It was special to win without our best stuff in such a tough environment, he added, and that momentum will carry us forward. CJ McCollum dissected the win postgame, pointing to missed open threes by himself and teammates like Mo Gueye and Jonathan Kuminga. Despite turnovers and misses, including his own late free throws, he praised possessions where Atlanta executed their plan. 'Those are great possessions where we did what we said we wanted to do going into the game, and we just missed,' McCollum said. He attacked Brunson relentlessly and finished over Karl-Anthony Towns. Jalen Johnson emphasized untapped potential, stating the Hawks 'thugged it out' but 'still haven't played our best basketball yet.' Alexander-Walker, drawing from past playoff runs, stressed simplifying the game and staying in tune. Hawks coach Quin Snyder lauded the team's selflessness in deferring to McCollum. Knicks forward Josh Hart acknowledged frustration but highlighted the team's high character and need to involve Towns more. The series shifts to Atlanta for Game 3, where improved offense from Johnson or Alexander-Walker could tilt it further.
