The New York Knicks lost Game 2 of their first-round playoff series to the Atlanta Hawks after squandering a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter on Monday night. The narrow defeat at Madison Square Garden tied the series at 1-1. Coach Mike Brown's decisions on lineups and timeouts came under question in the collapse.
New York held double-digit leads in both halves of Game 2 but faltered late. With 4:24 remaining, Karl-Anthony Towns missed a 3-pointer and had limited involvement afterward, setting only screens for Jalen Brunson. Towns had scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the third quarter but was defended by Jonathan Kuminga, while Onyeka Okongwu switched onto Josh Hart. The Knicks failed to exploit mismatches, focusing instead on Brunson isolations despite their strong clutch offense during the regular season. Towns attempted just 25 shots across the two playoff games so far. He noted after a February loss to Detroit, 'I mean, our offense is our offense. It's been that way all year.'
