The Atlanta Hawks squared off against the New York Knicks in a pivotal Game 5 of their first round playoff matchup on Tuesday night — with the series tied at two games apiece.
It was a scrappy start to the game, with both teams playing physical defense. The big takeaway from the opening was Atlanta shuffling their matchups, with Dyson Daniels picking up Karl-Anthony Towns, Nickeil Alexander-Walker shifting
over to guard Jalen Brunson, and Onyeka Okongwu taking the OG Anunoby assignment.
Daniels drew first blood, going right at Jalen Brunson for the spin and score on Atlanta’s first possession — part of an aggressive start for the Aussie who scored six of the Hawks first eight points.
Midway through the first, Jalen Johnson scored his first points of the contest with a pretty and-one on Towns, cutting New York’s lead to one.
Unfortunately for the Hawks, their defense wilted as soon as Daniels went to the bench. Towns looked far more comfortable going up against Jonathan Kuminga, scoring seven points in the blink of an eye.
A couple of ferocious transition slams from Kuminga and Johnson brought the Hawks to within three with 3:23 to go in the quarter, before a 12-2 Knicks run to close the quarter put Atlanta in a 35-22 hole at the end of the opening frame. Atlanta shot just 10-for-22 (45.5%) from the floor (including a 1-for-8 mark from three) and 1-for-2 at the free-throw line, while the Knicks went 13-for-20 (65%) from the floor and 7-for-11 at the line in the first quarter.
Down 13 to begin the second, Alexander-Walker tried to turn Atlanta’s three-point shooting woes around, splashing a late shot clock corner three to open the quarter.
The good vibes were short lived however, as CJ McCollum had a shot blocked and committed two turnovers on Atlanta’s next three possessions, slowing Atlanta’s momentum. Kuminga tried to get Atlanta back on track with a nifty finish in transition, but then a couple of baskets from Jose Alvarado and Towns extended New York’s lead to 16, prompting Quin Snyder to call for time just three minutes into the period.
The two sides traded baskets out of the timeout before a rare Dyson Daniels three-pointer cut the deficit to 14 with 5:29 to go. However the Knicks responded with a Brunson-led 10-2 run to take a 59-37 lead at the 3:08 mark, and it was beginning to look like this one was going to get out of hand.
That said, true to how they’ve played this season, Atlanta continued to fight. They leaned into Dyson Daniels as a roll man a bit more over the rest of the half, which seemed to give their offense a lift. They trailed 64-48 at the break.
Atlanta’s inability to come up with stops was the story of the first 24 minutes, as New York shot a scorching 24-for-41 (58.5%) from the field, with most of their damage coming on the interior as they finished the first half with eight three-point attempts, 18 free-throw attempts and a 33% offensive rebounding percentage.
Additionally, the Hawks poor shooting from Game 4 appeared to follow them to New York, as they finished the half with a dismal 51.5% true shooting clip, with CJ McCollum and Jonathan Kuminga held to a combined 10 points on 5-for-14 shooting (0-for-4 from three).
Atlanta continued to stay within arms length to open the second half, with Nickeil Alexander-Walker in particular playing with a fire in his belly, scoring 10 out of Atlanta’s first 17 points of the third quarter.
Dyson Daniels got an easy two out of the pick-and-roll with Johnson.
However Atlanta’s inability to come up with stops negated any progress they made on the offensive end, and the Hawks still found themselves down by 18 heading into the final frame. Atlanta went just 2-for-7 at the free-throw line in the third, with CJ McCollum and Tony Bradley each missing a pair. New York also had a 6-0 advantage in second chance points, with the Hawks failing to grab a single offensive rebound in the period.
Trailing 90-72, Atlanta had their work cut out for them in the fourth quarter.
Alexander-Walker and Okongwu connected on a lob to get them on the board, and they trailed by 16 with 10:13 left to play.
Then Jalen Brunson took over. The Knicks captain was utterly unguardable at the start of the fourth, scoring 10 straight points as part of a 12-4 New York run that felt like the knockout punch, giving the home team a 106-82 lead with just over six minutes remaining.
New York extended their lead to as many as 28 before both teams emptied their benches with 4:00 to go, and ultimately, the Knicks took home a 126-97 victory. Now, the series shifts back to Atlanta with the Hawks needing to win two straight to keep their season alive.
Final Numbers
Jalen Johnson led the way in scoring for Atlanta, finishing with 18 points (7-for-15 shooting, 1-for-5 from three) to go alongside 10 rebounds and six assists. Dyson Daniels scored 17 points (7-for-11 shooting, 2-for-4 from three) and added five assists. Onyeka Okongwu and Nickeil Alexander-Walker chipped in with 16 points apiece.
For New York, it was a dominant showing for Jalen Brunson, who exploded for 39 points (15-for-23 shooting, 3-for-5 from three) and eight assists. Karl-Anthony Towns was effective, finishing with 16 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. OG Anunoby put up a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Overall, a disappointing outcome in a pivotal game for Atlanta. They’ll need to keep their heads high and come out laser focused for Thursday night’s Game 6.
Until next time.
