The Atlanta Hawks found a way to pry victory from the jaws of defeat and tie up their series with the New York Knicks on Monday evening, stealing Game 2 at Madison Square Garden by a score of 107-106 in what was one of the most improbable wins of the season.
The Hawks got off to a sluggish start to this game, putting just 23 points on the board in an eventful first quarter.
Jalen Johnson struggled to get to the rim early on against the perimeter defense of Josh Hart, having the ball ripped away from
him multiple times and not getting into the paint with any consistency. The Knicks also played continued strong defense on Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who only got one shot attempt up in the first frame, a wild fallaway floater.
Multiple video reviews occurred in the early portion of this game, both of which involved Hawks guard Dyson Daniels. On one play, Daniels’ unintentional shot to the head of Jalen Brunson was ruled not to be a flagrant foul, while later on, he got into an altercation with Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson after the center walked over him following an illegal screen. Robinson earned a technical foul for the play.
The first quarter also saw the Hawks playoff debut of Tony Bradley, which did not exactly go according to plan, as Robinson got to the rim multiple times on lob opportunities.
The only positive on offense for Atlanta was the play of Onyeka Okongwu, who continued playing well in this series with a couple of triples in the first quarter.
Early on in the second quarter, the Hawks came out with much improved energy, taking advantage of Karl-Anthony Towns and Brunson both being on the bench by opening the frame on an 11-3 run, capitalizing on some New York miscues in the process.
Notably, Quin Snyder opted to go with Corey Kispert instead of Zaccharie Risacher to open up the second frame, and the 2026 trade acquisition responded by playing some serviceable defense and spacing the floor on the other end.
The Hawks ended up taking their first lead of the night thanks to a Jonathan Kuminga slam in transition.
Unfortunately, they wouldn’t hold onto the lead for long, as New York got back into the driver’s seat throughout the quarter, thanks in large part to the Hawks’ inability to secure defensive rebounds, which was thought by many to be a potential Achilles heel for Atlanta heading into this series.
One positive sign for the Hawks was Nickeil Alexander-Walker getting loose for his first triple of the game, taking advantage of a mismatch with Brunson and shooting right over the smaller guard.
Johnson’s quiet night continued throughout the second frame, although he was able to tie the game at 48 with a couple of free throws with just under three minutes to go until halftime.
The hero of the first half for Atlanta was CJ McCollum, who in many ways replicated his strong start to Game 1 by pouring in an efficient 21 points to keep the Hawks within shouting distance, an effort also helped by the fact that Towns scored just four points before the break.
The Knicks ended up taking a 61-54 lead into the locker room thanks to a tough push shot from Mikal Bridges at the first half buzzer, capping a frustrating end to the second quarter. Snyder also had some real frustration with the officiating crew down the stretch of the half, with New York seeming to be consistently rewarded for embellishing contact.
Although Johnson finally got some offense going early in the third quarter, the Hawks were unable to get stops on the other end, with Josh Hart and Towns both knocking down triples to open up the period.
Okongwu ended up picking up his fourth foul on a highly questionable call on Brunson, which forced the Hawks to put Mo Gueye into the game earlier than expected, leading to more second-chance points for the Knicks. New York ended up taking a 14-point lead about midway through the frame.
With the Knicks continuing to trap him in the halfcourt, Johnson looked to get out in transition in order to find easier scoring opportunities.
McCollum later picked up a technical foul, along with his former New Orleans Pelicans teammate Jose Alvarado, after the two got into a verbal altercation, which got the Knicks fans even more engaged in the game.
New York wound up taking a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter, 91-79.
The Hawks got off to a strong start to the fourth thanks to Knicks coach Mike Brown’s inexplicable decision to once again leave Brunson and Towns on the bench together, which backfired just as it did in the first half.
Kuminga continued to play well off the bench, cutting into the lead with a difficult and-one finish.
Atlanta sliced the lead to four on a tough layup from Johnson over the outstretched hands of Towns.
While the Knicks briefly pushed the lead back to eight, the Hawks got it back down to one with a layup from Kuminga, a three from NAW, followed by another layup from Johnson.
With things heading into crunch time, McCollum took over down the stretch, scoring on three possessions in isolations against Brunson in the final couple of minutes to give the Hawks a shocking three-point lead.
Every matchup seemed to be a mismatch for McCollum.
After a NAW steal on Brunson, the Hawks then pushed the lead to four with just over ten seconds remaining on a monster flush from Johnson.
However, the Knicks weren’t dead yet, as Brunson hit a quick three to put the pressure back on Atlanta, up by just one point with seven seconds to go.
The Hawks got the hot man, McCollum, to the line, but he shockingly missed both, giving New York a chance to win.
Instead of calling for time, Brown opted to let the Knicks run, with Mikal Bridges getting a clean look from the baseline at the buzzer.
However, the shot came up short, and the Hawks escaped New York City with a 107-106, stealing home court advantage in the process.
While McCollum will get the majority of the headlines, the Hawks’ defense was also wildly impressive down the stretch of this game, holding the Knicks to just 15 points in the fourth quarter, a complete 180 from their inability to get stops in the game between the two teams a couple of weeks ago.
Game 3 is set for Thursday night in Atlanta.
