With a chance to advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs, the Knicks didn’t mess around in the slightest, dismantling the Atlanta Hawks in a historic 140-89 win on Thursday night.
Here are the takeaways…
— Things couldn’t have started better for New York who was off and running after Jalen Brunson drilled a three-pointer on the first possession of the game. A minute later OG Anunoby slammed one home and the Knicks were up 5-0 early. Both players would end up being critical for New York.
The only hiccup of the entire game for the Knicks came when the Hawks quickly retaliated with a 9-0 run to go up by four points and looking quite formidable in a win-or-go-home situation. Turns out, that little spurt would be the best offense Atlanta would have all night. From there, New York simply took over and ended the quarter with a ridiculous 35-6 run.
— Leading the charge was Anunoby who scored or assisted on five straight possessions starting with that early dunk to put the Knicks back in front. He led all scorers in the opening quarter with 14 points, just one point less than what the Hawks put up as a team.
Brunson also had a big first quarter with nine points and five assists, finding multiple open guys including Mikal Bridges who broke out of an offensive slump in the series with eight points after 12 minutes. He scored the final basket before of the first quarter which put New York up 40-15.
— With such a commanding lead after one quarter, the only question was whether the Knicks would allow the Hawks to fight back and make it a game. The answer was a resounding no. Instead, New York kept its foot on the gas and continued its total destruction of Atlanta in the second quarter by beginning the period on a 10-1 run.
— The Knicks were getting any look they wanted from outside and made the Hawks pay when they drove to the paint by scoring easy layups, dunks or going to the free throw line and drilling them. Anunoby and Bridges were at the forefront of the offensive onslaught while Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns also got in the mix with Towns doing all of his damage from the line (10-for-10).
On the other side, Atlanta still couldn’t get anything to fall and went into the locker room with a season-low 36 points at halftime and was down by an insurmountable 47 points after New York dropped another 43 points in the quarter. The only downside for the Knicks was the ejection of Mitchell Robinson (along with Dyson Daniels), but they would be fine without him.
— With the game wrapped up after just two quarters, the second half flew by as the Hawks waved the white flag. New York, meanwhile, kept up the intensity and continued to pick them apart. Following Anunoby’s incredible first half, Bridges took the baton in the third quarter and fully broke out, finishing with 24 points on 10-for-12 from the floor.
— Also impressive in the second half was Towns who, for the second straight game, showed off his passing abilities and dished out 10 assists for yet another triple-double after scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. He also added three steals and a block in just 28 minutes. His double-digit assists were the most on the team with Brunson not far behind with eight.
Speaking of Brunson it wasn’t his best shooting night, particularly from deep (1-for-6), but the point guard finished with 17 points and made his teammates around him better. None benefitted more than Anunoby who led all scorers with 29 points on 11-for-14 from the field and 4-for-6 from deep. Anunoby did it all with seven rebounds, four steals, two assists and a block.
— New York unloaded its bench in the fourth quarter and every single player got on the board. The Knicks shot 58.8 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from three-point range. They also outrebounded the Hawks, 46-35, and had 16 steals on the night.
Game MVP: OG Anunoby
His play in the first half helped propel the Knicks to their incredible lead that sealed them their series win.
Highlights
What’s next
The Knicks will play either the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics or No. 7 seed Philadelphia 76ers in the second round.
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