The New York Knicks led by 14 points in the third quarter and looked to be heading to a 2-0 series lead. Then they shot 5-22 in the fourth quarter.
Atlanta closed on a 15-6 run to win 107-106 and level the series at 1-1. Game 3 is in Atlanta.
CJ McCollum was the decisive figure. He finished with 32 points on 12-22 from the field, including 6 points in the final two minutes. The Knicks had no effective answer for him in the moments that settled the game.
Jalen Brunson was the best player on the court for most of the evening, he finished with 29 points, but the fourth-quarter collapse cancelled his individual output. Karl-Anthony Towns added 18 points. Josh Hart contributed 15 points and 13 rebounds. The Knicks had the personnel to close this out. They did not.
The fourth-quarter numbers tell the story. Atlanta shot 72.2% from the field in the final period (13-18). New York shot 22.7% (5-22). Those are not close-game numbers. One team maintained its composure under pressure. The other fell apart in the moments that mattered.
For Atlanta, the road steal is significant. Before this game, the Knicks were building towards 2-0 at home, a position that would have put the Hawks under serious pressure for the rest of the series. Instead, the series travels to Atlanta tied, with McCollum having delivered the kind of performance that changes the psychological shape of a seven-game run.
The Hawks also got 19 points from Jonathan Kuminga off the bench. Atlanta trailed for almost the entire game — they led only once before the final closing run, 36-35, in the first quarter — and still found a way to win. That takes a specific kind of resilience.
For New York, the bigger question is whether this was an isolated collapse or a pattern. A 5-22 fourth quarter in a game they controlled for three periods will need answering. Brunson, Towns, and Hart are quality enough to recover. But they travel to Atlanta now without the security of a 2-0 series lead, and the Hawks know they can win on the road.
Series outlook: Tied 1-1. Atlanta host Games 3 and 4. The Hawks have shown they can compete and fight back from double-digit deficits. The Knicks have shown they can collapse in the fourth quarter from a position of control. Both facts shape what comes next.
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