- The Result: The Atlanta Hawks erased a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to steal Game 2 on the road, defeating the New York Knicks 107-106.
- The Hero: CJ McCollum silenced the Garden with 32 points, hitting the go-ahead jumper with 33 seconds remaining.
- The Series: The Eastern Conference first-round matchup heads back to Atlanta tied at 1-1.
NEW YORK — Madison Square Garden went from a deafening roar to a library-like silence in less than twelve minutes. Heading into the final frame, the New York Knicks held a 12-point cushion and looked poised to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. History was on their side, too—the Knicks were 40-1 in postseason history when leading by a dozen or more after three quarters. Then, the collapse happened.
McCollum Takes Over the Garden
Atlanta didn’t just chip away at the lead; they shattered it. CJ McCollum, the mid-season acquisition who has quickly become the engine of this Hawks offense, delivered a masterclass in clutch shooting. McCollum scored 12 of his game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter alone.
The Knicks defense, which had suffocated Atlanta for three quarters, suddenly had no answer for McCollum’s mid-range game. With 2:09 left, he banked in a tough runner to give the Hawks their first lead of the second half at 101-100. After Jalen Brunson answered with a deep three to tie it, McCollum stepped back and buried a jumper with 33 seconds left to put Atlanta up 105-103.
The drama didn’t end there. Jalen Johnson added a critical bucket with 10 seconds remaining, and despite McCollum missing two late free throws that gave New York one final gasp, Mikal Bridges’ contested jumper at the buzzer clanked off the iron.
Game 2 Box Score Leaders
- Hawks: CJ McCollum (32 pts, 6 ast), Jonathan Kuminga (19 pts), Jalen Johnson (17 pts).
- Knicks: Jalen Brunson (29 pts, 8 ast), Karl-Anthony Towns (18 pts, 12 reb), Josh Hart (14 pts).
What They Said
“It’s a long game. You’ve got to play to zero. We knew the crowd was going to be loud, we knew they were going to make runs, but we just stayed in the fight.”
— CJ McCollum on the comeback victory
“This is a game we should have won. In the playoffs, you can’t give away games like that. We let them get comfortable in the fourth, and a player like CJ is going to make you pay for that.”
— Josh Hart, Knicks Forward
What’s Next: Momentum Shifts to Atlanta
The Knicks find themselves in a precarious position. While Jalen Brunson continued his steady play with 29 points, the supporting cast struggled to find rhythm once the Hawks tightened their perimeter defense in the final minutes. The loss of a 12-point lead at home is a psychological blow that New York must recover from before Game 3 on Thursday.
For Atlanta, the emergence of Jonathan Kuminga as a secondary scoring threat (19 points off the bench) provides the depth they were lacking in Game 1. If McCollum continues to play with this level of efficiency, the No. 6 seed Hawks are no longer just a “tough out”—they are a legitimate threat to upend the Knicks’ championship aspirations.
