Knicks can't get off a shot in wild finish against Hawks in Game 3, as CJ McCollum lifts Atlanta again
The sixth-seeded Hawks now hold a 2-1 lead over the favored Knicks in the best-of-seven series.
After trailing for most of Thursday’s Game 3, the New York Knicks had a chance to win it in the closing seconds, with the ball in the hands of Jalen Brunson — their captain, their closer, last season’s Clutch Player of the Year. But it’s not last year. DIDN'T EVEN LET THEM GET A SHOT OFF CLAMP CITYYYYYYYY 🔒🔒🔒 pic.
twitter. com/A0pPXVD0L8 — Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) April 24, 2026 The Knicks were set to inbound with 12. 5 seconds left in regulation, after Game 2 hero CJ McCollum burnished his Knick-killer bona fides with another crunch-time pull-up jumper, this one over the outstretched arm of Josh Hart, to give the Atlanta Hawks a 109-108 lead.
Hawks defensive ace Dyson Daniels denied Brunson the ball, so Hart had to get it into Karl-Anthony Towns and try to find another way to get it to Brunson as the seconds ticked down. After Towns stuck Daniels with a screen that popped Brunson free, Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu switched out onto the Knicks’ All-Star point guard, who drove hard to his right in search of the paint. But as Okongwu tracked Brunson, Jonathan Kuminga peeled off Hart and raced over to spring a double team.
Brunson found himself trapped on the baseline, searching for relief. Unfortunately for him, Daniels was stuck on Hart, Jalen Johnson was on top of OG Anunoby, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker was between him and Towns; the Hawks’ swarming late-game defense left him no outlets. Brunson threaded a pass toward Hart, but it bounced clear of his reach and back toward half-court.