Knicks establish early lead, never look back in 126-97 Game 5 win over Hawks

The Knicks defeated the Hawks 126-97 in Game 5 of their first round matchup on Tuesday night at MSG. New York reestablishes a 3-2 series advantage. Here are some takeaways...

- Mike Brown gave Karl-Anthony Towns credit pregame for the work he's put in on both ends of the floor over the first four games of the series, and the big man responded by putting together as strong of a first quarter he's had. Towns took advantage of his mismatch with Jonathan Kuminga , knocking down his first three shots. - Brown elected to turn to the two big-look early on, subbing Mitchell Robinson in with Towns also on the floor, and things worked in the Knicks' favor as they pushed the lead out to double-digits at the end of one (13).

Robinson had three points, three boards, and a block over his first four minutes. - OG Anunoby pulled in seven rebounds in the first, which is the most he's recorded in a quarter since 2020. - Robinson wasn't the only member of New York's bench feeling it early, as Jordan Clarkson chipped in five points as part of a 12-2 late first quarter run and Jose Alvarado knocked down three buckets in the opening minutes of the second to help push the lead out even further.

- Towns also continued getting whatever he wanted, picking up five more points early in the second. - New York's red-hot shooting continued the rest of the of the first half as they stretched the lead out to as many as 22 points, but Atlanta found their groove in the closing minutes to get it back down to 16. The road squad made just six of their 20 threes in the first half, while the home team shot 59 percent from the field.