Knicks advance to second round of playoffs after dismantling Hawks, 140-89
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, which 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 the end 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.
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