At the start of the New York Knicks’ renaissance in 2021, Trae Young was the first villain who stole the show at Madison Square Garden. Five years later, CJ
Apr 20, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum controls the ball against New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby and center Karl-Anthony Towns during the fourth quarter of game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden.
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images At the start of the New York Knicks’ renaissance in 2021, Trae Young was the first villain who stole the show at Madison Square Garden. Five years later, CJ McCollum would become the next Atlanta Hawks guard to upend the Knicks’ chances of winning another playoff game. In a chaotic, yet thrilling final quarter in Game 2 Monday night at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks squandered a 14-point deficit, featuring six points from McCollum in less than two minutes down the stretch cap off aBut like all great showings at “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” Jalen Brunson’s last-ditch three-pointer gave the Knicks enough breathing room to be down by a point. And their moment to redeem themselves from a dreadful fourth quarter came when McCollum missed both of his free-throw attempts, but Mikal Bridges came up short on a contested mid-range jumper, putting an end to his team’s aspirations of taking a 2-0 series lead. “Just missed it. Nothing wrong with it, just gotta make it next,” Bridges told reporters during a postgame interview, adding that he “liked” the shot he took. Some of the blame could be attributed to head coach Mike Brown calling a timeout on a fast break at the 2:34 mark of the fourth quarter, rather than waiting until the final possession to use it. In that instance, this would have given his team an opportunity to reset and run a design play to give Brunson the final shot.“A couple of possessions weren’t fluid, so I wanted to make sure we had something to get to,” Brown said during a postgame press conference. McCollum’s 32 led all scores, as Jalen Johnson posted 17 and Jonathan Kuminga provided 19 points off the bench. Brunson was at the top of the Knicks stat sheet with 29 points and seven assists, but shooting 10-for-26 from the field and 4-for-10 from three would be his demise. Karl-Anthony Towns posted 18 points and eight rebounds, only to not score once in the fourth quarter. Josh Hart had 15 points and 13 assists, but failed to produce during the final minutes. This all came as Mitchell Robinson played one of his most efficient games , yet was dealt a technical foul for walking over Hawks star Dyson Daniels during the first quarter. Hart put the Knicks in front early, with six points in the first three and a half minutes of the first quarter. Brunson and Bridges extended the lead by drilling their first shots from beyond the arc. Bridges remained on the attack, scoring another five, as OG Anunoby and Robinson attacked the interior. Despite consistently scoring at the rim, New York couldn’t remain in control as its playoff rival tied the game with 2:58 left in the second quarter. But a pair of threes from Brunson and Anunoby, followed up by Bridges’ buzzer beater, put the Knicks in front by seven going into halftime. His shot would be the start of New York taking a double-digit lead over their opponent. The dynamic duo of Brunson and Towns was at the forefront of their successful third quarter, combining for 21 points to give their team a firm 12-point lead going into the final 12 minutes of play. But when something comes up, another must go down, and that was the Knicks’ offense in this instance, which wasby Atlanta in the fourth quarter. Uncharteristic is one way to put it, considering New York comfortably outscored its opponents in the first and third quarters. Maybe all the Knicks needed was a taste of reality after easily downing the Hawks in game one and riding the momentum throughout game two. With the series now tied 1-1, they will meet the Hawks on Thursday for game three of this first-round series at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.CityFHEPS can save lives if the city lets itNYC’s ‘economic resilience’ masks a deeper crisis involving fleeing residents and taxable income: new reportYankees’ Cam Schlittler ready to resume Red Sox rivalry despite threatsagainst Brooklyn cops caught on video in violent arrest of manBronx Times
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