The Atlanta Hawks took on the New York Knicks in Game 2 of the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs on Monday, April 20th, 2026 in Madison Square Garden, 107-106 in exciting fashion. Atlanta lost Game 113 to 102 but the energy for Game 2 was different. Atlanta was down 14 points at an instance in the game and the Knicks seemed like they were going to go away with another victory, as New York center Karl-Anthony Towns dominated in the post and guard Jalen Brunson got the ball to the team’s playmakers. Anthony-Towns had 18 points while Brunson had 29. But things turned around late in the contest.
The late-game heroics of the Hawks’ defense and the offensive prowess of Atlanta guard CJ McCollum, led them to a win. McCollum put the team on his back offensively, leading both teams in scoring with 32 points to go along with three rebounds, six assists and two steals. Hawks’ forward Jalen Johnson also had a productive night with 17 points and eight rebounds.
In the fourth quarter, Knicks’ Mikal Bridges got the ball with a few seconds left, being guarded by Jalen Johnson and attempted a shot but missed, thus ending the contest. The series is tied at one and the Hawks have the momentum going into Game 3 of the series with the matchup being at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
If the Hawks keep it up, they may be able to defeat the Knicks and advance, but that is yet to be seen.
