Trae Young may no longer be in Atlanta, but a new villain has emerged on the Hawks to take his place. With the sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd cursing his name, Hawks guard CJ McCollum scored six of his team's last eight points as they erased a 14-point deficit to stun the Knicks in New York 107-106 and even the Eastern Conference first-round series at one game apiece.
“I’m not the villain,” said McCollum after the game. ”I’m a nice guy with two kids and a wife. I think it's admiration. Great, passionate fans in a hostile environment… If anything, I think it's a sign of respect.”
If so, it’s the same type of “respect” that the Knicks faithful showed Young for years. Even though the former Hawks guard is now on the Wizards, Monday night’s game had all the hallmarks of the 2021 playoff series when the fifth-seeded Hawks beat the fourth-seeded Knicks in five games, and Young became public enemy number one in the city. Game 2 on Monday night had a double technical foul, three fouls reviewed for potential flagrants, and one unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that resulted in coaches having to run onto the court to separate players.
“It’s just basketball; that’s how it’s supposed to be,” said McCollum after the game. “We’ve got a lot on the line. They’ve got a lot on the line. This is how I fed my family.”
The Knicks crowd came into this game ready to villainize McCollum after the veteran guard, who came to the Hawks in a trade for Young, was given a technical foul in Game 1 for kicking Knicks All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson in the groin during a jumpshot. After McCollum initially accused Brunson of acting like he was on Broadway, the Hawks guard admitted that it was, indeed, a foul. None of that mattered to Knicks fans. After McCollum was at the center of a scuffle in the third quarter that saw both he and Knicks bench guard Jose Alvarado given technical fouls, the crowd rained down chants of “F- you, CJ.” The guard threw his hands out in the air, asking the crowd to make more noise, revealing in the vitriol.
“I love it,” McCollum said when asked about how he handles the animosity from opposing fans. “It's fun being in opposing arenas, and the buzzer sounds, and it's quiet, and you walk off the court.”
But it wasn’t all for show. In addition to scoring six of the Hawks’ last eight points, McCollum led all scorers with 32 points, while adding six assists, three rebounds, and two steals. He also had eight points in the third quarter to keep the Hawks within striking distance, as the Knicks were trying to put the game away. He repeatedly used screens to have Brunson switch onto him and then attacked the Knicks guard on drives, seemingly scoring at will.
Still, McCollum did step to the line for two free throws with five seconds left and the Hawks up by one. Instead of putting the game away, he missed both free throws. The Knicks had no timeouts left, so they quickly got the ball down the floor to Mikail Bridges, who seemingly had an angle to the hoop but took a step to the side and lofted up a 12-foot fadeaway from the baseline that missed the mark to end the game.
It was a questionable decision from the Knicks in a series of questionable decisions that prevented them from putting the game away.
"A couple of times we could have pulled away, and we didn't," admitted Knicks Coach Mike Brown after the game. "They just kind of stayed with it. You know, we've just got to lock in a little bit better. It was a one-possession game, and we missed ten free throws. We had 14 turnovers for 18 points... We had some bad turnovers that led to some early baskets for those guys in transition."
The Knicks did shoot just 17-of-27 from the free-throw line, including two missed free throws by OG Anunoby with under two minutes left to play. They were also 11-for-34 from beyond the arc and committed 14 turnovers to the Hawks' 11, but they also seemed to take their foot off the gas multiple times when they were in full control of the game.
The first time was at the start of the second quarter. The Hawks started the game being extra physical, especially with Brunson, who led all scorers in Game 1 with 28 points. Atlanta picked him up full court with Dyson Daniels, and then doubled when he crossed halfcourt. While that strategy did keep Brunson to just five points in the first quarter, he also had four assists, and the Hawks committed four fouls guarding Brunson alone. The Knicks spammed high pick’n’rolls with Brunson and either Karl Anthony Towns or Mitchell Robinson, which led to multiple alley oops. When the Knicks didn’t hit the roller, they would often get a good look from beyond the arc. If that didn’t go, they seemed to have no trouble cleaning the glass and getting a put-back. The Knicks had a 32-23 lead at the end of the first quarter and had outrebounded the Hawks 15-4, while outscoring them 20-6 in the paint.
Instead of capitalizing on their momentum and a lively home crowd, the Knicks did what they did far too often during the regular season and seemed to coast or lose focus.
Coach Mike Brown started the second quarter with a unit that consisted of four reserves and Anunoby. With no true point guard on the court for the Knicks, and Deuce McBridge trying to steer the ship, the offense looked disjointed. The Knicks had three turnovers and two end-of-shot-clock stepback jump shots in the first three and a half minutes of the second quarter as the Hawks cut the lead from 33-23 to 35-34. The Knicks called a timeout, but instead of changing the personnel, Brown decided to just put Josh Hart in for Anunoby. The next possession was a Knicks turnover, and the Hawks took a 36-35 lead.
That prompted Brown to put Jose Alvarado into the game with the score tied at 36. On the first play, he deflects a missed free throw and is fouled by Gabe Vincent as he tries to track it down. The Knicks would then force another turnover on the next possession and build a 41-36 lead before Brunson, Towns, and Bridges came back in, and the Knicks seemed to weather a major storm.
After taking a 61-54 lead into the half, the Knicks start the third with a Hart three-pointer and a Towns three-pointer to eventually build a 14-point lead. Still, the Hawks refused to go away. McCollom kept attacking Brunson, scoring eight points of his game-leading 32 points in the third quarter and helping the Hawks cut the lead back down to seven.
Coach Brown turned to Alvarado again. Alvarado’s defense on McCollum led to an offensive foul on an illegal screen and then the double technical foul that got the sold-out home crowd on their feet and screaming. On the next possession, Alvarado picked up McCollum from full court, and Madison Square Garden seemed ready to explode. The energy helped push the Knicks' lead up to 14 at one point in the third quarter.
Still, the Knicks seemed unable to put the nail in the coffin and put the Hawks away.
"We got stagnant," said Brunson of their fourth-quarter offense. An offense that had been easily outscoring their opponent in the paint became oddly perimeter-focused, while the Hawks were able to get into the paint at will. Despite Karl Anthony Towns being the Knicks' most efficient scorer, going 8-of-12 from the field for 18 points with eight rebounds and two blocks, the big man didn’t score a point in the fourth quarter and didn’t take a single shot in the final four and a half minutes of the game.
Instead, in the final seven minutes of the game, Bridges missed two threes, Hart missed one, and Towns missed another. Brunson did hit a big three to tie the game at 103, and another to bring the Knicks down 107-106, but he also missed two others and was stripped by Nickeil Alexander-Walker with 13 seconds left, which the Hawks turned into a fastbreak dunk for Jalen Johnson to secure the victory.
“Poor decisions on my part on some possessions,” admitted Brunson after the game. “They played great defense on some possessions and knocked the ball out of my hands. We’ve got to play better with the lead.”
Brunson did lead the Knicks with 29 points, but he was also just 10-of-26 from the field and finished with seven assists, after having four in the first quarter alone. Bridges finished 3-of-10 from the field, and only two Knicks bench players scored in the game.
So instead of taking a commanding 2-0 series lead, the Knicks will now travel on the road to Atlanta with the series very much up for grabs. They will also have to contend with a Hawks team that has outplayed the Knicks late in the fourth quarter in both games so far this series. The gap was too large to make up in Game 1, but the Hawks caught the Knicks on their heels again in Game 2 and were able to capitalize. If the Knicks want to have any hope of emerging from this series and fulfilling the lofty expectations set for this team at the beginning of the season, they have to find a way to want it more than their younger counterparts.
For their part, the Knicks were sullen after the game but don't seem despondent.
"Losing the game doesn't mean anything," said Anunoby. "It’s the playoffs. They're a good team too, you know, just watch the film, learn from the mistakes, and move on to the next.”
“We've been in this situation before,” echoed Hart. “Obviously, everybody is frustrated with this loss, but we’re gonna go into Game 3 with great attention to detail and great focus for a full 48 [minutes]. We’ve got high character guys who respond well.”
Time will tell if that response is going to be enough to prevent the Hawks from taking another playoff series against the Knicks and continuing to build their villain narrative in New York City.
Vaughn Dalzell
