NEW YORK — The Atlanta Hawks squad participating in the 2026 NBA postseason is markedly dissimilar to the one that commenced the season in October. Their star player, Trae Young, has departed, as has significant offseason acquisition Kristaps Porziņģis. The team underwent a major strategic shift in early January, adjusted its initial lineup in February, and accelerated its performance post-All-Star Weekend, culminating in a rapid ascent to the East’s sixth seed.
“For the players who have persisted through these changes — specifically Jalen [Johnson], Nickeil [Alexander-Walker], Dyson [Daniels], and Onyeka [Okongwu] — witnessing their resilience and commitment to our foundational principles and team character, and seeing them reap the benefits, is significant,” commented head coach Quin Snyder prior to the second game. “While we are content and thankful to be in this position, concurrently, I’m hesitant to limit this team’s potential. We are, undeniably, a youthful group. This marks the initial playoff experience for many of our key players.
“Nonetheless, I also believe it’s important to welcome the chance to achieve playoff triumphs.”
Presently, following a challenging performance in the opening match, these developing Hawks have secured a playoff achievement, overcoming a 12-point fourth-quarter disadvantage to clinch a 107-106 win. This outcome astonished attendees at Madison Square Garden and stripped the preferred Knicks of their home-court advantage, balancing the best-of-seven contest at one game apiece as the action moves to Atlanta. The third game is scheduled to commence at State Farm Arena at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Presented below are three observations from a remarkable second game:
Madison Square Garden identifies a new adversary to replace Trae Young
During the initial phase of the first quarter, occasional shouts of “F*** Trae Young!” could be heard echoing from the upper sections of Madison Square Garden. These spectators are, of course, aware that the agile point guard who eliminated the Knicks from the 2021 playoffs is no longer on Atlanta’s roster; they had simply not yet pinpointed another antagonist deserving of their animosity and contempt.
It appears they have now.
In the inaugural game, CJ McCollum made contact with Jalen Brunson’s groin area during a jump shot, subsequently alleging that the Knicks’ player was feigning for an unjustified foul. (McCollum later retracted this assertion; the NBA maintained the technical foul issued for the contact.) However, in the second game, he thoroughly antagonized the entire populace of New York.
McCollum registered a game-best 32 points on 12-of-22 shooting, spearheading a Hawks squad that was in dire need of both his guidance and scoring prowess. As other Hawks players struggled to find their rhythm against New York’s aggressive defense early on, McCollum contributed 18 points in the initial half, preventing the Knicks from establishing a dominant lead. When Jose Alvarado, his ex-Pelicans colleague, invigorated the Knicks late in the third period, McCollum confronted him:
That verbal exchange culminated in simultaneous technical fouls — and an emerging chant within Madison Square Garden:
And following an energetic resurgence in the early fourth quarter, which brought the contest back into contention upon McCollum’s return with 7:38 remaining — amidst a barrage of jeers from the Garden audience — he was the individual who took control.
A penetration and pass sequence enabled Alexander-Walker to sink a corner three-pointer, reducing a six-point gap by half with slightly more than four minutes left. A superb maneuver left Brunson disoriented, opening the path for a running shot that put the Hawks ahead with 2:08 on the clock.
Another isolation play by McCollum, embarrassing Brunson after OG Anunoby failed to convert two free throws, extended the advantage to 103-100 with just over 90 seconds remaining in regular play. When Brunson then buried a pull-up three to equalize, McCollum responded immediately, this time outmaneuvering All-Defensive forward OG Anunoby with a challenging baseline fadeaway to secure a lead for the Hawks that they would maintain. This held true even after McCollum missed two free throws with 5.6 seconds left, granting New York a final opportunity which, similar to the entirety of that decisive fourth quarter, proved unsuccessful, thereby tying the series and bestowing upon McCollum a label he doesn’t appear to particularly embrace.
“I am not an antagonist,” McCollum declared post-game. “I am a pleasant individual with a spouse and two children.”
New Yorkers, however, would likely contest that statement. And currently, due to McCollum’s performance, they will have another occasion to express their sentiments when the Hawks return for Game 5 next Tuesday.
The late-game specialists falter
The Knicks held a 14-point advantage halfway through the third period, extending it to 12 points at the commencement of the fourth. This lead was established through a diversified scoring attack, featuring six athletes reaching double-digit points, and by exploiting their physical superiority, resulting in 10 offensive boards contributing to 22 subsequent scoring opportunities, a 37-24 rebound differential, and a 50-36 lead in interior scoring.
Subsequently, in the fourth quarter, almost all of that advantage dissipated.
The Knicks, a squad that boasted the NBA’s top fourth-quarter net rating and consistently outscored rivals by over 20 points per 100 possessions in critical moments during the regular season, could only muster 15 points on 5-of-22 shooting in the conclusive period. Prior to converting two crucial three-pointers in the final ninety seconds, Brunson had missed three out of his four fourth-quarter attempts, maintaining a shooting slump since his stellar beginning to Game 1. His current series statistics stand at 19-for-48 (39.6%), a mere 12-for-34 (35.3%) in the key, and only 3-for-11 (27.3%) in the fourth quarter — a stark contrast to the late-game brilliance anticipated from New York’s leader.
Moreover, after largely containing Atlanta’s offensive output from the halftime of Game 1 until the beginning of the fourth quarter in Game 2, the Knicks failed to execute defensive stops when they were most crucial on Monday. The Hawks achieved 13-for-18 from the field in the fourth quarter, with 11 of these scores originating from the interior, as McCollum, Jalen Johnson, and substitute Jonathan Kuminga (who contributed seven of his 19 points in that final period) persistently drove to the basket, encountering minimal opposition from New York.
A squad renowned for its proficiency in securing possession during the regular season committed two detrimental turnovers. A team that concluded the NBA season ranked tenth in free-throw accuracy, hovering just below 80%, watched Anunoby miss two attempts with 1:54 remaining and the Hawks holding a one-point lead — representing two of *ten* missed free throws from New York’s 27 opportunities in Game 2. A team that had reinvigorated its strategy to exploit the two-player dynamic between Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns once more fell silent in the closing stages when Snyder altered his defensive assignments, shifting Kuminga to Towns and Okongwu to Josh Hart. Consequently, the Knicks’ offensive efforts largely devolved into stagnation, distant three-point attempts, and arduous isolation-based shot creation by Brunson.
When he successfully converts those shots, Madison Square Garden becomes the most raucous venue globally, and the Knicks prove exceedingly challenging to overcome. When he struggles … indeed, the World’s Most Renowned Arena can quickly become eerily silent.
Atlanta uncovers unexpected roster contributions
For the majority of the second game, the Knicks’ initial five players were outperforming those of their opponents. Seeking to ignite a change — and, to some extent, to bolster available personnel, given Okongwu’s struggle with right knee inflammation and reserve center Mouhamed Gueye’s restriction due to a hip contusion — Snyder re-activated seldom-used wing Corey Kispert (acquired with McCollum from D.C. in the Trae Young deal) and recently signed reserve center Tony Bradley (who faced jeers from Knicks supporters recalling his tenure with the Pacers during the 2025 Eastern Conference finals).
Both players made contributions: Bradley delivered two points, one rebound, one assist, one steal, and one block across 12 minutes; Kispert provided two fast-break layups, two rebounds, one assist, and one steal in nine minutes. While New York’s combinations featuring Deuce McBride, Landry Shamet, Jordan Clarkson, and Mitchell Robinson severely struggled to maintain performance, Bradley, Kispert, Kuminga, and seasoned player Gabe Vincent collectively provided Snyder with precisely enough to help shift the game in Atlanta’s favor. This underscored a point, as Knicks head coach Mike Brown conveyed to journalists before Game 2, that no team reaches this advanced stage coincidentally.
“I advise everyone, without exception: this is precisely why these contests span seven games,” Brown stated. “Because at this juncture of the season, every participant is skilled, and each contributes meaningfully.”
The capabilities demonstrated by the Hawks on Monday were sufficient to leave the Knicks disoriented and stunned — and currently, New York requires a victory away from home to claim this series.
