It was a game that nobody could have foreseen coming from the New York Knicks.
With an opportunity to wrap up their opening round series with the pesky Atlanta Hawks, the Knicks put together a record breaking performance, dropping 140 points in one of the most lopsided games in NBA playoff history, a 140-89 throttling of the Hawks.
The 51-point spread was the biggest road victory in playoff history, and set the franchise record for largest postseason margin of victory. And to think this game was at one point a 61-point advantage for the Knicks.
New York stunned the Hawks right from the jump with a 40-point first quarter en route to a 83-36 halftime lead. That 47-point margin of victory broke a nearly nine year record once held by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who carried a 41-point halftime lead in a playoff game.
And leading the way was OG Anunoby who dished out 29 points on an 11-of-14 night from the floor in a dominant showcase as he carried the ballclub.
And that's saying something considering all Knicks regulars were in double-figures, including Karl Anthony Towns who scored a much forgotten triple-double.
Really the only fireworks on the night came just before the half when Mitchell Robinson got into a scuffle near the scores table with Atlanta's Jalen Johnson. Both players were ejected. It didn't matter to New York when it was all said and done.
The victory capped off an impressive three-game stretch for New York as they held Atlanta under 100 points in each of the final three games of the series.
New York now waits to see whom it will face in Round 2. The Celtics and Sixers play their Game 7 on Saturday.
Comments