HAWKS 109 - KNICKS 108 (ATL Leads 2-1)
Oh, boy Knicks fans!! This is definitely not what the doctor ordered. For the second consecutive game, the Knicks fell to the Atlanta Hawks by only one-point, this time 109-108 as they fall behind this best-of-seven opening round series two-games-to-one.
Can the Knicks actually choke this series away? A series they were heavily favored in, especially against an Atlanta team that doesn't feature Knick-killer Trae Young anymore?
Well, there is a new Knicks-Killer in the ATL, and his name CJ McCollum, who hit a fade-away jumper with 12.5 seconds to go in regulation to humiliate the Knicks for the second straight night.
McCollum didn't lead the Hawks in scoring on Thursday, he finished one point shy of the leader, Jalen Johnson, who had 24. Heck he didn't even have a double-double. But he hit the biggest shot that mattered.
With the Knicks holding on to a 108-107 lead, and after Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart both missed huge buckets that could have closed it out, McCollum took a pass from Johnson and drilled the jumper just a few feet from the key to give the Hawks the lead for good.
The Knicks trailed almost exclusively for the entire night, trailing by as many as 12-points after the first quarter. New York didn't even sniff the lead until Brunson floated through the lane for a bucket to give the Knicks a 107-105 lead with 1:03 to play.
This followed the game tying three pointer by Myle McBride that gave the Knicks even a punchers chance.
But it wasn't enough.
Now New York is down 2-1. There is still another game to play down in Atlanta. New York needs to dig real deep to get this series back to New York even at two-and-two. If not, this season could be on the doorstep of ending, with the media and fans ready to pounce on coach Mike Brown.

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