Knicks 113, Hawks 102: “We have the better Jalen”

Fun fact: Jesse Itzler, who wrote “Go New York Go” is both a Knicks fan and a minority co-owner of the Hawks. Mr. Itzler must have felt some conflicted feelings as he sat down to watch the Knickerbockers host Atlanta in Game One of the Eastern Conference First Round. And it must have been a special kind of sting to watch a raucous crowd chanting his most famous song as the home team closed out a 113-102 victory.

An electric Madison Square Garden looked sold-out from the cozy confines of this Binghamton abode. To our delight, Mikal Bridges drew first blood, leading the home team to a 7-4 lead.

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From there, Atlanta crept into the lead thanks to buckets by veteran CJ McCollum (26 PTS). It wouldn’t last long. The Brunson Burner was lit from the jump, and Jalen scored 19 in the quarter while shooting 8-of-11 from the field. The captain set the Knicks franchise record for first-quarter points—beating the record that he and Towns set in the last playoffs. He and Bridges combined for New York’s first 22 points.

We knew it would be a game of runs. Answering with a 10-2 stretch, led by a stretch of perfect shooting by Jalen Brunson (28 PTS, 7 AST), New York leapfrogged ahead by six. Quoth LOB14: “We have the better Jalen.” Cap didn’t have a stellar shooting night (9-22 FG), but he made 75% of his longballs, had a 7:2 assist-to-turnover ratio, and set a winning tone from the start. The better Jalen, indeed.

Dyson Daniels (4 PTS, 11 AST, 9 RBS, 3 STL) picked Josh Hart’s (10 PTS, 14 RBS, 3 STL) pocket, which turned into a Jalen Johnson (23 PTS, 7 RBS) triple. Johnson scored eight in the quarter, including a perfect 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, to keep the Birds competitive. The visitors briefly regained a lead thanks to Onyeka Okongwu (19 PTS, 7 RBS) connecting from deep, but the ‘Bockers were laser-focused. By winning the boards and the paint, going 12-of-20 from the field, and holding their guests to 39% shooting, our heroes survived four turnovers and took a 30-24 advantage into the second quarter.

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Publish date : 2026-04-19 01:12:00

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