Knicks can’t get off a shot against Hawks in wild finish of Game 3, as CJ McCollum lifts Atlanta again

After trailing for most of Thursday’s Game 3, the New York Knicks had a chance to win it in the closing seconds, with the ball in the hands of Jalen Brunson — their captain, their closer, last season’s Clutch Player of the Year.

But it’s not last year.

The Knicks were set to inbound with 12.5 seconds left in regulation, after Game 2 hero CJ McCollum burnished his Knick-killer bona fides with another crunch-time pull-up jumper, this one over the outstretched arm of Josh Hart, to give the Atlanta Hawks a 109-108 lead. Hawks defensive ace Dyson Daniels denied Brunson the ball, so Hart had to get it into Karl-Anthony Towns and try to find another way to get it to Brunson as the seconds ticked down. After Towns stuck Daniels with a screen that popped Brunson free, Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu switched out onto the Knicks’ All-Star point guard, who drove hard to his right in search of the paint.

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But as Okongwu tracked Brunson, Jonathan Kuminga peeled off Hart and raced over to spring a double team. Brunson found himself trapped on the baseline, searching for relief. Unfortunately for him, Daniels was stuck on Hart, Jalen Johnson was on top of OG Anunoby, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker was between him and Towns; the Hawks’ swarming late-game defense left him no outlets.

Brunson threaded a pass toward Hart, but it bounced clear of his reach and back toward half-court. Kuminga won the foot race to the ball, tapping it away from Hart and into the hands of Alexander-Walker, who dribbled out the rest of the clock and sealed a 109-108 win that gave the sixth-seeded Hawks a 2-1 lead over the favored Knicks in the best-of-seven series.

It was a bitter ending to what had been a thrilling fourth quarter for New York. The visitors had stumbled out of the gates, shooting just 8-for-22 from the field and 2-for-12 from 3-point range with five turnovers in the first quarter, staking the hosts to a 33-21 lead after 12 minutes. The Knicks battled back, trailing by eight at halftime and after the third quarter, but the Hawks repeatedly made enough plays to keep them at arm’s length, pushing their lead back to 11 at…

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Author : Dan Devine

Publish date : 2026-04-24 02:23:00

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