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The Knicks head back to State Farm Arena for Game Four against the Hawks, down 2-1 in their first-round playoff series. New York must find a way to stop the bleeding after dropping two straight one-point losses, including Thursday’s 109-108 bummer in Game Three. The Knicks can still win the series, but you’re forgiven for any loss of confidence as they continue to let go of the rope and then hang themselves with it.
In Game Three, the Hawks edged out the Knicks 109-108 on a late fadeaway jumper from CJ McCollum with 12.5 seconds left. McCollum finished with 23 points, while Jalen Johnson led Atlanta with a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double. For the Knicks, OG Anunoby poured in 29 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns had a 21-17 double-double, but Jalen Brunson can’t find his cape in the series, and Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges combined for two points on 1-of-11 shooting in Game Three. Josh can be forgiven due to the rebounding and various intangibles he delivers, but Bridges looked every bit of his -26 plus-minus, committing four turnovers and taking three shots before getting benched during the second half.
Usually the team that owns the glass with a +14 rebounding edge in the series and leads for a majority of game time would be in the driver’s seat. Yet defensive lapses, curious late-game execution, and missed opportunities at the free-throw line have been self-inflicted gashes. Poor preparation and execution? Sounds like a coaching failure. Mike Brown’s rotations and timeout management have indeed drawn criticism, particularly his failure to keep All-Star players on the floor consistently in crunch time. Integrating Towns more effectively early and attacking Atlanta’s frontcourt weaknesses remains an obvious adjustment, and with more gravity drawn to Towns, Brunson might find a little more spacing in which to conjure his dark arts.
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Greater contribution from their bench would be nice, too. Jordan Clarkson has been adequate in his limited role, but Landry Shamet has recorded three points in the series. So much for a flamethrower off the bench. Mitchell Robinson should be the X-Factor against…
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Publish date : 2026-04-25 12:51:00
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