Knicks vs. Hawks: 3 keys for New York in Game 5 of first-round playoff series

After a resounding 114-98 win against the Hawks on Saturday in Atlanta, the Knicks regained homecourt advantage in their first-round playoff series. That wasn’t the only thing.

The Knicks rediscovered their mojo after two close losses. After notable performances from Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart, New York has a chance to take a 3-2 series lead on Tuesday night.

Advertisement

Here are three keys ahead of Game 5 at Madison Square Garden…

Point KAT

It’s been a season of push-and-pull between head coach Mike Brown and Towns.

The All-Star has slowly become more acclimated to a role where he is more of an offensive hub with the power to score and facilitate. Towns had the first playoff triple-double of his career in Game 4, notching 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Towns has also been more under control over the last few months — he had just two turnovers on Saturday.

It was clear from the jump that the Knicks wanted to emphasize Towns as an initiator of the offense, and he excelled. New York found comfort in repeatedly having the big man with the ball at the top of the key, and Anunoby making a lex cut off a screen from Jalen Brunson. Since Atlanta was looking to prevent Jalen Johnson from switching onto Brunson, it opened up several easy passes for Towns to make for Anunoby at the rim.

Advertisement

The trouble with performances like these is consistency. Can the Knicks continue to operate the offense through Towns on Tuesday night? Or will they revert to a bogged down offense?

Going into Game 5, the Knicks should continue running the offense through Towns. As we saw on Saturday, he doesn’t need to score on every play, but the attention he draws should continue to open up opportunities for his teammates.

Halfcourt series

When this series has been played in the halfcourt, the Knicks have the advantage.

After giving up 20 fast break points in Game 3, New York held the Hawks to just seven in Game 4. Many of those quick strike opportunities came after the game was in hand. One of the keys to controlling the pace comes from mitigating turnovers.

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) works…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/knicks-vs-hawks-3-keys-130000471.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-04-27 13:00:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.