The Atlanta Hawks have taken the lead in the first round series against the New York Knicks. In the 105-94 win in Game 3, it is mainly Trae Young who leads a strong Hawks team. The all-star on the other hand disappointed.
Atlanta Hawks (5) – New York Knicks (4) 105:94 (BOXSCORE) – Serie: 2-1
Young distributed 10 assists in the first half, becoming the first player since Rajon Rondo in 2008 to score over 10 assists in a first half during his first playoff run. The point guard ended the game with 21 points (8/19 FG) and 14 assists and directed a variable Hawks offense that left nothing to burn after a dominant second quarter.
A total of seven Hawks scored double digits, including Bogdan Bogdanovic (15), John Collins (14) and Clint Capela (13, 12 rebounds). Atlanta was much more dangerous from the field (52 to 36 percent) and from the triple line (16/27 to 9/30 threesome), while the Knicks had massive advantages on the free throw line (27/30 to 5/8). Individually, however, almost no kink was convincing except for Derrick Rose (30, 13/21).
Above all, Julius Randle was disappointing, hitting only two of his 15 throws and recording 14 points and 11 rebounds in the end. The good defense especially by De’Andre Hunter seemed to make the Most Improved Player to create again, which he could not hide as a playmaker in view of the weak odds of his teammates. RJ Barrett also disappointed (7, 2/8) with the guests.
Hawks dominate the second quarter
While the Hawks stayed with their previous starting five, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau changed his to two positions and brought two old friends from the start. The outstanding Rose in Game 2 moved in for Elfrid Payton and thus started his first playoff game since 2015, Taj Gibson was preferred to the slightly ailing Nerlens Noel, who acted with a minute limit.
Rose was in a good mood again in the first quarter and helped his team to get off to a slightly better offensive start this time, the ex-MVP set 11 points at the start. On the other hand, Young and Danilo Gallinari in particular quickly got into the game. Shortly before the end of the quarter, Gallo brought Atlanta down to 6 points with a three-point, but then the Hawks did not finish it cleanly. A Randle threesome with the siren even provided the guests with a 31:29 lead at the quarter break.
In the second, however, the Knicks quickly cooled and had bigger problems getting points on the scoreboard. Instead, Young turned up on the other side more and more and either locked himself or fed his teammates. A 9-0 run over three minutes put Atlanta 45:39 in front before Reggie Bullock could respond. The hawks played their way into a frenzy after a Young-Capela-Alley-Oop there was a 10 point difference for the first time, and it went even further. The Hawks finished half after Hunter and Bogdanovic threesomes with a 22-5 run! 58:44 at break.
Knicks: Only Rose resists
In the third, Rose tried to keep his team in the game almost single-handedly, while Young continued to conduct an incredibly versatile and well-presented Hawks offense. Randle in particular was a total failure, but apart from Rose (9/14), nobody met efficiently at the Knicks (the rest of the team: 9/41!). Randle worked his way to the free-throw line a few times, where the Hawks fans gave him “over-rated” chants. The lead remained, it went with 86:72 for Atlanta in the last quarter.
There, too, Rose tried a lot again, with a difficult And-1 he temporarily led the Knicks up to 12 points again. As a result, however, both teams lost some chances before Young found Bogdanovic in the corner with another remarkable pass, whose three-point set to 100-85 with four minutes to go. Then it was the praise combination of Collins on Capela twice in a row that kept the Knicks at a distance.
Bullock did a technical, Young hit the following free throw with “MVP, MVP” calls in the hall and animated the spectators again. Thirty seconds before the end, Rose pocketed another threesome, but it was too late. The Hawks won their first playoff home game since 2017.
Knicks vs. Hawks: All games in the series
| game | date | Time | Home | Away | Results |
| 1 | 24. May | 1 O ‘clock | Knicks | Hawks | 105:107 |
| 2 | 27. May | 1:30 | Knicks | Hawks | 101:92 |
| 3 | 29. May | 1 O ‘clock | Hawks | Knicks | 105:94 |
| 4 | 30. May | 19 o’clock | Hawks | Knicks | |
| 5* | 3. June | 1:30 | Knicks | Hawks | |
| 6* | 5. June | tba | Hawks | Knicks | |
| 7* | 7. June | tba | Knicks | Hawks |
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