<\/p>\n
Director Spike Lee attends Game 2 of the Eastern Conference first round NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 20, 2026 in New York City.<\/p>\n
Al Bello\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Jalen Brunson\u00a0of the New York Knicks during Game 2 against the Hawks.<\/p>\n
Al Bello\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Nickeil Alexander-Walker of the Atlanta Hawks shoots against\u00a0Mikal Bridges of the New York\u00a0Knicks during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference first round NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 20, 2026 in New York City.<\/p>\n
Al Bello\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Josh Hart of the New York\u00a0Knicks dunks against the Atlanta Hawks in the first quarter during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference first round NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 20, 2026 in New York City.<\/p>\n
Al Bello\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
OG Anunoby of the New York Knicks shoots against Jalen Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks.<\/p>\n
Al Bello\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Knicks trying to close it out<\/a><\/p>\n 10:13 p.m.: The Knicks bring a lead into the fourth quarter and are 46-2 in that situation this season.<\/p>\n New York leads 91-79 to start the period.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 10:12 p.m.: After three quarters, some highlights.<\/p>\n CJ McCollum had a game-high 26 points. Knicks in control heading to the 4th quarter<\/a><\/p>\n 10:10 p.m.:\u00a0The Knicks own a double-digit lead heading to the final period.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Make the Times Union a Preferred Source on Google to see more of our journalism when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Jalen Brunson has 19 points to lead New York, while Karl-Anthony Towns is up to 18.<\/p>\n Knicks building lead, techs handed out<\/a><\/p>\n 10:04 p.m.:\u00a0A 3-pointer from big man Karl-Anthony Towns sends the MSG crowd into an uproar, and the Knicks are up 89-77 with 1:50 left in the third quarter.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Shortly after the 3, CJ McCollum and Jose Alvarado each get a technical foul.<\/p>\n Knicks leading late in 3rd quarter<\/a><\/p>\n 9:58 p.m.:\u00a0The Knicks own an 84-75 lead with 3:21 left in the third period.<\/p>\n Jalen Brunson is up to 19 points for New York, which has also received 15 points from Josh Hart.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n CJ McCollum has scored a game-high 24 points for the Hawks.<\/p>\n Celebs in the house at MSG<\/a><\/p>\n 9:53 p.m.:\u00a0Hoping to see a Knicks win, there are plenty of famous faces in the crowd tonight at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n Among the celebrities in attendance are actor Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet, gymnast Suni Lee, actor Ben Stiller rapper Fat Joe, Mets owner Steve Cohen and, of course, director Spike Lee.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Balanced scoring leads Knicks<\/a><\/p>\n 9:49 p.m.:\u00a0Up 77-64 with 7:27 left in the third quarter, the Knicks have six players with at least 10 points.<\/p>\n Josh Hart\u2019s 15 points lead New York.<\/p>\n Knicks stretch lead to double-digits<\/a><\/p>\n 9:45 p.m.:\u00a0After free throws from Jalen Brunson, the Knicks lead 75-64 with 7:58 left in the third quarter.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n New York is up 1-0 in this best-of-7 series.<\/p>\n Knicks, Hawks back after halftime<\/a><\/p>\n 9:39 p.m.:\u00a0After the break, the teams are back on the floor at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n The Hawks start the third quarter down 61-54.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 9:23 p.m.:\u00a0At the half, some highlights.<\/p>\n CJ McCollum\u00a0is leading all scorers with 18 points. He scored 11 points in the second quarter.<\/p>\n Jalen Brunson has 12 points to lead New York.<\/p>\n Mitchell Robinson\u00a0has 11 points for the Knicks, while\u00a0Mikal Bridges\u00a0and\u00a0Josh Hart\u00a0each have 10 points.<\/p>\n 9:19 p.m.:\u00a0The Knicks star is heating up.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Jalen Brunson is up to 10 points late in the second quarter.<\/p>\n Knicks, Hawks tied at 48 late in first half<\/a><\/p>\n 9:13 p.m.:\u00a0Game 2 is shaping up to be a good one.<\/p>\n With the Knicks owning a 1-0 lead in the series, the teams are tied 48-48 with 2:58 left in the second quarter.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Hawks have outscored New York 25-16 in the second quarter.<\/p>\n 9:05 p.m.:\u00a0After Atlanta briefly took a lead, New York has roared back.<\/p>\n The Knicks are up 45-39 with 5:20 left in the second quarter.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n New York is shooting 50% from the field.<\/p>\n Mitchell Robinson leading Knicks<\/a><\/p>\n 9:02 p.m.: Backup center Mitchell Robinson has scored a game-high 10 points for the Knicks midway through the second quarter.<\/p>\n Robinson has made 5 of 5 shots from the field.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Hawks coming back in New York<\/a><\/p>\n 8:55 p.m.:\u00a0Atlanta is off to an 11-3 start to the second quarter and has pulled within 35-34 with 8:37 left to halftime.<\/p>\n CJ McCollum is up to a game-high nine points for Atlanta.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 8:51 p.m.:\u00a0The Hawks have scored five of the second quarter\u2019s first six points.<\/p>\n New York leads 33-28 early in the period.<\/p>\n 8:45 p.m.: Highlights from the opening period<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Mikal Bridges had eight points for the Knicks Officials review play, no flagrant called against Hawks<\/a><\/p>\n 8:33 p.m.:\u00a0After reviewing a play that saw Jalen Brunson elbowed in the head, a call against Dyson Daniels stays a common foul.<\/p>\n The Knicks lead 20-13 with 4:09 left in the first quarter.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Hawks’ Mouhamed Gueye suffers apparent injury<\/a><\/p>\n 8:24 p.m.:\u00a0After missing a dunk, Atlanta\u2019s Mouhamed Gueye is unable to get up.<\/p>\n The game comes to a stop after a timeout to check on Gueye, who was able to exit the court on his own.<\/p>\n The Knicks lead 17-9 with 5:33 left in the opening quarter.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Knicks lead Hawks midway through 1st quarter<\/a><\/p>\n 8:18 p.m.:\u00a0After a Jalen Brunson 3, Atlanta’s Quin Snyder calls for timeout.<\/p>\n The Knicks are out to a 15-9 lead with 7:05 left in the first quarter.<\/p>\n Josh Hart leads the Knicks with six points.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Josh Hart adding early offense<\/a><\/p>\n 8:15 p.m.:\u00a0Not always a scorer for the Knicks, Josh Hart is off to a great start.<\/p>\n He has four early points, including two from an emphatic jam, and the Knicks are out to a 10-4 lead.<\/p>\n Knicks looking for hot start<\/a><\/p>\n 8:09 p.m.:\u00a0With a 1-0 series lead, the Knicks are trying to find their way to a 2-0 start in their best-of-7 series with the Hawks.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n New York is a -235 money-line favorite tonight, according to Fanduel.<\/p>\n Actor\u00a0Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet and actor Ben Stiller attend Game 2 of the Eastern Conference first round NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 20, 2026 in New York City.<\/p>\n Al Bello\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The Knicks lead the best-of-7 series 1-0 ahead of tonight\u2019s 8 p.m. game. Here are tonight\u2019s starting lineups.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n OG Anunoby Nickeil Alexander-Walker Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The officiating crew for tonight’s game is\u00a0Zach Zarba (crew chief),\u00a0Karl Lane (referee), John Butler (umpire) and Mousa Dagher (alternate).<\/p>\n Through one game in every series, there have been 23 players to score at least 20 points.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In the Knicks vs. Hawks series, four players have reached that mark.<\/p>\n Cade Cunningham, Pistons, 39 Hawks starting center Onyeka Okongwu is listed as questionable for tonight\u2019s 8 p.m. game against the Knicks. Okongwu, who scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Game 1, is dealing with right-knee inflammation and will be a game-time decision for head coach Quin Snyder.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Hawks are already thin in the frontcourt, with center Jock Landale out with an ankle injury and not expected to return until at least May 2. If Okongwu is unable to play, the Hawks will likely rely on backup center Mouhamed Gueye for more minutes. Gueye scored three points and grabbed three rebounds in 11 minutes in Game 1.<\/p>\n As of Monday late afternoon, the Knicks were -260 favorites tonight against the Hawks, according to Fanduel. The game\u2019s over\/under total is 217.5 and the Knicks are favored by 6.5 points.<\/p>\n Moneyline:\u00a0-260<\/p>\n To win the series:\u00a0-450<\/p>\n To win the title:\u00a0+2200<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Moneyline:\u00a0+215<\/p>\n To win the series:\u00a0+350<\/p>\n To win the title: +22500<\/p>\n Tonight\u2019s 8 p.m. ET game between the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks is being broadcast on NBC and streamed on Peacock.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson (28 points, 7 assists) started Game 1 on a tear, hitting his first six shots and scoring 19 points in the first quarter and 22 in the first half. In the second half, Brunson used the pick-and-roll, and big man Karl-Anthony Towns took over, scoring 19 of his 25 points and energizing the Madison Square Garden crowd down the stretch.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Knicks’ top two regular-season scorers, Brunson (25 ppg) and Towns (20.1 ppg), have improved their chemistry on and off the court since the duo became teammates in 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ve grown as teammates, we\u2019ve grown as friends, and it\u2019s contributing to the way we\u2019re playing,\u201d\u00a0Brunson said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s 113-102 win over the Hawks was Mike Brown\u2019s first career playoff victory as head coach of the Knicks. Brown, who served as an assistant coach under Steve Kerr during the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty, is no stranger to playoff atmospheres. Still, he couldn\u2019t help but notice the fans’ energy at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n \u201cIt always feels special walking into MSG; you know, I pinch myself every time I walk in,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can feel the energy of the fans, you can feel the energy of the building, you can feel the energy from fans even outside, so it\u2019s definitely different.\u201d<\/p>\n The best-of-seven series continues tonight, with New York leading 1-0.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Game 1: New York 113, Atlanta 102<\/p>\n Game 2: Monday at New York, 8 p.m., NBC<\/p>\n Game 3: Thursday at Atlanta, 7 p.m., Prime Video<\/p>\n Game 4: Saturday, April 25 at Atlanta, 6 p.m., NBC<\/p>\n Game 5: Tuesday, April 28 at New York, TBA*<\/p>\n Game 6: Thursday, April 30 at Atlanta, TBA*<\/p>\n Game 7: Saturday, May 2 at New York, TBA*<\/p>\n Karl-Anthony Towns averaged 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds for the Knicks in the regular season.<\/p>\n Jalen Brunson is averaging 25.4 points and 8.5 assists over his past 10 games.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Dyson\u00a0Daniels scored 11.9 points per game and averaged 6.8 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game during the regular season for the Hawks.<\/p>\n Nickeil Alexander-Walker is averaging 24.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists over his past 10 games.<\/p>\n The Knicks won the regular-season series against the Hawks 2-1.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n April 6: Knicks 108, Hawks 105<\/p>\n Jan. 2: Hawks 111, Knicks 99<\/p>\n Dec. 27: Knicks 128, Hawks 125<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Director Spike Lee attends Game 2 of the Eastern Conference first round NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617839,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,226106,459,82,227304],"class_list":["post-617838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-latestnews","tag-nba","tag-sports","tag-yahoo-out"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nSix Knicks have scored at least 10 points.\u00a0Jalen Brunson\u00a0had a team-high 19 points on 7 of 18 shooting.
\nThe Knicks outscored Atlanta 30-25 in the third period.<\/p>\n
\nOff the bench,\u00a0Mitchell Robinson\u00a0scored six points for New York. Also adding six points was Josh Hart.
\nFor the Hawks,\u00a0CJ McCollum\u00a0scored seven points.
\nLate in the quarter,\u00a0Robinson\u00a0and Atlanta\u2019s Dyson Daniels were involved in a brief skirmish. Robinson walked atop Daniels after setting a pick on him, and the two had words after that. Robinson netted a technical foul for his role in the altercation.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nMikal Bridges
\nJalen Brunson
\nJosh Hart
\nKarl-Anthony Towns<\/p>\n
\nDyson Daniels
\nJalen Johnson
\nCJ McCollum
\nOnyeka Okongwu<\/p>\n
\nVictor Wembanyama, Spurs, 35
\nDonovan Mitchell, Cavs, 32
\nDeni Avdija, Blazers, 30
\nJamal Murray, Nuggets, 30
\nJalen Brunson, Knicks, 28
\nLuke Kennard, Lakers, 27
\nJaylen Brown, Celtics, 26
\nCJ McCollum, Hawks, 26
\nShai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder, 25
\nNikola Joki\u0107, Nuggets, 25
\nJayson Tatum, Celtics, 25
\nKarl-Anthony Towns, Knicks, 25
\nRJ Barrett, Raptors, 24
\nMax Strus, Cavs, 24
\nPaolo Banchero, Magic, 23
\nDevin Booker, Suns, 23
\nJalen Johnson, Hawks, 23
\nAnthony Edwards, Timberwolves, 22
\nJames Harden, Cavs, 22
\nJalen Williams, Thunder, 22
\nScottie Barnes, Raptors, 21
\nTyrese Maxey, 76ers, 21<\/p>\n