The Hawks had one final shot to extend their season, but they could not meet the moment. They fell to the Knicks 140-89 in Game 6 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Despite spirited performances in Games 2 and 3, the Hawks fell apart in the rest of the series. Chants of “Let’s Go Knicks” filled State Farm Arena as the Hawks’ reserves played out the final quarter of the team’s season.
Quick stats: Jalen Johnson had 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists. CJ McCollum and Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 11 points each.
Knicks forward OG Anunoby finished with 29 points and seven rebounds.
Turning point
The Hawks never really had control of Thursday’s game despite an early 9-0 run that gave them a four-point lead with 9:13 to play in the first quarter.
Anunoby, who torched the Hawks beginning in Game 2, got to work early. He made all of his first four baskets, two of which came from 3. He eventually outscored the Hawks by himself, scoring 14 points with 1:50 to play in the first quarter. By that point, the Hawks had just 15 points as a team.
The Knicks forward averaged 21 points on 61% shooting in this series. He made 56.6% of his 30 3-point attempts and averaged 8.6 rebounds.
In the 115 minutes Anunoby played in the series against the Hawks, the Knicks outscored them by 84 points.
From bad to worse
Anunoby’s onslaught of scoring sparked the Knicks’ thrashing of the Hawks. The Hawks scored just 15 points in the first quarter, making six field goals.
The Knicks never let up, leading the Hawks by as many as 51 points in the first half. The Hawks eventually cut their deficit to 47 by halftime. It was the largest halftime deficit in a playoff game in NBA history.
What they said
“Well, for one, the way we lost was, I think, at no point in time at all this season were we this bad, but we were tonight, and it’s unfortunate. But the good thing about it is, it doesn’t end here, you know, just something to build on, something to grow from, to grow and learn from.” -- Alexander-Walker on why Thursday’s loss did not summarize the Hawks’ season.
“Give credit to the Knicks. That’s obvious. Whether it’s experience or what you attribute it to, I thought their physicality, they made it hard for us, and we obviously didn’t respond in a way that generated the results that we wanted. But they’re, I think, even as the series progressed, you can see what a really good team they are, and why they’re a contender. You and we didn’t have an answer for that 47 in a half.” -- Hawks coach Quin Snyder on whether the Knicks’ experience overpowered them.
“I don’t really have any words for that. Obviously disappointing. Obviously, it sucks. I think that’s the biggest thing. I mean, it was just a tough position being in, obviously we dug ourselves in a deep hole from the start. It was tough to climb out of that.” -- Johnson on what was going through his mind at the Hawks’ halftime deficit.
Up next
The Hawks head to the offseason. They await the results of the NBA Draft Lottery, set for May 10.
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