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Photo by Nik Layman, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsI was at 79%. I said it this morning. Game 3 was where it stops being an upset.
Hawks 109, Knicks 108. McCollum fadeaway. 12.5 seconds left. Over Miles McBride. Ball game.
I'm at 88%.
Here's the receipt: CJ McCollum has now hit the deciding shot in back-to-back games against a team that was -275 to win this series. Game 2 at MSG, go-ahead bucket with 33 seconds left. Game 3 at State Farm, fadeaway with 12.5 seconds left. Two games. Two knives. Same hand.
The Knicks had Brunson with the ball and a chance to win. He got doubled on the baseline. Turned it over. Kuminga picked it up. Game.
That's not bad luck. That's a pattern.
Game 2: The Knicks led by 12 going into the fourth quarter. The Hawks outscored them 28-15. New York shot 5-for-22 in the final frame. Five for twenty-two. The Knicks were 40-1 when leading by 12-plus after three quarters since the shot clock era. The Hawks made them 40-2.
Game 3: Anunoby dropped 29. KAT had 21 and 17 boards. Brunson had 26. The Knicks had their three best players all cooking. Still couldn't close. Still lost the last possession. Still couldn't execute when it was one point and twelve seconds.
Jalen Johnson had 24-10-8 tonight. First home playoff game as an All-Star. Kuminga had 21 off the bench on 9-for-14 shooting. Daniels grabbed 13 rebounds from the guard spot. This isn't one guy beating the Knicks. It's a system.
The Knicks have more talent. The Hawks have more answers.
88%. Game 4 is Saturday. The Knicks are going to come out desperate, and desperate Knicks teams have a long history of doing desperate Knicks things.
Bookmark this. Again.
The Tilt
The Knicks have lost the last 8 minutes of basketball twice in a row, and that's not bad luck — it's a structural inability to close against a team that wants it more.
— Dex Ponce
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