The Morning TiltSaturday, April 25, 2026

CJ McCollum has hit the go-ahead shot in back-to-back playoff games. The Braves won with a player who was not in the starting lineup. The Falcons drafted a brother and a Bulldog. And Atlanta United still cannot score on the road. Saturday is stacked.

Hawks

Game 4 tonight. 6 PM. State Farm Arena. NBC. A win gives Atlanta a 3-1 series lead — and no team has blown a 3-1 first-round lead since the Jazz did against Denver in 2020.

The case for that happening starts with McCollum, who has hit the go-ahead shot in both Games 2 and 3. Not similar shots. The same shot — a pull-up with the game tied or trailing in the final 35 seconds, twice, in consecutive games. One at MSG. One at home. The timeline: 33.5 seconds left in Game 2, 12.5 seconds in Game 3. The margin is narrowing, and he keeps choosing to live there.

But the number worth watching tonight is not McCollum's. It is Jalen Johnson's. His Game 3 line — 24 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists — was the first in franchise playoff history to reach those minimums. Not Hawks history since the move from St. Louis. Franchise history, period. Johnson is 23 years old and playing the best basketball of his life in the only games that matter.

New York is recalibrating. Reports suggest the Knicks are considering benching Mikal Bridges for Miles McBride — a concession that the $25-million acquisition is actively hurting them. The Hawks are favored by nothing; New York is a 1.5-point road favorite. Jock Landale is out with an ankle injury, though Mo Gueye is available. Atlanta's starters: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, McCollum, Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu.

The Hawks have been better at home all season, but this is not about the regular season anymore. This is about whether a team built in 14 months can close a series against a franchise that has spent $400 million trying to win one.

Braves

Michael Harris II was scratched from Friday's lineup with quad tightness. Then he walked to the plate in a tie game, pinch-hitting, and drove a two-run double at 105 miles per hour off the bat. The go-ahead hit. The man who was not in the lineup decided the game.

Ronald Acuna added a 410-foot home run in the third, his second of the series. Atlanta won 5-3. The record is 19-8 — the best mark in Major League Baseball and the best April start in the franchise's Atlanta era.

The other side of this series tells its own story. The Phillies have now lost 10 straight. Their last win came on April 15 — Tax Day. That is the longest losing streak for that franchise since 1997, the first of its kind in the 21st century. Philadelphia is 8-18, 10.5 games back, and the gap is widening by the day.

Tonight: Zack Wheeler faces Bryce Elder at 7:15 PM on NBC and Peacock. Wheeler is the best pitcher Atlanta will see this week, and the Braves have already proven this series belongs to them regardless of who is on the mound. Ellis has the full story of Harris's pinch-hit heroics. Dex on what a 10-game losing streak means for the Phillies' entire identity.

Falcons

Day 2 delivered exactly what the front office wanted, and possibly more than it deserved.

Cornerback Avieon Terrell went 48th overall — and reunites with his brother A.J. Terrell in Atlanta's secondary. First sibling cornerback tandem in franchise history. A.J. has been a top-15 corner since his rookie year. Avieon was graded as a first-round talent who slid because the league overvalued other positions. Cunningham did not let him slide past the Falcons.

At 79, they took wide receiver Zachariah Branch out of Georgia. A YAC threat with sub-4.3 speed who already knows the city. Branch slots in alongside Drake London and Kyle Pitts as a field-stretcher who turns short passes into long gains. National media graded both picks as first-round value at Day 2 prices.

Today is Day 3 — Rounds 4 through 7. Atlanta holds picks at 122, 215, and 231. The biggest remaining need is defensive tackle, still unaddressed after losing David Onyemata. The secondary and the receiving corps got reinforced. Now the interior needs attention. Miles has the full analytical breakdown of Day 2.

United

At Toronto today. 1 PM on Apple TV.

Yesterday's Morning Tilt carried Martino's confession — a manager publicly questioning his own survival. Today the question is simpler and harder: what comes after a confession like that? Does the locker room hear honesty and rally, or does it hear a man who has already accepted the ending?

Toronto is unbeaten at home this season. Atlanta has not scored a single goal on the road in 2026 — 0-3-0 with a zero in the goals column. Alexey Miranchuk has scored four of the team's seven goals this season. That is 57 percent. One player producing more than half of a team's offense is not a system. It is dependency.

The math is bleak. Four points through nine matches. The World Cup takes Mercedes-Benz Stadium starting next month, which means six consecutive road games are coming. If the road drought does not end in Toronto, it is difficult to see when it ends at all. Tito's read on what Martino's confession reveals about the gap between reputation and record is worth your time.

One more thing.

The Hawks need one more win to take a commanding series lead. The Braves are on pace for 114 wins. The Falcons just drafted a brother for their best corner and a hometown receiver in the same night. And Atlanta United cannot score outside of their own building. Four teams, four trajectories — and three of them are pointed up. Saturday is the day that might confirm it.