CJ McCollum is becoming exactly the kind of playoff problem New York did not want to meet twice. Two nights after stealing Game 2 at Madison Square Garden, McCollum did it again in Atlanta, burying a fadeaway jumper with 12.5 seconds left to give the Hawks a 109-108 win over the Knicks and a 2-1 lead in their first-round series. It was not a blowout, not a masterpiece, not even clean basketball. It was worse for New York: another game close enough to win, and another ending ripped away by the same veteran hand.
The Knicks had fought back from an 18-point deficit and briefly looked as if they had stolen the momentum for themselves. OG Anunoby led New York with 29 points, Jalen Brunson added 26, and Karl-Anthony Towns put up 21 points and 17 rebounds. Miles McBride hit a huge late three to tie the game, giving the Knicks a chance to turn a bad night into a series-changing escape. But playoff games do not reward almost. McCollum answered with the shot that mattered most, and Atlanta held on when Brunson turned the ball over before New York could even get a final attempt.
Atlanta’s win was not only McCollum’s work. Jalen Johnson was everywhere with 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Jonathan Kuminga supplied 21 points off the bench. The Hawks absorbed New York’s rally without losing their nerve, which may be the clearest sign that this series has shifted. Game 1 belonged to the Knicks’ control. Games 2 and 3 have belonged to Atlanta’s composure in chaos.
For the Knicks, the details sting. Mikal Bridges went scoreless and was benched for much of the second half, while New York finished with 18 turnovers and failed to produce a shot on the final possession.
That is the cruelty of this series now. The Hawks do not look overwhelmingly superior, but they look comfortable in the moments that decide games. McCollum, meanwhile, has become the quiet villain New York cannot shake. Game 4 now arrives in Atlanta with the Knicks under pressure, not because they have been dominated, but because they have twice been broken at the exact moment they thought they had survived.
