The New York Knicks arrived in Atlanta carrying the bruises of two straight heartbreaks. By the time Game 4 ended, they had given the series an entirely different shape. New York beat the Hawks 114-98 on the road, tying the first-round matchup at 2-2 and dragging home-court advantage back to Madison Square Garden. After consecutive one-point losses had made the Knicks look haunted by late-game demons, this was not a miracle escape. It was cleaner than that, and maybe more important: a controlled response.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career playoff triple-double, becoming only the fourth Knick to record one in the postseason. OG Anunoby added 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Jalen Brunson scored 19 despite an uneven night with six turnovers. For once, the Knicks did not need Brunson to rescue every possession. They won because the whole structure held.
The difference was visible almost immediately. New York built an early cushion, never trailed after the opening minutes, and pushed the lead as high as 24. The Knicks shot 49.4 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from three, but their real authority came on the other end. Atlanta committed 19 turnovers and shot only 24.4 percent from deep, with CJ McCollum held to 17 points after breaking New York twice in Games 2 and 3.
That was the quiet revenge inside the win. McCollum had become the series’ villain with back-to-back daggers, but Game 4 denied him the stage. The Hawks never found the same late-game rhythm, never turned the building into the pressure chamber that swallowed the Knicks earlier in the week. Instead, New York kept the game at arm’s length and made Atlanta play from behind all night.
Now the series becomes a best-of-three, with Game 5 back in New York. The Knicks did not erase the pain of Games 2 and 3, but they answered it. In playoff terms, that is often enough. They came to Atlanta needing proof that the series had not slipped out of their hands. They left with the score tied, the court reclaimed, and a reminder that their best basketball is still too heavy to ignore.
