CJ McCollum leads a late rally as
the Hawks stun the Knicks 107-106 to tie their series at 1-1
[April 21, 2026]
By BRIAN MAHONEY
NEW YORK (AP) — CJ McCollum scored 32 points and the Atlanta Hawks
rallied to stun the New York Knicks 107-106 on Monday night, tying
their first-round playoff series at one game apiece.
McCollum led a late surge that was almost for naught when he missed
two free throws with 5.6 seconds remaining. The Knicks rushed the
ball up the court without any timeouts left, but Mikal Bridges
missed a jumper as time expired.
“It’s a long game,” McCollum said. “You’ve got to play to zero.”
The Hawks had trailed the whole second half and were down 12 after
three quarters. Atlanta chipped away and a basket by McCollum gave
the Hawks a 101-100 lead — their first of the series in the second
half — with 2:09 to play. He made another for a three-point lead,
and after Jalen Brunson tied it with a 3-pointer, McCollum answered
with another jumper to make it 105-103 with 33 seconds to play.
Jonathan Kuminga added 19 points off the bench and Jalen Johnson
scored 17, including a basket with 10 seconds left for a four-point
lead for the No. 6 seeds, who host Game 3 on Thursday.
Brunson had 29 points for the Knicks and Karl-Anthony Towns added
18.
The Knicks are trying to reach the second round for a fourth
straight season, their longest stretch since the 1991-92 to
1999-2000 seasons, and seemed well on their way.
“This is a game we should have won,” New York's Josh Hart said. “In
the playoffs you can’t give away games.”
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New York Knicks guard Miles McBride (2) drives past Atlanta Hawks
guard CJ McCollum (3) during the first half in Game 2 of a
first-round NBA playoffs basketball series, Monday, April 20, 2026,
in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
The Knicks had been 40-1 in the postseason since the advent of the
shot clock in 1954-55 when leading by 12 or more after three
quarters. The only loss was when Reggie Miller scored 25 points in
the fourth for Indiana in Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference
finals.
Towns, who had four points in the first half, scored 14 in the third
quarter as the Knicks extended the lead to 78-64. They were still
ahead by eight with under five minutes remaining.
But their young players who sparked the Hawks' surge after the
All-Star break finally made some plays before McCollum — ignoring
profane jeers after he and Jose Alvarado went nose-to-nose and were
each given technical fouls in the third quarter — then closed it
out.
McCollum was acquired from Washington in the January trade for Trae
Young, the Hawks star who was a former playoff villain at Madison
Square Garden. He filled the role perfectly Monday, outplaying
Brunson in the second half and stealing a game that looked lost.
Hart had 15 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.
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