The New York Knicks were confident they would win Game 6, but even they wouldn’t have predicted the margin of victory. Knicks fans saw their team open up a 5 nothing run. But the Atlanta Hawks responded, took an 11-9 lead, and then they were trounced. Fans, legends, and even ESPN broadcasters had no other option left but to take a few jabs at this performance from the home team.
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It began with former NBA star turned veteran voice, Richard Jefferson, “Can we take a moment here and say that the leading scorer for the Atlanta Hawks has six points, and we have three minutes to go in the first half.” It was a video compilation from the X account, BrickCenter, with 214k followers. Next, we had the clip of Tim Legler stating, “A lot of times teams fall down big in the first half, and you talk about compartmentalizing it. ‘Hey, let’s get it under 20, let’s get it under 15.’ Here you’re saying, ‘Can we get it under 40? By the time we go to the locker room.'” And Mike Breen provided the concluding remark.
The veteran play-by-play announcer added, “If you’re just tuning in, that is not a graphic glitch. It’s 76-27. The Knicks have been up by as many as 51 points.”
Despite playing at the State Farm Arena, the Knicks got hot and went on a 39-4 run that extended from the 8:11 mark of the first quarter to early in the second quarter in front of a stunned crowd. The beating continued as New York’s run extended to 67-13 to take a stunning 50-point lead on their way to the second round. The Knicks’ 47-point lead at halftime was the largest halftime difference in NBA playoff history.
New York ultimately won 140-89. This 51-point margin was unexpected, as the Knicks beat the Hawks by 56 points combined in the previous three wins in the first-round series. Even their owner was happily surprised. James Dolan was sitting courtside with franchise legend Stephon Marbury and said, “41 fuc—- points?!” when New York had 60-19 in the 1st half. X user Keerthika Uthayakumar, who consistently provides stats, shared another interesting nugget.
“37,964 games have been played in the NBA since the 1996-97 season, regular season & playoffs. Knicks/Hawks is the first game where the road team scored 100 points before the home team had 50.”
ESPN is COOKING the Hawks 😭 "Atlanta's leading scorer has 6 points." "Let's see if they can cut the lead down to 40 before halftime." "If you're just tuning in, that's not a glitch. The score is 76-27."
All of the Knicks starters scored in double digits. In fact, OG Anunoby’s 14 points in the first frame single-handedly matched the Hawks’ scoring of 15 points. Their lead is in the history books, tied for the 2nd-largest halftime lead in ANY game in NBA history (regular season and playoffs). The only larger was 50 Points by the Mavericks against the Clippers in 2020; even then, Jalen Brunson was on the right side of history.
A historic game for the Knicks can have ripple effects in their next series
As the away team was getting buckets from every direction, the home team got frustrated. Scuffles have been common in this series, resulting in 12 technical fouls combined. Earlier in the series, CJ McCollum and Jose Alvarado had double technical fouls for a nose-to-nose confrontation during Game 2. In the same game, Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson also stepped over Dyson Daniels. And we saw the second part of this rivalry tonight.
With 4:39 remaining in the first half, OG Anunoby at the line, Daniels and Robinson tangled up. Replays clearly showed Daniels making contact near Robinson’s rib cage, and the Knicks star responded with a high elbow. Onyeka Okongwu did his best to pull his teammate away, and others even jumped in to stop the brawl.
NBA referee Kevin Scott inadvertently took the fall and was nearly trampled. Even Mike Brown, in his attempts to hold back Robinson, tumbled on the ground, and Anunoby lost his footing too.
The Knicks succeeded as their big man never punched during the altercation. But Robinson and Daniels were issued technicals, and both were ejected. Now, further punishment awaits.
If they are suspended, it becomes a huge problem for New York, as their double-big lineup of KAT and Robinson could dominate Joel Embiid and the Sixers or Tatum-Brown-led Celtics.
