Game ID: 42500123
New York Knicks @ Atlanta Hawks
Thursday, April 23, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET
State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
ATL 33 25 30 21 109NYK 21 29 30 28 108
ATL vs NYK ScoutingATL vs NYK Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
ATL availability going into 4/10 · 1 day's restOUT Dennis missed 13 since 3/16, out tonight
OUT Koloko missed 2 since 4/06, out tonight
OUT Newell missed 2 since 4/06, returns tonight: 8 min (72% of 11)
BACK Kispert back 4/03 after 2, 11 min since (64% of 17)
ATL availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restOUT Dennis missed 14 since 3/16, returns tonight: 27 min (231% of 12)
OUT Koloko missed 3 since 4/06, returns tonight: 21 min (191% of 11)
BACK Kispert back 4/03 after 2, 10 min since (60% of 17)
BACK Newell back 4/01 after 15, 5 min since (48% of 11)
ATL availability going into 4/18 · 5 days' restBACK Kispert back 4/03 after 2, 15 min since (86% of 17)
BACK Dennis back 4/12 after 14, 27 min since (231% of 12)
BACK Koloko back 4/03 after 2, 13 min since (114% of 11)
BACK Newell back 4/10 after 2, 23 min since (211% of 11)
ATL availability going into 4/20 · 1 day's restBACK Dennis back 4/12 after 14, 27 min since (231% of 12)
BACK Koloko back 4/12 after 3, 21 min since (191% of 11)
BACK Newell back 4/10 after 2, 23 min since (211% of 11)
ATL availability going into 4/23 · 2 days' restOUT Newell missed 2 since 4/18, out tonight
BACK Dennis back 4/12 after 14, 27 min since (231% of 12)
BACK Koloko back 4/12 after 3, 21 min since (191% of 11)
NEW Kuminga 23 to 29 min over the last 4
ATL availability going into 4/25 · 1 day's restOUT Risacher missed 2 since 4/20, returns tonight: 4 min (18% of 22)
OUT Newell missed 3 since 4/18, returns tonight: 4 min (35% of 11)
BACK Dennis back 4/12 after 14, 27 min since (231% of 12)
BACK Koloko back 4/12 after 3, 21 min since (191% of 11)
NEW Kuminga 23 to 28 min over the last 4
ATL availability going into 4/28 · 2 days' restBACK Risacher back 4/25 after 2, 4 min since (18% of 22)
BACK Dennis back 4/12 after 14, 27 min since (231% of 12)
BACK Koloko back 4/12 after 3, 21 min since (191% of 11)
BACK Newell back 4/25 after 3, 4 min since (35% of 11)
NEW Kuminga 23 to 29 min over the last 4
ATL availability going into 4/30 · 1 day's restBACK Risacher back 4/25 after 2, 4 min since (18% of 22)
BACK Newell back 4/25 after 3, 4 min since (35% of 11)
NYK availability going into 4/10 · back-to-backOUT Alvarado missed 2 since 4/06, returns tonight: 18 min (129% of 14)
OUT Kolek missed 2 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Shamet back 4/01 after 5, 21 min since (98% of 21)
NYK availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restOUT Kolek missed 3 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Shamet back 4/01 after 5, 22 min since (105% of 21)
BACK Alvarado back 4/10 after 2, 18 min since (129% of 14)
NYK availability going into 4/18 · 5 days' restOUT Robinson missed 2 since 4/10, returns tonight: 14 min (79% of 18)
OUT Kolek missed 4 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Alvarado back 4/10 after 2, 26 min since (185% of 14)
NYK availability going into 4/20 · 1 day's restOUT Kolek missed 5 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Robinson back 4/18 after 2, 14 min since (79% of 18)
BACK Alvarado back 4/10 after 2, 26 min since (185% of 14)
NYK availability going into 4/23 · 2 days' restOUT Kolek missed 6 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Robinson back 4/18 after 2, 16 min since (89% of 18)
BACK Alvarado back 4/10 after 2, 20 min since (145% of 14)
NYK availability going into 4/25 · 1 day's restOUT Kolek missed 7 since 4/06, returns tonight: 4 min (32% of 11)
BACK Robinson back 4/18 after 2, 15 min since (80% of 18)
BACK Alvarado back 4/10 after 2, 17 min since (119% of 14)
NYK availability going into 4/28 · 2 days' restBACK Robinson back 4/18 after 2, 15 min since (81% of 18)
BACK Kolek back 4/25 after 7, 4 min since (32% of 11)
NEW Hart 31 to 36 min over the last 4
NYK availability going into 4/30 · 1 day's restBACK Robinson back 4/18 after 2, 15 min since (82% of 18)
BACK Kolek back 4/25 after 7, 4 min since (32% of 11)
NYK availability going into 5/04 · 3 days' restBACK Kolek back 4/25 after 7, 6 min since (57% of 11)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 117, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 20 free throws a game; McCollum at 25 and Johnson at 18 a game. 2 days' rest. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 104, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 21 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Towns at 20 a game. 2 days' rest.
So: Atlanta wins, and the game turns on the defense, New York allowing 104 a night to Atlanta's 117. Call it Atlanta 114, New York 113, New York keeping it close.
4/10 vs CLE 124-102 — ATL notes
ATL won 124-102. ATL shot 48% (45 of 93) to CLE's 45%, 16 of 44 from three, and went to the line 25 times to CLE's 18 — 18 points from the stripe to their 17. ATL turned it over 11 times to CLE's 19. McCollum led with 29 (11 of 16, 6 of 8 from three); Alexander-Walker added 18, Johnson 18. The hinge was Q3, 35-17: a lead of 13 became 31, and the lead reached 36. Daniels was the night's best plus/minus at +36.
4/12 @ MIA 117-143 — ATL notes
ATL lost 117-143. ATL shot 47% (44 of 93) to MIA's 56%, 17 of 44 from three. ATL turned it over 16 times to MIA's 6, and MIA turned those into 11 steals. Hield led with 31 (12 of 18, 7 of 11 from three); Kispert added 21, Newell 17. Q2 was theirs, 37-37, but the other 3 periods went 106-80 against them. Wallace's -28 in 32 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/18 @ NYK 102-113 — ATL notes
ATL lost 102-113. ATL shot 44% (38 of 87) to NYK's 48%, 14 of 37 from three, and got to the line 19 times to NYK's 30. McCollum led with 26 (11 of 20, 4 of 9 from three); Johnson added 23, Okongwu 19. Q2 was theirs, 31-27, the deficit cut from 6 to 2, but the other 3 periods went 86-71 against them. Okongwu's -12 in 37 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/20 @ NYK 107-106 — ATL notes
ATL won 107-106. ATL shot 49% (40 of 81) to NYK's 45%, 9 of 30 from three. The glass went 36-47 against them. McCollum led with 32 (12 of 22, 3 of 10 from three, 5 of 7 at the line); Kuminga added 19, Johnson 17. The hinge was Q4, 28-15: ATL came in trailing by 12 and left it ahead by 1. ATL trailed 54-61 at the half and won the second half 53-45. Kuminga was the night's best plus/minus at +10.
4/23 vs NYK 109-108 — ATL notes
ATL won 109-108. ATL shot 45% (39 of 86) to NYK's 43%, 13 of 33 from three, and went to the line 26 times to NYK's 20 — 18 points from the stripe to their 18. Johnson led with 24 (8 of 19, 2 of 6 from three, 6 of 10 at the line); McCollum added 23, Kuminga 21. The hinge was Q1, 33-21: from level to 12 ahead, and the lead reached 18.
4/25 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 114, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; McCollum at 28 and Johnson at 20 a game. Without Risacher (2 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 105, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Towns at 22 a game. One day's rest.
So: Atlanta wins, and the game turns on the defense, New York allowing 105 a night to Atlanta's 114 and the glass, where New York has been plus-3 a night and Atlanta minus-2. Call it Atlanta 113, New York 112, New York keeping it close.
4/28 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brunson at 26 and Towns at 21 a game. 2 days' rest. Atlanta comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 117, shooting 45 percent and 34 from three, 22 free throws a game; McCollum at 24 and Johnson at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the defense, New York allowing 105 a night to Atlanta's 117 and the glass, where New York has been plus-3 a night and Atlanta minus-4. Call it New York 115, Atlanta 109.
4/30 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 113, shooting 45 percent and 32 from three, 22 free throws a game; McCollum at 21 and Johnson at 19 a game. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 103, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Anunoby at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-9 a night and Atlanta minus-9 and the defense, New York allowing 103 a night to Atlanta's 113. Call it New York 114, Atlanta 109.
4/10 vs TOR 112-95 — NYK notes
NYK won 112-95. NYK shot 55% (41 of 75) to TOR's 49%, 8 of 31 from three, and went to the line 27 times to TOR's 20 — 22 points from the stripe to their 13. NYK turned it over 10 times to TOR's 17. Brunson led with 29 (12 of 18, 2 of 5 from three); Towns added 22, Bridges 13. The hinge was Q2, 29-15: a lead of 1 became 15, and the lead reached 19. Alvarado was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
4/12 vs CHA 96-110 — NYK notes
NYK lost 96-110. NYK shot 43% (39 of 90) to CHA's 46%, 13 of 40 from three, and got to the line just 8 times against 25 fouls committed. NYK turned it over 10 times to CHA's 17. McBride led with 21 (8 of 15, 4 of 7 from three); Alvarado added 16, McCullar Jr. 14. Q4 was theirs, 23-23, but the other 3 periods went 87-73 against them. Alvarado's -19 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/18 vs ATL 113-102 — NYK notes
NYK won 113-102. NYK shot 48% (38 of 80) to ATL's 44%, 12 of 25 from three, and went to the line 30 times to ATL's 19 — 25 points from the stripe to their 12. Brunson led with 28 (9 of 22, 3 of 4 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Towns added 25, Anunoby 18. The hinge was Q3, 26-19: a lead of 2 became 9, and the lead reached 19. McBride was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
4/20 vs ATL 106-107 — NYK notes
NYK lost 106-107. NYK shot 45% (39 of 87) to ATL's 49%, 11 of 34 from three. The glass went 47-36 for them. Brunson led with 29 (10 of 26, 4 of 10 from three, 5 of 7 at the line); Towns added 18, Hart 15. Q1 was theirs, 32-23, but the other 3 periods went 84-74 against them. They led by as many as 14.
4/23 @ ATL 108-109 — NYK notes
NYK lost 108-109. NYK shot 43% (40 of 93) to ATL's 45%, 10 of 35 from three, and got to the line 20 times to ATL's 26. Anunoby led with 29 (9 of 16, 4 of 8 from three, 7 of 7 at the line); Brunson added 26, Towns 21. Q4 was theirs, 28-21, the deficit cut from 8 to 1, but the other 3 periods went 88-80 against them. Bridges's -26 in 21 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/25 @ ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 114, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; McCollum at 28 and Johnson at 20 a game. Without Risacher (2 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 105, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Towns at 22 a game. One day's rest.
So: Atlanta wins, and the game turns on the defense, New York allowing 105 a night to Atlanta's 114 and the glass, where New York has been plus-3 a night and Atlanta minus-2. Call it Atlanta 113, New York 112, New York keeping it close.
4/28 vs ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brunson at 26 and Towns at 21 a game. 2 days' rest. Atlanta comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 117, shooting 45 percent and 34 from three, 22 free throws a game; McCollum at 24 and Johnson at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the defense, New York allowing 105 a night to Atlanta's 117 and the glass, where New York has been plus-3 a night and Atlanta minus-4. Call it New York 115, Atlanta 109.
4/30 @ ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 113, shooting 45 percent and 32 from three, 22 free throws a game; McCollum at 21 and Johnson at 19 a game. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 103, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Anunoby at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-9 a night and Atlanta minus-9 and the defense, New York allowing 103 a night to Atlanta's 113. Call it New York 114, Atlanta 109.
5/04 vs PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 100, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 28 free throws a game; Brunson at 26 and Anunoby at 22 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 10 a night. 3 days' rest. Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 21 free throws a game; Embiid at 28 and Maxey at 28 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-10 a night and Philadelphia minus-6 and the line, where New York takes 28 free throws a game to Philadelphia's 21. Call it New York 115, Philadelphia 106.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NYKJA J. Alvarado
JB J. Brunson
JC J. Clarkson
JH J. Hart
KT K. Towns
MB M. Bridges
MM M. McBride
MR M. Robinson
OA O. Anunoby
ATLCK C. Kispert
CM C. McCollum
DD D. Daniels
GV G. Vincent
JJ J. Johnson
JK J. Kuminga
MG M. Gueye
NA N. Alexander-Walker
OO O. Okongwu
NYK/ATL the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
McCollum ruins Knicks' night again, leading the Hawks to a 109-108 victory and a 2-1 lead
ATLANTA -- — CJ McCollum hit a fadeaway jumper with 12.5 seconds left to ruin New York's night again, leading the Atlanta Hawks to a 109-108 victory and a 2-1 lead over the Knicks in their first-round playoff series on Thursday night.
After starring in a Game 2 stunner at Madison Square Garden, McCollum got the ball with his team trailing by a point. He came through again from 15 feet, finishing with 23 points.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder called it “a great shot,” but stressed the effort of his entire team.
“They work, they share,” Snyder said. “That's the thing about this group that I've enjoyed so much.”
The Hawks led nearly the entire game, building an 18-point lead in the first half. But New York rallied for a 108-105 edge on Jalen Brunson 's three-point play with 1:03 remaining.
After Jalen Johnson , who led the Hawks with 24 points, rolled in a shot, Josh Hart missed a 3-pointer for the Knicks. New York got the offensive rebound, but couldn't get off a shot ahead of the 24-second clock.
“You couldn't ask for anything better than that,” Knicks coach Mike Brown lamented. “Less than a minute to go in the game and a chance to go up by three.”
The Knicks failed to get off a shot at the end, either, as Brunson turned the ball over and the horn sounded.
Jonathan Kuminga had a huge night for the Hawks off the bench, finishing with 21 points.
OG Anunoby led the Knicks with 29 points, Brunson had 26 and Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in with 21. It wasn't enough for New York.
Brown griped about the officiating, believing the refs missed some calls at the basket. But he stressed that his team must make better decisions going forward.
Game 4 is Saturday in Atlanta.
“They're closing out hard," Brown said of the Hawks. ”It's a tough game for the officials to officiate, but I know we got fouled on a few of the tries that didn't get called."
McCollum picked up were he left off at Madison Square Garden, hitting a step-back jumper beyond the arc for Atlanta's first points. He had 16 by the halftime break.
McCollum showed off more than his offensive skills. After Hart scooped up a loose ball and drove toward the hoop with only the Atlanta guard to beat, McCollum blocked the shot and sent the ball off Hart's foot to give possession back to the Hawks.
The Hawks outscored the Knicks 27-12 over the final seven minutes of the opening quarter, turning the game in their favor with an 11-0 spurt and closing the period with three straight 3-pointers. The first was by little-used center Mouhamed Gueye , left wide open by the New York defense, followed by two straight from backup forward Kuminga to send the State Farm Arena crowd into a frenzy.
But, with the Hawks on the verge of blowing the game open late in the first half, New York closed the the period on a 12-2 run . Atlanta went to the locker room with a 58-50 lead.