Game ID: 42500121
Atlanta Hawks @ New York Knicks
Saturday, April 18, 2026 at 6:00 PM ET
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NYK 30 27 26 30 113ATL 24 31 19 28 102
ATL @ NYK ScoutingATL @ 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.
NYK availability going into 4/06 · 2 days' restBACK McBride back 3/29 after 28, 12 min since (51% of 24)
BACK Shamet back 4/01 after 5, 22 min since (102% of 21)
NYK availability going into 4/09 · 2 days' restBACK McBride back 3/29 after 28, 14 min since (59% of 24)
BACK Shamet back 4/01 after 5, 22 min since (101% of 21)
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
ATL availability going into 4/06 · 2 days' restOUT Dennis missed 11 since 3/16, out tonight
BACK Kispert back 4/03 after 2, 15 min since (87% of 17)
BACK Koloko back 3/28 after 2, 8 min since (68% of 11)
BACK Newell back 4/01 after 15, 4 min since (36% of 11)
ATL availability going into 4/08 · 1 day's restOUT Dennis missed 12 since 3/16, out tonight
BACK Kispert back 4/03 after 2, 15 min since (87% of 17)
BACK Koloko back 3/28 after 2, 8 min since (68% of 11)
BACK Newell back 4/01 after 15, 4 min since (36% of 11)
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
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 102, shooting 51 percent and 35 from three, 19 free throws a game; Brunson at 25 and Towns at 20 a game. Without Robinson (2 straight). 5 days' rest. Atlanta comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 116, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 20 free throws a game; Alexander-Walker at 25 and McCollum at 21 a game. 5 days' rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the defense, New York allowing 102 a night to Atlanta's 116 and the arc, Atlanta at 40 percent from three to New York's 35. Call it New York 117, Atlanta 111.
4/06 @ ATL 108-105 — NYK notes
NYK won 108-105. NYK shot 50% (42 of 84) to ATL's 40%, 11 of 33 from three. Brunson led with 30 (11 of 26, 3 of 8 from three, 5 of 7 at the line); Anunoby added 22, Towns 21. The hinge was Q3, 28-22: NYK came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 2. NYK trailed 53-57 at the half and won the second half 55-48.
4/09 vs BOS 112-106 — NYK notes
NYK won 112-106. NYK shot 54% (43 of 80) to BOS's 45%, 15 of 35 from three. The glass went 30-42 against them. Hart led with 26 (10 of 15, 5 of 7 from three); Brunson added 25, Towns 16. The hinge was Q4, 31-23: NYK came in trailing by 2 and left it ahead by 6. Bridges was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
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 — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 104, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 19 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Towns at 21 a game. One day's rest. Atlanta comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 118, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Alexander-Walker at 24 and McCollum at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the defense, New York allowing 104 a night to Atlanta's 118. Call it New York 116, Atlanta 110.
4/23 @ 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 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.
4/25 @ 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.
4/06 vs NYK 105-108 — ATL notes
ATL lost 105-108. ATL took 11 more shots (95 to 84), fed by 19 offensive rebounds, but shot 40% to NYK's 50%, 16 of 42 from three. Alexander-Walker led with 36 (12 of 19, 7 of 11 from three); Johnson added 21, McCollum 17. Q2 was theirs, 26-21, turning a 1-point deficit into a 4-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 87-79 against them. They led by as many as 10. Alexander-Walker's -4 in 39 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/08 @ CLE 116-122 — ATL notes
ATL lost 116-122. ATL took 10 more shots (98 to 88), fed by 10 offensive rebounds, but shot 48% to CLE's 47%, 12 of 34 from three, and got to the line 15 times to CLE's 35. Alexander-Walker led with 25 (10 of 19, 4 of 9 from three); Kuminga added 24, Okongwu 18. Q2 was theirs, 38-27, turning a 4-point deficit into a 7-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 95-78 against them. They led by as many as 11. Okongwu's -33 in 33 minutes was the worst on the floor.
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 — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 104, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 19 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Towns at 21 a game. One day's rest. Atlanta comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 118, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Alexander-Walker at 24 and McCollum at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the defense, New York allowing 104 a night to Atlanta's 118. Call it New York 116, Atlanta 110.
4/23 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 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.
4/25 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.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NYKJB J. Brunson
JC J. Clarkson
JH J. Hart
KT K. Towns
LS L. Shamet
MB M. Bridges
MM M. McBride
MR M. Robinson
OA O. Anunoby
ATLCM C. McCollum
DD D. Daniels
GV G. Vincent
JJ J. Johnson
JK J. Kuminga
MG M. Gueye
NA N. Alexander-Walker
OO O. Okongwu
ZR Z. Risacher
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
Brunson and Towns lead the Knicks past the Hawks 113-102 in Game 1 of their series
NEW YORK -- — Jalen Brunson scored 28 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 of his 25 in the second half and the New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 113-102 on Saturday night in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference playoff series.
OG Anunoby added 18 points and Josh Hart had 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks in their first postseason game under Mike Brown after making four trips in five years under Tom Thibodeau, capped by their first trip to the Eastern Conference finals since 2000 last year.
The No. 3 seed in the East again this season hosts Game 2 on Monday night.
CJ McCollum had 26 points and Jalen Johnson added 23 for the Hawks, who went 20-6 after the All-Star break to earn the No. 6 seed.
“We know that they’re going to be ready for Game 2,” Brunson said. “So quick turnaround and extreme focus.”
Brunson, who already owns the Knicks' record with eight 40-point games in the postseason, was almost halfway to another in the first quarter. He made his first six shots and had 19 points as the Knicks led 30-24.
Brunson didn't do as much in the second half, but Towns took over after he was just 1 for 6 for six points at the break.
“We did a great job as a team just fighting and continuing to find ways to score and also impact winning,” Towns said.
The teams got off to sizzling starts, with the Knicks opening 8 for 9 and Atlanta 6 for 7, before play slowed to a crawl in the third quarter. McCollum was reviewed for a hostile act and called for a technical foul after kicking his leg up on a jumper into Brunson's groin area, and the Hawks twice intentionally fouled Mitchell Robinson , and the poor foul shooter went 1 for 4.
By the time the Hawks got going again, it was too late.
With the Knicks up by eight, Towns hit a 3-pointer, and after Gabe Vincent 's basket, Jordan Clarkson had two buckets and Towns had a three-point play and a 3-pointer for a 10-0 burst that made it 106-87 with about 4 1/2 minutes remaining.
Atlanta ran off 11 straight to cut it to 106-98, but Towns scored to restore the double-digit lead.
“I like the way we came back at the end of the game,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “They were resilient in that situation, it was just too little, too late.”