Game ID: 42500125
Atlanta Hawks @ New York Knicks
Tuesday, April 28, 2026 at 8:00 PM ET
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NYK 35 29 26 36 126ATL 22 26 24 25 97
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 4/18 · 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)
NYK availability going into 5/06 · 1 day's restBACK Kolek back 4/25 after 7, 7 min since (66% of 11)
NYK availability going into 5/08 · 1 day's restBACK Kolek back 4/25 after 7, 7 min since (66% 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)
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.
4/18 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 114-98 — NYK notes
NYK won 114-98. NYK shot 49% (41 of 83) to ATL's 41%, 14 of 31 from three. Anunoby led with 22 (9 of 16, 3 of 6 from three); Towns added 20, Brunson 19. The hinge was Q1, 27-20: from level to 7 ahead, and the lead reached 24. Anunoby was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
4/28 vs ATL 126-97 — NYK notes
NYK won 126-97. NYK shot 57% (45 of 79) to ATL's 45%, 11 of 26 from three, and went to the line 34 times to ATL's 17 — 25 points from the stripe to their 10. The glass went 48-27 for them. Brunson led with 39 (15 of 23, 3 of 5 from three, 6 of 8 at the line); Anunoby added 17, Towns 16. The hinge was Q1, 35-22: from level to 13 ahead, and the lead reached 32. Brunson was the night's best plus/minus at +23.
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.
5/06 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 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 98, shooting 54 percent and 41 from three, 26 free throws a game; Brunson at 27 and Anunoby at 23 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest. Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 111, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 25 free throws a game; Embiid at 25 and Maxey at 24 a game. 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 defense, New York allowing 98 a night to Philadelphia's 111. Call it New York 118, Philadelphia 106, New York by 12.
5/08 @ PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 107, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; Embiid at 25 and Maxey at 25 a game. One day's rest. New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 97, shooting 56 percent and 41 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 27 and Anunoby at 22 a game. That is 5 straight wins. 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 Philadelphia minus-2 and the defense, New York allowing 97 a night to Philadelphia's 107. Call it New York 115, Philadelphia 108.
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 98-114 — ATL notes
ATL lost 98-114. ATL shot 41% (34 of 83) to NYK's 49%, 10 of 41 from three. McCollum led with 17 (8 of 15, 0 of 4 from three); Alexander-Walker added 15, Johnson 14. Q4 was theirs, 33-28, the deficit cut from 21 to 16, but the other 3 periods went 86-65 against them. Johnson's -19 in 35 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/28 @ NYK 97-126 — ATL notes
ATL lost 97-126. ATL shot 45% (37 of 83) to NYK's 57%, 13 of 42 from three, and got to the line 17 times to NYK's 34. The glass went 27-48 against them. Johnson led with 18 (7 of 15, 1 of 5 from three); Daniels added 17, Okongwu 16. Q3 was theirs, 24-26, but the other 3 periods went 100-73 against them. Vincent's -20 in 24 minutes was the worst on the floor.
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.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NYKAH A. Hukporti
JA J. Alvarado
JB J. Brunson
JC J. Clarkson
JH J. Hart
JS J. Sochan
KT K. Towns
LS L. Shamet
MB M. Bridges
MM M. McBride
MR M. Robinson
OA O. Anunoby
TK T. Kolek
ATLBH B. Hield
CK C. Kispert
CM C. McCollum
DD D. Daniels
GV G. Vincent
JJ J. Johnson
JK J. Kuminga
KW K. Wallace
MG M. Gueye
NA N. Alexander-Walker
OO O. Okongwu
TB T. Bradley
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
Jalen Brunson scores 39 points and the Knicks rout the Hawks 126-97 for a 3-2 series lead
NEW YORK -- — Jalen Brunson scored 39 points, nearly extending his own franchise record for 40-point playoff games, and the New York Knicks routed the Atlanta Hawks 126-97 on Tuesday night for a 3-2 lead in the first-round playoff series.
With their second straight lopsided victory, the Knicks positioned themselves to win the series Thursday night in Atlanta. They would have another chance at home in Game 7 if they need it — and it's getting harder to picture why they should.
The Hawks took a 2-1 lead in the series with one-point victories in Games 2 and 3, but a pretty sizable gap between the teams has appeared since. The Knicks led by 24 on their way to a 114-98 win in Game 4 in Atlanta and by 32 on Tuesday, when the lead was never below double digits in the second half.
“I know they’re going to try to bring a lot of force down there,” Knicks reserve Jordan Clarkson said. “So we've got to be prepared and we know what’s coming, so we’ll be ready.”
Brunson already had eight 40-point games in his first three postseasons with the Knicks. He hadn't even cracked 30 in this series until pouring in 17 points in the fourth quarter to prevent any chance of Atlanta making it a game.
Brunson said the Knicks have picked up their play in the last two games and said they were confident, but also cautious.
“Anything can happen in this series, so we’ve just got to be locked in for Game 6,” he said.
OG Anunoby added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, while Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. The Knicks need one more victory to reach the second round for the fourth straight season, which would continue their longest streak since advancing nine straight times from 1991-92 through 1999-2000.
Jalen Johnson had 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Hawks. Dyson Daniels scored 17, but CJ McCollum , the catalyst of both Atlanta victories, had just six.
The Knicks outrebounded the Hawks 48-27 and had a 13-4 advantage in fast-break points against an Atlanta team that needs to win the transition game.
“I just think that their mindset was to come out and try to bully us and be physical, and they did that," Daniels said.
The Knicks made eight of their first 12 shots, then broke free with a 9-0 run late in the first quarter and were ahead 35-22 at the end of the period. Brunson had the last two baskets of an 8-0 surge in the second that pushed it to 59-37, and the Knicks led 64-48 at the break after making 58.5% their shots.
Leading by 18 after three, they put it away when Brunson had a three-point play and 3-pointer to ignite a 12-0 spurt that made it 110-82.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Onyeka Okongwu both had 16 points for the Hawks.