At long last, Knicks fans were able to walk out of Madison Square Garden basking in the glow of a postseason win.
After dropping a tightly-contested Game 1 and making Hawks guard Trae Young public enemy No. 1, the Knicks staved off another Atlanta fourth-quarter comeback attempt to win Game 2, 101-92, and even up the series at one game apiece.
The Hawks led by 13 at halftime behind a stifling defense before the Knicks turned it on in the third quarter, outscoring Atlanta 32-18 to grab a one-point lead heading into the fourth. New York built a 10-point cushion before the Hawks stormed back to tie the game, 91-91, with five minutes remaining. From there, the Knicks closed out the game on a 10-1 run.
The Knicks’ second-half comeback was spurred by a strong offensive showing from Derrick Rose, who led the team with 26 points off the bench. He went 9-for-21 from the field with four assists, four rebounds and just one turnover. It was Rose’s first 20-point playoff game since May 2015.
Despite a raucous crowd that tried to throw him off his game, Young put together another standout performance. He scored 30 points with seven assists on 11-for-20 shooting to lead all scorers.
The Knicks withstood a poor shooting night thanks in large part to their advantage on the boards. New York out-rebounded Atlanta, 54-41, with Julius Randle grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds. He also scored 15 points on 5-for-16 shooting.
Reggie Bullock paced the Knicks offense from the outside, scoring 15 points on 4-for-7 shooting on 3-point attempts. Alec Burks scored 11 points with eight rebounds off the bench.
The win was the first in the postseason for the Knicks since May 16, 2013, when they beat the Pacers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. They’ll get a chance to take their first series lead in over eight years when they face the Hawks in Atlanta for Game 3 on Friday.
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