CJ McCollum scored six of his game-high 32 points in the final two-plus minutes Monday night for the visiting Atlanta Hawks, who stormed back from an eight-point deficit in the last five minutes to stun the New York Knicks 107-106 in Game 2 of an Eastern Conference first-round series.
The Hawks ended on a 15-6 run to even the best-of-seven series at a game apiece. Game 3 of the best-of-seven set is scheduled for Thursday night in Atlanta.
The Hawks, whose only lead before their concluding surge was at 36-35, trailed by as many as 14 points in the third quarter. Atlanta fell behind 100-92 when Jalen Brunson hit a floater with 5:26 left.
The teams traded empty possessions before Atlanta scored on its next three possessions to pull within 100-99 on Jalen Johnson’s layup with 3:25 remaining. McCollum drove past Brunson for the go-ahead layup with 2:08 left.
New York’s OG Anunoby missed two free throws and McCollum hit a short jumper, after which Brunson sank a 3-pointer to tie the score at 103-103. McCollum committed a turnover and Brunson missed a mid-range jumper before McCollum put the Hawks ahead for good with a fadeaway jumper from the left baseline with 33.5 seconds left.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker blocked Brunson’s shot and fed Johnson for a dunk to put the Hawks up 107-103 with 10.2 seconds left. Following a timeout, Brunson hit a 3-pointer that circled around the rim and went in, after which McCollum was fouled by Hart but missed both free throws.
The Knicks had a timeout left, but they pushed the ball up the court and Hart dished to Mikal Bridges, who missed a 12-foot attempt for the win from the left wing as time expired.
The Hawks shot 72.2% (13-for-18) in the fourth while the Knicks shot just 22.7% (5-for-22).
Jonathan Kuminga had 19 points off the bench for the Hawks while Johnson (17 points) and Onyeka Okongwu (15 points) also got into double figures.
Brunson scored 29 points for the Knicks. Hart recorded 15 points and 13 rebounds while Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points. Anunoby finished with 14 points, and Mitchell Robinson scored 13 points off the bench. Bridges added 10 points.
