CJ McCollum sinks Knicks again to give Hawks series lead: Game 3 takeaways

Atlantic76ersCelticsKnicksNetsRaptorsCentralBucksBullsCavaliersPacersPistonsSoutheastHawksHeatHornetsMagicWizardsSouthwestGrizzliesMavericksPelicansRocketsSpursNorthwestJazzNuggetsThunderTimberwolvesTrail BlazersPacificClippersKingsLakersSunsWarriorsScores & ScheduleStandingsThe Bounce NewsletterNBA DraftPodcastsFantasyNBA OddsNBA PicksWhat Makes Up Championship DNA?Hollinger's Playoff PreviewThe Bucks' Season From HellPlayer Poll: Who Will Win Title?NBA Playoffs CJ McCollum hit the game-winning midrange jumper in Game 3. Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images Share article20The New York Knicks’ NBA finals-or-bust mandate is receiving a serious challenge from the Atlanta Hawks. Jalen Johnson scored 24 points on Thursday night as Atlanta led nearly wire-to-wire on the way to a 109-108 victory, handing the Hawks a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series. The No. 6 seed Hawks took an 11-9 lead midway through the first quarter and held it all the way until late in the fourth, when a Jalen Brunson three-point play put the Knicks up 108-105 with 1:03 to go. But Atlanta punched back. Johnson pulled the Hawks within one with a putback before CJ McCollum, who finished with 23 points, hit the game-winner on a fadeaway jumper with 12 seconds to go. OG Anunoby scored 29 points, and Brunson added 26 to lead New York, which will now have to win three of the next four games to avoid elimination. Game 4 is on Saturday in Atlanta. Onyeka Okongwu has been the Hawks’ unsung hero all season, and he was again Thursday. On the game’s final play, after a series of screens pinged Dyson Daniels around like a billiard ball and knocked him to the ground, it was Okongwu who reacted quickly to leave his original assignment and chased Brunson at the 3-point line on the far side of the court. The Hawks’ 6-foot-8 center took away the initial look, forced Brunson to his weaker right hand and cut off any angle for a shot attempt, leaving the Knicks’ star guard to roll a ball hopefully backward that never found a New York teammate before time expired. That’s par for the course for Okongwu, who, as the closest thing the Hawks have to a “big man,” has to pound with Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson all game … and do it without accumulating fouls that would expose Atlanta’s thin frontcourt. He played 37 minutes Thursday and finished with a modest stat line — nine points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal — but his ability to hold up as a perimeter defender was a big reason the Knicks’ offense looked stuck in the mud at times. Okongwu also had the job of spacing out the floor to let the other Hawks cook; he must be a major 3-point threat because Atlanta starts a guard (Daniels) who shoots 19 percent from 3. So, in his sixth season, Okongwu shot 37.6 percent from 3 this year with 144 makes … after making zero in his first two seasons in the league. While Okongwu also had a couple of highlight moments — a giant, out-of-nowhere block on Anunoby at the rim in the first half, a steal and transition dunk early in the second — it was his work behind the scenes that really stood out. McCollum and Johnson were the stars, but Atlanta doesn’t come close without Okongwu. — John Hollinger Has anyone seen Mikal Bridges? Did he make the trip to Atlanta? According to the box score, he played 20 minutes in Thursday’s Game 3 loss. You wouldn’t have known if you were watching. Bridges, defensively, was having a good series. He had done a good job of stifling Nickeil Alexander-Walker. However, the offense has been atrocious. Bridges is shooting 8 of 22 from the floor in three games, including an 0-of-3 effort in Game 3. That’s not going to cut it. It was so bad Thursday that Mike Brown elected to play Miles McBride, who hit huge shots late in the loss, for the bulk of the second half. The Knicks traded five first-round picks for Bridges two summers ago, viewing him as the missing piece in the Knicks’ pursuit of a title. They then signed him to a contract extension last summer. That’s a lot of investment in someone who has never made an All-Star Game. I don’t think Brown will bench Bridges in Game 4. However, he might have to consider it. McBride, despite being a smaller guard, unlocks a little bit more for New York on the offensive end if he’s hitting his 3s. It’s safe to say, though, that Brown won’t have any issues limiting Bridges’ minutes going forward if this poor play keeps up. — James L. Edwards III It’s been the same story for three years: McBride is the key who unlocks many of the Knicks’ best lineups. And on Thursday, even in a loss, it proved no different. Now, the Knicks are forced to make a difficult decision: Should they start McBride and move Bridges, for whom they traded five first-round picks and a first-round swap not long ago, to the bench? The Knicks fell by double-digits for most of Thursday’s game. With nine and a half minutes to go, Brown inserted a unit that barely played during the regular season: Brunson, Josh Hart, Anunoby, Towns and McBride. Remove any of the Knicks’ trio of menacing wings to replace them with McBride, and the lineup data shines. We’ve seen two years of New York’s starting lineup failing to mesh together. Now, we wait and watch if the Knicks will do something about it with their backs against the wall. — Fred Katz After two games in which McCollum was the clear star for the Hawks, I wondered who would step up to help. In Game 3, Johnson made his presence known right away. Alexander-Walker was quiet in the first half but exploded in the third quarter. But it’s the Atlanta bench that gets a well-deserved shout-out in a game in which the Hawks led by as many as 18 and had to fight tooth and nail against the Knicks in the second half. In the first quarter, Atlanta’s bench had 16 points, and New York’s had zero. Jonathan Kuminga led the effort with 11 points in 12 minutes in the first half, and he added 10 in the second. He was 9-of-14 from the field and 2-of-4 beyond the arc. But his defense on Brunson to help preserve the win in the final seconds was one of his greatest contributions. Gabe Vincent and Mo Gueye each added just five points but contributed defensively. It was the kind of balanced effort Atlanta will need to keep the Knicks at bay. — Shakeia Taylor Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms