CJ McCollum scored 23 points and sank the game-winning basket with 12.7 seconds left, lifting Atlanta to a 109-108 win over the visiting New York Knicks on Thursday and giving the Hawks a 2-1 lead in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
Game 4 in the best-of-seven set will be played Saturday in Atlanta.
The Hawks led 96-85 with 8:06 to go in the fourth quarter, but the Knicks roared back to tie the game at 105-105 on a 3-pointer by Miles McBride with 1:41 remaining. Jalen Brunson followed with a three-point play at the 1:03 mark, putting the Knicks on top.
A bucket by Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson cut the gap to 108-107, and Brunson shot an airball on the next possession, and the Hawks got the ball on a shot-clock violation with 16.4 seconds left. After a timeout, the Hawks got it to McCollum, who made the 16-foot fadeaway to reclaim the lead.
The Hawks then made a defensive stop on Brunson, forcing a loose ball that was recovered by Jonathan Kuminga as time expired.
Johnson had 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while Kuminga came off the bench to score 23.
New York got 29 points from OG Anunoby, 26 points from Brunson and 21 points and 17 rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns.
The Hawks outscored the Knicks 28-15 in the fourth quarter of Game 2 to eke out a 107-106 victory, then continued their torrid scoring in the first quarter of Game 3. Atlanta made 6 of 8 from long distance and outscored New York 33-21 behind 10 points from Kuminga. Brunson (11) and Anunoby (10) scored all of New York’s points.
Atlanta led by as many as 18 points (56-38) after a four-point possession with 3:46 left in the half. But the Hawks missed their next eight shots and New York finished the half on a 12-2 run to trim the deficit to 58-50.
Atlanta was the aggressor in the third quarter and led by 69-54, only to have the Knicks climb within 69-65 on Brunson’s drive with 6:40 left. Atlanta subsequently took an 88-80 lead into the final quarter.
