NEW YORK — There’s a protracted checklist of Madison Square Garden villains, gamers who experience torturing New York Knicks followers in high-leverage conditions.
CJ McCollum grew to become the newest addition to that checklist Monday evening, as his fourth-quarter exploits helped the Atlanta Hawks beat the Knicks 107-106 in Game 2 to tie their first-round series.
McCollum led the Hawks with 32 factors and 6 assists, conserving his group within the recreation when the Knicks, who led by 14 within the third quarter, threatened to draw back.
He scored three essential buckets within the closing 2:08, together with a go-ahead step-back jumper over OG Anunoby with 34 seconds left to cap an exciting fourth quarter.
McCollum even elicited expletive-laced chants from the MSG crowd — often reserved for former Hawks guard Trae Young — after getting right into a verbal back-and-forth with Knicks backup guard Jose Alvarado, main to each receiving offsetting technical fouls.
“I’m no villain, I’m a nice guy with two kids and a wife,” McCollum mentioned. “I think it’s admiration. Great, passionate fans in a hostile environment. It’s fun, it’s basketball, it’s the playoffs. If anything, I think it’s a sign of respect.”
The two video games have gotten chippier, and it guarantees to be an intense surroundings for Game 3 on Thursday in Atlanta.
McCollum’s strategy, which drew the Garden crowd’s focus, maybe loosened up his teammates, who had been enjoying out of types for a lot of the evening. All-NBA candidate Jalen Johnson wakened late, with six of his 17 factors coming within the fourth.
Despite his clutch buckets, McCollum missed two free throw makes an attempt with 5.6 seconds left and the Hawks up one, leaving the door open for the Knicks. But Jalen Brunson was unable to become involved within the play, leaving Mikal Bridges to miss a fadeaway jumper earlier than the buzzer.
It was about the one second McCollum did not do effectively within the closing interval. He sought out mismatches in opposition to Brunson and scored each time, leaving the Knicks to scramble defensively within the closing possessions.
“When the buzzer sounds and it’s quiet and you walk off the court, there’s a level of mutual respect,” McCollum mentioned. “I’ve been to games in the Garden as a fan … I’ve seen playoff games here. It’s a pleasure to be able to play here. A pleasure to walk off the court with a win.”
The Knicks have had their justifiable share of current-day villains (Young and Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton) and all-time antagonists (Michael Jordan and Reggie Miller).
Perhaps unwillingly, the Knicks created the stage for McCollum. For a second straight recreation, the Knicks asserted dominance within the second half earlier than the Hawks responded.
In Game 1, the Hawks did not recuperate in sufficient time. In Game 2, they bounced again from an 80-66 deficit within the third quarter.
At that time, the Knicks have been rolling of their deployment of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson, who dominated due to the Hawks’ lack of high quality dimension. Towns scored 14 of his 18 factors within the third, and Robinson was good from the sphere — all in shut vary, scoring a playoff-career-high 13 factors with seven rebounds.
“I’m no villain, I’m a nice guy with two kids and a wife. I think it’s admiration. Great, passionate fans in a hostile environment. It’s fun, It’s basketball, it’s the playoffs. If anything, I think it’s a sign of respect.”
CJ McCollum
But the Knicks could not maintain offense within the fourth, whereas the Hawks lastly acquired in gear, taking pictures 72% within the interval.
“Down the stretch, we got some pretty good looks. We got the ball in the right players’ hands,” Knicks coach Mike Brown mentioned. “We just didn’t convert.”
McCollum is simply glad to be enjoying significant basketball once more. After toiling in New Orleans after which Washington, he was concerned in a midseason commerce to Atlanta that jump-started the Hawks’ season and gave him a jolt.
“It’s exactly what we thought it would be in terms of role and being able to contribute towards winning on a good team,” McCollum mentioned. “We talked about situations, we didn’t want to keep moving around and needed to find somewhere that we could make a home.”
For one evening, that house was Madison Square Garden.
