Knicks deliver 51-point win over Hawks in Game 6, advance to second round of NBA playoffs 58%
By Peter Sblendorio0%
5/1/2026, 1:46:56 AM
Topics: Basketball, Playoffs
BS Summary: This article contains 19 faulty reasoning types, including Post Hoc (False Cause), Overconfidence Bias, and Optimism Bias, with Halo Effect as the most egregious example at 14% saturation with 134 hits. Analysis detected 939 faulty-reasoning hits from 955 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 55% and a BS Rank of 58% (8,686 of 20,407 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 57.40% of the article peer group.
ATLANTA — The Knicks knew the Atlanta Hawks were fighting for their playoff lives.
They didn’t let Atlanta even come up for air.
In a historic display of dominance, the Knicks punched first and just kept pounding in Thursday night’s 140-89 victory in Game 6 at State Farm Arena to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Behind a ferocious defense and an offense that couldn’t miss, the Knicks led by 25 points after one quarter, by as many as 51 points in the first half, and by as many as 61 points after halftime.
The 51-point margin of victory was largest in Knicks playoff history.
Their 47-point lead at halftime was the largest in NBA playoff history.
In the second round, the Knicks will face either the Boston Celtics or Philadelphia 76ers, whose series will be decided in a Game 7 on Saturday.
“It speaks volumes about our team,” Karl-Anthony Towns said after Thursday’s rout.
“When we’re locked in, playing close to our best, we’re really, really good.”
OG Anunoby led the Knicks with 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting and seven rebounds, while Mikal Bridges — in a bounce-back performance — scored 24 points and finished 10-of-12 from the field.
Towns delivered his second triple-double of the series, contributing 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Jalen Brunson added 17 points and eight assists.
“Our mindset was to go out there and play desperate,” Bridges said.
“They’re a really good team, really well-coached.
We couldn’t let them go out there and get confidence, especially at home.”
If the underdog Hawks had any hopes of evening this first-round series and forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks crushed those dreams in a matter of minutes.
The Knicks repeatedly turned turnovers, blocked shots and long rebounds into fastbreak opportunities, helping to fuel an early 14-0 run.
A rejection by Towns on Dyson Daniels midway through the first quarter quickly became a Bridges basket on the other end.
On the next possession, Anunoby stripped Nickeil Alexander-Walker, then found Josh Hart for a breakaway lay-up.
Anunoby scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting during that tone-setting first quarter, after which the Knicks led, 40-15.
The Knicks shot 18-of-26 in the first quarter — much to the delight of a rowdy, sizable contingent of New York fans that made its presence felt more and more as the game got out of hand.
“The ball was going through the hoop,” Brunson said.
“We were able to get stops, run in transition, get lay-ups.
It really came down to our defense.
It allowed us to play fast, allowed us to play in transition, and we made shots.”
And it didn’t stop there.
The Knicks opened the second quarter on a 32-7 run, a surge in which Bridges found Mitchell Robinson for an emphatic one-handed alley-oop dunk; and in which a Brunson lob resulted in a highlight-worthy Bridges jam.
When Anunoby completed a three-point play with 4:39 left before halftime, the Knicks went up 72-22.
“Our guys, their connectedness right now is off the charts,” head coach Mike Brown said.
“When you lock into the details, and you’re connected like that with a group that’s as talented and versatile as that group, you’ve got a chance to do that.”
Frustration began to boil over from there.
As Anunoby shot his free throw, Robinson and Daniels got tangled up while jockeying for position.
That escalated into a shoving match that spilled into the sideline, causing players from both teams to intervene.
Robinson — who stepped over Daniels during a testy Game 2 exchange — and Daniels were assessed offsetting technical fouls and were both ejected.
But it was an otherwise excellent night for the third-seeded Knicks, who made 28 of their first 40 shot attempts, turned 19 turnovers into 26 points, and scored a whopping 35 fastbreak points.
The Knicks went up 101-40 with 8:21 left in the third.
By the 2:45 mark of that quarter, both teams went to their benches for the remainder of the game.
“Most importantly, it shows us what we’re capable of defensively,” Brunson said.
“I think that’s really important.
We still have a long road to travel, so staying locked in and just knowing what we are capable of, that’s really important.”
After trading away Trae Young and Kristaps Porzingis midseason, sixth-seeded Atlanta entered the playoffs as one of the NBA’s hottest teams, riding a young core to 19 wins in its final 24 games.
The Hawks carried that hot play into the playoffs, earning back-to-back one-point victories in Games 2 and 3 to take a 2-1 series lead.
But the Knicks — buoyed by unrelenting physicality, an advantage in experience and an increased emphasis on Towns’ play-making — emerged as the superior team as the series wore on, winning the final three games in progressively overwhelming fashion.
“It shows the kind of team that we are, what we can be,” Hart said.
“We knew we kind of gave two games away, so we wanted to come out and close out the series today.”
This is the fourth year in a row the Knicks have advanced to the second round of the playoffs, but after last year’s trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, they have much loftier aspirations.
In January, Knicks owner James Dolan told WFAN in a rare interview, “We want to get to the Finals, and we should win the Finals.”
Consider step one complete.
“We’ve got to turn the page tomorrow, refocus up,” Brunson said.
“I’m proud we got the win, regardless of whether it was by one or 60.
… But we’ve got to refocus.”
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