Atlanta Hawks beat New York Knicks 107-106 on the road on Monday, April 20, after falling far behind. The Hawks were down 12 at one quarter break and still finished 1 ahead.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Knicks struck first, taking the opening quarter 32-23 and a 9-point lead after one. The Hawks cut into the deficit with a 31-29 second quarter, though the Knicks still led by 7 at halftime.
The Knicks won the third 30-25 to create some separation, taking a 12-point lead into the fourth. The Hawks took the fourth 28-15; the Hawks completed the comeback for a 107-106 regulation win.
What flipped it
The Hawks took better care of the ball, turning it over on 11.4% of possessions compared with 14.2% for the Knicks. The Hawks got more from their shots, finishing at 54.9% effective field-goal shooting compared with 51.1% for the Knicks. In a 1-point game, those extra possessions were crucial.
The Knicks did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 31.8% against 15.4%. The Hawks made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 98 possessions per team, the Hawks produced 109.7 points per 100 possessions to 108.7 for the Knicks.
Who carried the comeback
CJ McCollum was the game's biggest individual force for ATL: 32 pts, 3 reb, 6 ast on 12-22 shooting. His Game Score of 25.6 led everyone. His team was +9 with him on the floor.
Josh Hart led the Knicks with 15 pts, 13 reb, 6 ast on 5-11 shooting, good for a 16.2 Game Score.
Josh Hart (15 pts, 13 reb, 6 ast) recorded a double-double.
What it means
By our Win Meter this was an upset: The Hawks entered with about a 27% chance.
Across the last 9 meetings in our records, New York Knicks lead 6-3.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.