Dyson Daniels Scores 17 as Knicks Take 3-2 Series Lead
dyson daniels scored 17 points and added five assists, but the New York Knicks still rolled past the Atlanta Hawks 126-97 on Tuesday to take a 3-2 lead in their first-round series. Atlanta now has to win Thursday in Atlanta to force a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden.
Brunson Pushes New York
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 39 points, and New York kept stretching the margin until it reached as many as 32 points in Game 5. Karl-Anthony Towns added 16 points, 14 rebounds and six assists as the Knicks turned a tight series into a lopsided night at the end of a back-and-forth stretch.
The Hawks had already shown they could swing the matchup. They won Games 2 and 3 by one point each to move ahead 2-1, then watched the Knicks answer in Game 4 by building a 24-point lead and finishing the job. Tuesday was a harsher version of that same pattern, with New York taking control early and never letting Atlanta settle in.
Daniels Faces Brunson Again
Daniels shot 64 per cent from the field and made two of four shots from long range, a far stronger scoring night than he had managed earlier in the series. He had not scored more than eight points in any previous game before Game 5, and his line gave Atlanta one of its few efficient offensive outputs.
Jalen Johnson also did his part for the Hawks with 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, while CJ McCollum finished with six points. Even with those numbers, Atlanta could not keep pace once the Knicks started landing shots and forcing the Hawks into a chase they never closed.
Atlanta Seeks One More Chance
Daniels said, "Their mindset was to try and come out and try bully us and be physical and they did that," and added, "We've got to move the ball, get better shots... come out with a different mindset for game six, come in and be better as a team defensively." Those comments matched what the box score showed: New York controlled the glass, the scoring load and the tempo far better in Game 5.
Atlanta gets one more chance on Thursday at home. If the Hawks win, the series goes back to Madison Square Garden for Game 7; if they do not, the Knicks close the door after using a 126-97 road win to seize control.
