Anunoby lifts Knicks Hawks to 83-36 halftime record

The knicks hawks game was over at halftime in Game 6, at least in record terms: New York led Atlanta 83-36 on Thursday night. The 47-point margin set the NBA playoff record for the largest halftime lead and put the Knicks in position to own a number no postseason team had reached before.

OG Anunoby Drives New York

OG Anunoby scored 26 points in the first half, the biggest scoring burst in New York's record-setting start. Mikal Bridges added 16, and Jalen Brunson scored 13 as the Knicks piled up 83 points on 28-for-43 shooting from the floor.

The numbers were efficient across the board. New York went 7-for-16 from three-point range and 20-for-22 from the foul line, while Atlanta managed only 36 points on 39 shot attempts and shot 31% in the half.

Hawks Fall Behind Early

Jalen Johnson led the Hawks with 11 first-half points, while CJ McCollum scored nine. Jonathan Kuminga added three points in 12 minutes off the bench as Atlanta struggled to keep the margin from widening before intermission.

The 47-point halftime lead broke the previous playoff mark of 41, set when Cleveland led Boston 72-31 in Game 2 of the 2017 Eastern Conference finals. It also tied Golden State's 88-41 lead over Sacramento from Nov. 2, 1991, for the second-biggest lead in NBA history, regular season or playoffs, and it came after the Knicks had once been on the wrong end of an 80-39 halftime deficit against Indiana in Game 4 of last year's Eastern Conference semifinals.

Record Company For Knicks

Only one NBA game has featured a bigger lead: Dallas' 50-point margin over the Clippers on Dec. 27, 2020. For New York, the halftime record turns a playoff game into a line in league history, with Anunoby's 26-point half and the 83-36 score carrying the weight of the night.