Home BASKETBALL NBA NBA Playoffs: Hawks Edge Knicks, Raptors Rout Cavs to Avoid 0-3 Hole

NBA Playoffs: Hawks Edge Knicks, Raptors Rout Cavs to Avoid 0-3 Hole

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Hawks lead over Knicks

Two one-point wins put Hawks up 2-1 on Knicks after McCollum’s clutch shot. In Toronto, Raptors outscore Cavs 43-23 in fourth to get on the board.


NBA Playoffs, Hawks edge Knicks for series lead while Raptors claim first win. McCollum, Hawks steal another thriller as Knicks fail to get shot off...


CJ McCollum buried the game-winner with 12.5 seconds left as the Atlanta Hawks grabbed another tight win over New York to go up 2-1 in their first-round NBA playoff series Thursday.


The Hawks beat the Knicks 109-108 in Atlanta, marking their second straight one-point victory and putting them ahead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series.


The Toronto Raptors also took care of business at home, breaking clear late for a 126-104 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers to trim their series deficit to 2-1.

 
Atlanta delivered a strong all-around performance, especially defensively, to shut down the third-seeded Knicks’ late rally attempt.


With plenty of time after McCollum's go-ahead basket, the Knicks were unable to get a shot off as the Hawks pressured Jalen Brunson into a poor pass intended for Josh Hart and Jonathan Kuminga lunged in for a game-clinching steal.


“Picture perfect,” McCollum said of the final defensive stand. “When it was time to get a stop our guys dug deep and they did what it takes to win in these types of environments.”


Jalen Johnson led the Hawks with 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. McCollum chipped in 23 points, while Kuminga poured in 21 off the bench.




Atlanta was up by as many as 18 in the first half, but the Knicks grabbed a 108-105 edge on Jalen Brunson’s three-point play - he drew a foul from McCollum on a drive and hit the free throw with 1:03 left.

  
Johnson cut it to one with a putback layup and, after Hart and Brunson both missed, McCollum delivered.


For the Knicks, OG Anunoby finished with 29 points and nine rebounds.


Brunson added 26 points and Karl-Anthony Towns posted 21 points and 17 rebounds for New York, who will look to even the series in Game 4 in Atlanta on Saturday.




Toronto buries Cavs with fourth-quarter barrage

In Toronto, Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett each dropped 33 points, while rookie Collin Murray-Boyles contributed 22 off the bench for the Raptors.


“I got to a spot and did what I had to do to get this win,” McCollum said, but he was still irked with himself for fouling Brunson.



McCollum said: “I've got to be better.”


Barnes added 11 assists as the Raptors carried a narrow two-point lead into the fourth before taking off.


 

Toronto went 8-for-9 from three in the last quarter, blowing the game open with a 43-23 run.


“We knew we needed one,” Barnes said after the Raptors dodged a 0-3 deficit - a hole no NBA team has ever climbed out of in a playoff series.

 
James Harden paced Cleveland with 18 points, with Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Max Strus each scoring 15.



Wolves lock down Denver to grab 2-1 lead

In Minneapolis, Rudy Gobert anchored a dominant Minnesota defensive showing as the Timberwolves beat Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets 113-96.


After erasing a 19-point hole to steal Game 2 in Denver, the Timberwolves took a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference series and will host Game 4 Saturday.


Minnesota never trailed, limiting Denver to 11 first-quarter points and stretching the lead to 27 in the third.




Ayo Dosunmu poured in 25 points off the bench to pace the Timberwolves.


Jaden McDaniels added a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double, while a foul-troubled Anthony Edwards finished with 17.




Gobert largely contained three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.


The Serbian center put up 27 points and 15 rebounds but shot just 7-for-26 from the floor.




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