The New York Knicks sealed their passage to the NBA East semifinals on Thursday with an extraordinary humiliation at home to the Atlanta Hawks, swept 140-89 after a first half that ended 83-36 for the New York Knicks, in the biggest victory in their history.
The Knicks closed out the series with a definitive 4-2 win, avoiding the risk of a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden, and did so with an absolute test of strength and the largest margin of advantage ever at halftime of a playoff game.
Knicks advance to semifinals
pure dominance in game 6 🔥⬇️ pic.twitter.com/NDb2VJqjN0
– NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) May 1, 2026
The New Yorkers shot 58.8% from the field.
OG Anunoby led the Knicks with 29 points (11-of-14 shooting), Mikal Bridges sealed 24 (10-of-12), Jalen Brunson contributed 17 points and eight assists and Dominican Karl Anthony Towns chipped in with a triple double of 12 points, 11 rebounds and ten assists despite his one-of-four shooting.
Puerto Rican Jose Alvarado contributed three points, one rebound, two assists and two steals off the bench.
The Hawks said goodbye to the season with a historic setback in a night in which they were 61 points behind. Their leading scorer was Jalen Johnson, with 21 points.
And they seemed to have gained momentum with a 9-0 run at the beginning of the first quarter that put them up on the scoreboard.
But from that 9-4 start began an astonishing dominance by the Knicks, on both sides of the court.
OG Anunoby was close to perfection, leading a 26-point first half as the Knicks sealed a 39-4 run that pushed their lead to 48-15.
Historic beating at halftime
ON TO THE NEXT ROUND. pic.twitter.com/H5mJL7yFPI
– NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) May 1, 2026
The Knicks dominated a lost Hawks defensively and, offensively, extended that streak gradually to a 51-8 run and a 63-11 run that led to a humiliating 83-36 halftime lead.
The Knicks already had four players in double figures in scoring.
In addition to Anunoby, Mikal Bridges had 16, Jalen Brunson had 13 and Karl Anthony Towns had 10.
The Hawks, unable to react, lost their cool and, with the score at 72-52 with 4:39 minutes to go before halftime, began a furious brawl that ended with the ejections of Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels and the Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson.
It all started with an elbow from Daniels in the chest of Robinson, who faced his opponent.
The fight spread to several other players and a referee and Knicks coach Mike Brown himself ended up falling to the ground in the chaos.
New York led by 47 points at halftime and came within three points of tying the all-time NBA record of 50 points, held by the Dallas Mavericks since 2020.
The Knicks’ starters only played minutes in the third quarter and remained on the bench for the entirety of the fourth segment, with their heads already set on the next round, where they await one of the Boston Celtics or Philadelphia 76ers.
Filed as:
With information from EFE
