NBA: Knicks' physicality has helped them of brink of advancing past Hawks

Jalen Brunson continues to strengthen his reputation as a clutch postseason performer as he looks to lead the New York Knicks into the second round of the playoffs.

The Knicks, powered by Brunson, hold a 3-2 advantage over the Atlanta Hawks in their best-of-seven first-round Eastern Conference series. They will attempt to close out the series on Thursday in Atlanta.

Brunson delivered another standout performance in Game 5, scoring 39 points with eight assists and finishing with a game-high plus-23 rating in New York’s dominant 126-97 victory on Tuesday. Across five playoff games, he is averaging 28.2 points and 5.8 assists, scoring at least 26 points in four of those contests while consistently creating problems for Atlanta’s defense.

“We’ll keep putting different guys on him, changing matchups, trying to do anything we can to make it hard on him,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “I have tremendous respect for him as a player and a leader, and his ability to create for himself and then create for his teammates. It’s not easy.”

Despite Atlanta’s adjustments, the Knicks have largely controlled the matchup.

“We’re just trying to move him around as much as we can so they can’t catch a rhythm with him,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said.

New York also received strong support from its frontcourt in Game 5. Karl-Anthony Towns posted 16 points and 14 rebounds, while OG Anunoby added 17 points and 10 rebounds in a physical, defense-driven performance.

“OG and KAT were monsters,” Brown said. “They were phenomenal.”

Even with a commanding series lead, the Knicks remain cautious about the challenge of closing out a playoff series.

“We just understand what the situation is. The toughest game to win is the one that ends someone’s season,” Towns said. “We’ve got to be super disciplined. We have to execute at the highest level that we have in this series. We have to be ready for a really tough game.”

New York imposed its physical style in Game 5, dictating the tempo against an Atlanta team that prefers a faster, more fluid approach.

“We’ve just got to play through it. We can’t let their physicality take us out of what we want to do,” Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu said. “We’re not really playing like ourselves. We’re not running. We’re not moving the ball. We’re not spacing. The things that we did to get us to this point of the year, we’re not doing well enough. So we have to do that on Thursday.”

Atlanta did not have a player reach 20 points in the loss, with Jalen Johnson leading the team with 18 points and Dyson Daniels adding 17. CJ McCollum, who helped spark the Hawks’ Game 2 win in New York, struggled with six points on 3-of-10 shooting.

The Hawks emptied their bench with just over four minutes remaining as the Knicks built a 24-point lead, effectively conceding Game 5.

Johnson, in particular, has seen a drop in production during the series. He is averaging 19.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in the playoffs, down from his regular-season averages of 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 7.9 assists.

“They did what they were supposed to do, protecting home court,” Snyder said. “Their defense never really let us establish consistently how we need to play to beat them. We have to be more committed to imposing our will on the offensive end. Really moving and passing, you can feel possessions where that occurs, and that’s when we’re efficient or have success.”

The Knicks will now look to carry that momentum into Atlanta as they aim to finish the series and advance. -Field Level Media/Reuters