By Daniel Feuerstein | New York, NY | April 28th, 2026
The New York Knicks returned to Madison Square Garden for Game 5 after a game that brought back the fire and their concentration, allowing them to dominate the Atlanta Hawks. All game long, the Knicks broke away from their opponents after the opening quarter and continued to pound the Hawks with quick passing, strong shots inside the paint and from the three-point line. Most importantly, they have brought their mindset back to concentrate on the matter at hand. When the game ended, the Knicks defeated the Hawks and retook the lead in this series. The final score of game five was 126-97.
The game started evenly between the two teams until halfway through the first quarter, when the Knicks took the lead and dominated the rest of the way. Jalen Brunson had himself a night as he accumulated 39 points as the leading scorer for the entire game. He was active and had the mindset to put the Hawks away, and made them look like their shoes were stuck on the court. O.G. Anunoby was second on the Knicks with a Double-Double, scoring 17 points and 10 rebounds. Karl Anthony Towns was third in scoring with a Double-Double of his own, with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Jalen Johon was the leading Hawks scorer with a Double-Double. 18 points and 10 rebounds.
First Half: Even start, till the Knicks broke away
Atlanta started strong at the opening tip, converting several shots, but once the Knicks started to make some stops, they broke away and kept the lead all the way till the end of the game. Brunson had a shot that never went in, but he fell awkwardly and allowed the Hawks to go down the court. Jalen Johnson converted a jam, but none of the Hawks went back on defense, and Brunson was wide open to lay it in. Mitchell Robinson at the free-throw line missed his second shot, but the Knicks grabbed the rebound. Deuce McBride shot the ball, but hit the rim. Robinson came out of nowhere and stuffed it down.
Jose Alvarado came on the court and delivered a three-pointer, but he converted a wild bank shot off the window as he was in midair. Towns was inside the top of the key and saw Brunson make a run toward the near side of the paint. Towns delivers a nice bounce pass to the path of Brunson and a nice layup, converting the shot. Towards the backend of the half, Jalen Brunson took advantage of a missed shot by the Hawks and took the ball down the court. He missed the initial shot, but got his own rebound to put it in.
Second Half: The Knicks took a bigger lead and forced the backups to enter
Anunoby was making plenty of shots, including a three-pointer that hit the rim, popped up, then landed back down and through the hoop. Then Anunoby had the ball and allowed the shot clock to get down to two seconds, and hit his bucket before the buzzer sounded off. Another big play by Brunson as he continued to dominate the Hawks with a lob toward the hoop, and Mitchell Robinson jammed it down. In the final quarter, Brunson had several amazing layups with a shake-and-bake move, then the left hand. With three minutes remaining, the Hawks and the Knicks brought out their bench players and ended the game.
KEY STATS:
ATLANTA: 37 FOR 83 FG’S, 13 FOR 42 3PTS, 10 FOR 17 FT’S
NEW YORK: 45 FOR 79 FG’S, 11 FOR 26 3PTS, 25 FOR 34 FT’S
LARGEST LEAD: KNICKS WITH 32 POINTS IN THE FOURTH QUARTER
MOST POINTS: KNICKS WITH 36 POINTS IN THE FOURTH QUARTER
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