Jalen Brunson dropped a vintage performance and the Knicks blew the doors off the Hawks 127-97 to take a 3-2 series lead at home.
The Knicks delivered the kind of playoff statement game New York has been waiting for, dismantling the Hawks 127-97 at Madison Square Garden to take a 3-2 series lead. Jalen Brunson played his most complete postseason game of the year — the kind that reminded everybody what he is when the moment is right.
The night belonged to the bench as much as the starters. Multiple reserves logged efficient minutes, the team's defensive switches were sharp from the opening minutes, and a third quarter that turned a competitive game into a runaway felt like the Knicks playing the role they imagined for themselves all season.
The Hawks, for their part, had no answer for the perimeter pressure and could not generate the offensive rebounds they had been living on earlier in the series. Their bench in particular was outscored decisively.
Game 6 shifts to Atlanta, where the home team will be playing for a season. The Knicks, meanwhile, will travel knowing that they need only one of the next two games — and that the Garden, win or lose, is waiting.