Karl-Anthony Towns posted a triple-double as the Knicks beat the Hawks 114-98 in Game 4 to even the first-round series at 2-2.
The New York Knicks evened their first-round playoff series with the Atlanta Hawks at two games apiece, taking Game 4 114-98 on Saturday at State Farm Arena.
Karl-Anthony Towns posted a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. OG Anunoby added 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Jalen Brunson scored 19. The pair of Towns and Anunoby combined for 42 points on 26 shots.
The Knicks dictated the tempo from the opening tip, slowing the game into a half-court grind that took Atlanta out of its preferred style. The Hawks, who ranked in the top five in fast break points during the regular season at 17.7 per game, did not score a transition basket through three quarters and finished with seven fast break points.
"More than anything, from the start of the game, their physicality bothered us," Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. "We didn't do the things we needed to do to counter that."
CJ McCollum led Atlanta with 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting but missed all four of his 3-point attempts. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. Jalen Johnson had 14 points and 5 assists, and Onyeka Okongwu finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals. Gabe Vincent contributed 10 points off the bench.
Atlanta shot 41% from the field. From 3-point range, the Hawks were 10-of-41 (24.4%).
The Knicks scored 21 points off Atlanta's 19 turnovers.
"They played better than us," McCollum said. "They played harder. They were more physical. They got to loose balls."
After winning Games 2 and 3 by a combined two points, Atlanta could not generate the same late-game drama. The Hawks trailed by seven after one quarter, fell behind by as many as 12 in the second, and never recovered. The Knicks led by 19 entering the fourth and pushed the margin to as much as 24.
New York adjusted its matchups defensively, assigning Josh Hart to McCollum after the veteran guard scored game-winners in each of the previous two games. The Knicks also tightened their pick-and-roll coverage that the Hawks had exploited in Game 3.
"They just upped their intensity, their aggression," Alexander-Walker said. "They wanted it more. They played harder."
The Hawks pulled within 8 points with 9:55 to play in the third quarter but could not close the gap. On their final push, Atlanta got a stop on a Jose Alvarado layup attempt with 8:52 left in the third. Okongwu collected the rebound, and the Hawks pushed in transition before Okongwu drove for a finish at the rim. They did not trail by single digits the rest of the night.
Snyder said the difference between Game 4 and the Hawks' two prior wins was less about strategic adjustments than competitive edge.
"It wasn't a game of adjustments as much as it was the team that got after it," Snyder said. "It's not like we didn't compete, but we didn't compete in the areas where we needed to."
The series shifts back to Madison Square Garden for Game 5 on Tuesday.