The New York Knicks have fallen behind 1-2 to the Atlanta Hawks.
The New York Knicks have fallen behind 2-1 in round one of the playoffs after dropping game three against the Atlanta Hawks in a 109-108 heartbreaker on Thursday night.
Despite all of the tension involved and the fact that the Knicks now have to adapt to playing down while away from home, head coach Mike Brown isn't worried and saw a lot from Thursday's game to be happy about.
Mostly, Brown appreciated the fight that his team showed throughout the game, especially considering that Atlanta came out swinging.
The Hawks set the tone early, outscoring the Knicks by 12 in the first quarter. The Knicks were playing down from that point on, but they showed plenty of fight that proved that they weren't going to be sent packing that easily.
New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown on the sideline against the Atlanta Hawks in the third quarter during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at State Farm Arena. Brett Davis-Imagn ImagesThe Knicks' Comeback
New York outscored Atlanta in each of the next three quarters to make it such a nail-biter by the very end and even reclaimed the lead near the end of the game after being down by as much as 18 at one point.
Every thing came down to the last possession of the game. CJ McCollum put the Hawks ahead by one with just over 12 seconds left in the game and the Knicks broke down court looking for one last shot to put them back ahead and finish the game.
Jalen Brunson had the ball, but found himself trapped under the hoop with nowhere to go and Hawks defenders all around him. With no other option, he tried to shoot the ball out to Josh Hart, but it was deflected on the way and sent sputtering down the court, with all of the Knicks' game three hopes with it.
Hart chased after it to try and recover, but Jonathan Kuminga got there first and took the ball downcourt to run out the game clock and preserve the Atlanta lead and victory.
Brown's Not Worried
The Knicks now have to make an adjustment as the team that's playing behind, but Brown hasn't lost faith yet. There's still a lot of basketball to be played before panic should set it and for now he's focused on getting his team ready for what comes next.
"It's a seven-game series for a reason. Stuff's gonna happen," Brown said (via NBA). "Plenty of teams have been down 1-2. I even think Oklahoma City was down 1-2 last year and they ended up wining it... The reality of it is it's seven games and you take one game at a time... This should sting, but we need to feel and get ready to be locked in."