NBA Playoffs 2021: Trae Young helps Atlanta Hawks push New York Knicks to brink of elimination

Scott Rafferty

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NBA Playoffs 2021: Trae Young helps Atlanta Hawks push New York Knicks to brink of elimination image

The Atlanta Hawks are one win away from advancing to the second round for the first time since 2015-16.

Led by a game-high 27 points from Trae Young, the Hawks blew the New York Knicks out for the second game in a row to take a 3-1 series lead.

John Collins had his highest scoring game of the series with 22 points while Clint Capela recorded a 10-point, 15-rebound double-double. Julius Randle came close to a triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, but he shot 7-for-19 from the field and committed five turnovers.

For more on the game, some takeaways at the buzzer...

1. Oh, that's cold

Young committed a couple of early turnovers in this one, but he made up for his second with his first steal and first 3-pointer of the game.

That's smooth.

2. Keep on swimming

After lighting the Knicks up from 3-point range in Game 3, the Hawks came back down to earth in Game 4, missing 10 of their first 11 3-point attempts.

Naturally, they then made four of their next five 3-point attempts, three of which came in a 90 second span.

Bogdan Bogdanovic nailed the first one, followed by Danilo Gallinari and Kevin Huerter.

That mini-run helped the Hawks rebound from a slow start and turned out to be a sign of what was to come.

3. A familiar story for the Knicks

The leading scorer for the Knicks at the half? Derrick Rose.

Starting in place of Elfrid Payton for the second game in a row, Rose had 16 points at the break on 6-for-9 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 from 3-point range.

Rose went toe-to-toe with Young, who had 15 points following two quarters of play.

The only other player on the Knicks in double-digit scoring was Randle, although his 12 points came on 4-for-12 shooting.

In Randle's defence, he came out with his foot on the gas and did a better job of playmaking than his three assists would suggest. It was just a struggle offensively for everyone on the Knicks not named Rose in the first half, especially from the perimeter, where they went 4-for-14 as a team.

4. The beginning of the end

This game was decided in the third quarter.

Leading 53-49 at the half, the Hawks outscored the Knicks by 13 points in the third period to turn a four-point lead into a 17-point lead.

Young led the way for Atlanta with nine points in the quarter, three of which came following a wicked crossover that somehow didn't turn Reggie Bullock into dust.

Collins made his presence felt with seven points, although he had to exit the game because of a lip laceration that required stitches. (He returned to the game in the fourth).

Bogdanovic then rubbed salt in the wound with a tough 3-pointer over Alec Burks in the closing seconds, his second triple of the frame.

The Knicks were able to mount a big comeback in Game 2 to come away with the win, but this team lacks the offensive firepower to make that a regular occurance.

5. Heating up from deep

Remember how the Hawks started the game 1-for-11 from 3-point range? They ended up shooting 15-for-39 from the perimeter, so they went 14-for-28 following their ice-cold start.

They really do have shooters everywhere.

6. What's next

The series returns to New York for Game 5 on Wednesday, June 2 (ET).

With it potentially being the last game of the season for the Knicks, it's safe to assume that Madison Square Garden will be rocking.

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Scott Rafferty

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Scott Rafferty is an experienced NBA journalist who first started writing for The Sporting News in 2017. There are few things he appreciates more than a Nikola Jokic no-look pass, Klay Thompson heat check or Giannis Antetokounmpo eurostep. He's a member of the NBA Global team.