Derrick Rose And The Knicks Erased A 15-Point Deficit To Beat The Hawks In Game 2

Midway through the third quarter of Game 2, it looked for all the world like the Hawks were about to runaway from the Knicks and go back home with a 2-0 series lead. Trae Young and the Hawks were lighting up the Knicks on offense and had stymied the New York offense, taking a 13-point lead into halftime (that at its highest was 57-42 in favor of Atlanta).

But after pushing their lead back up to 70-58 lead with six minutes to play, Atlanta saw New York go on a wild run 30-8 run to go up 88-78 in the mid fourth quarter — much of it coming with Young seated on the bench.

During that run, the Knicks caught fire from deep, with Reggie Bullock and Derrick Rose both hitting some huge threes to swing the game in their favor. Rose finished with a team-high 26 points in 39 minutes of play, as he didn’t leave the court in the second half as Tom Thibodeau finally made the move to get Elfrid Payton out of the rotation after another rough start.

Bullock chipped in 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting from deep, as the Knicks flipped the script on the Hawks in the second half to suddenly become the team that couldn’t miss from deep.

Even Obi Toppin got into the mix during the Knicks second half run, throwing down a dunk to send the Garden into a frenzy.

However, once Young re-entered the game, the Hawks made their run to cut the New York lead to just one, as he once again began feasting in the pick-and-roll game as he has all series, piling up 30 points and seven assists in the game.

This time when the Hawks made a late run, the Knicks had an answer unlike in Game 1. Taj Gibson played a big role on both ends of the floor in New York’s comeback, posting a ridiculous, game-high +23 for the Knicks, including this dunk in traffic that gave him six points on the night to go with seven boards, three steals, and a block.

The icing on the win came from Julius Randle, who despite a brutal start to the game (and, including Game 1, the series), hit the Hawks with a slow Euro to get to the cup and extend New York’s lead to nine with just over a minute to play.

The series now shifts to Atlanta tied at 1-1 which is very important for the Knicks, as Atlanta has been sensational at home in the final few months of the season and will be tough to beat. With the way they played offensively in the first half, New York has to feel they stole one in Game 2, as the Hawks went ice cold at the wrong time (2-of-12 from three in the fourth quarter on some good looks). The Hawks will be kicking themselves for dropping a chance to take a stranglehold on the series, and the biggest adjustment for Atlanta going back home might just need to be Nate McMillan abandoning his beloved 5-man bench unit lineups. The bench for Atlanta got crushed in Game 2, and Trae Young might need to get his minutes extended from 35-36 to 40 for the Hawks to deal with the New York defense, which gave the bench fits but still hasn’t figured Young out.

Game 3 comes in two days on Friday, with both teams feeling they have a chance to take control.