{"id":702780,"date":"2026-04-07T06:39:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T06:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/702780\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T06:39:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T06:39:45","slug":"jalen-brunsons-late-game-brilliance-delivers-win-over-hawks-as-knicks-survive-near-buzzer-beater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/702780\/","title":{"rendered":"Jalen Brunson\u2019s late-game brilliance delivers win over Hawks as Knicks survive near buzzer-beater"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"An<\/p>\n

An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby (8) dunks the ball against the Atlanta Hawks during the first half at State Farm Arena. , Image 2 shows Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks drives to the basket during the game against the Atlanta Hawks on April 6, 2026 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. , Image 3 shows Karl-Anthony Towns dribbles the ball during the game between the New York Knicks and the Atlanta Hawks<\/p>\n

ATLANTA \u2014 Captain Clutch was back.<\/p>\n

After two consecutive dud performances from Jalen Brunson \u2014 and after he struggled for most of Monday\u2019s game against the Hawks \u2014 the point guard emerged as he often does: when it matters most.<\/p>\n

Brunson scored 17 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter of a 108-105 victory over the Hawks, including the biggest buckets of the evening \u2014 a go-ahead pull-up jumper with 30 seconds remaining, and then the final free throws with 1.2 seconds left.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t necessarily going his way the whole night. But he stayed with it and did what great players are supposed to do and carried us home down the stretch,\u201d coach Mike Brown said.<\/p>\n

Still, the victory was in doubt after the final buzzer, as the referees reviewed a banked-in half-court heave from Atlanta\u2019s CJ McCollum \u2014 which would\u2019ve sent the game into OT. But the attempt was determined invalid because it occurred after the buzzer, and the Knicks left here with their biggest win in more than a month.<\/p>\n

It was also a lesson learned for Brown, who advised Brunson to hit his final free throw with 1.2 seconds left rather than miss on purpose and burn the clock. That almost came back to burn the Knicks. Almost.<\/p>\n

\"Jalen<\/p>\n

Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks drives to the basket during the game against the Atlanta Hawks on April 6, 2026 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tricky. If he misses it, obviously it\u2019s a long heave. But if you foul him on the rebound or you foul him when he\u2019s turning to heave it now they get three free throws,\u201d Brown said. \u201cIt\u2019s something we\u2019ve talked about before \u2014 it\u2019s still a toss-up situation. \u2026 The whole thing was at worst they\u2019ll tie it and we\u2019ll go to overtime. Lesson learned on a couple possessions down the stretch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other than the pre-buzzer dramatics, the game served as a reminder of Brunson\u2019s greatest strength come playoff time \u2014 the ability to create for himself in the most pressurized situations off the dribble \u2014 and that the Knicks, despite their flaws, have an equalizer for sticky situations.<\/p>\n

Until that fourth quarter, Brunson was misfiring. He shot just 11-for-26 for the evening \u2014 albeit often in a facilitator role with 13 assists \u2014 hounded by Atlanta double-teams and All-Defensive selection Dyson Daniels.<\/p>\n

But the Knicks deployed a two-man game with Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns in clutch time, allowing the point guard to shake off the double teams. And it unlocked a powerful offense down the stretch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought we did a great job today of utilizing [the two-man game with myself and Brunson],\u201d said Towns, who finished with 21 points, 12 boards and six assists. \u201cWhen the game got dicey, the coaching staff and our teammates leaned on us to have that two-man game show up when we needed it the most. And it worked. We have a good rapport where I think that, what you saw at the end of the game with me and JB allows him not to have so much pressure on him and allows me to help him out and do what I do best, cause gravity which allows him to get a step on a defender and that\u2019s all he needs to score.\u201d<\/p>\n

This result mattered to the Knicks. That was obvious. After five straight losses against teams with winning records \u2014 and with the playoffs around the corner \u2014 Brown used his likely playoff rotation with heavy minutes for his two top performers \u2014 Brunson (39 minutes) and OG Anunoby (37).<\/p>\n

With Charles Oakley watching from the third row, the Knicks were stuck in the mud until about midway through the third quarter, when they used a 20-8 run to recover from a double-digit deficit.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby (8) dunks the ball against the Atlanta Hawks during the first half at State Farm Arena. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Then it became Brunson time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ball found a way to go in the hoop for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Both teams were motivated. It carried the look and feel of an important NBA game in April, a rarity. There were playoff implications.<\/p>\n

The scorching-hot Hawks (45-34), winners of 18 of their last 20 games before Monday, are trying to clinch a playoff spot for the first time in three years. They\u2019re trying to secure the fifth seed.<\/p>\n

The Knicks (51-28) clinched a postseason berth but are still in the mix for seeds Nos. 2-4. The victory Monday meant greater emphasis on Thursday\u2019s game at the Garden against the Celtics, with the No. 2 seed still very much in play.<\/p>\n

\"Karl-Anthony<\/p>\n

Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks dribbles the ball during the game against the Atlanta Hawks on April 6, 2026 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Beyond the seeding implications, the Knicks need to build momentum heading into a postseason with the highest expectations since at least Jeff Van Gundy roamed the sideline.<\/p>\n

As owner James Dolan made clear in January, it\u2019s Finals or bust.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put the antennas up for the rest of the league as well,\u201d Towns said. \u201cThey know what we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

But even though everybody knows what New York\u2019s closer can do, it\u2019s hard to stop Brunson down the stretch. The Hawks became the latest victim \u2014 but also the first victim in a while for the point guard.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s huge to know a guy like Jalen can shoot and score the way he does,\u201d Brown said. \u201cOn top of that, he\u2019s crafty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crafty and clutch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby (8) dunks the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":702781,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3776],"tags":[676,208,3874,7,46,7046,206,677,288,563,304,3357,6,741,6433],"class_list":{"0":"post-702780","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-hawks","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-hawks","10":"tag-atlantahawks","11":"tag-basketball","12":"tag-celtics","13":"tag-cj-mccollum","14":"tag-dyson-daniels","15":"tag-hawks","16":"tag-jalen-brunson","17":"tag-karl-anthony-towns","18":"tag-knicks","19":"tag-mike-brown","20":"tag-nba","21":"tag-og-anunoby","22":"tag-state-farm-arena"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116362058226206968","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=702780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/702781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=702780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=702780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=702780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}