{"id":709420,"date":"2026-04-13T05:10:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T05:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/709420\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T05:10:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T05:10:07","slug":"knicks-lose-finale-face-tougher-hawks-in-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/709420\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks Lose Finale, Face Tougher Hawks in Playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AThe Knicks’ first-round playoff matchup against the Hawks will test their ability to overcome a tougher opponent after a disappointing end to the regular season.NYC Today<\/p>\n

The New York Knicks lost their regular season finale on Sunday, which means they will face the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs instead of the Toronto Raptors. The Hawks are considered a tougher opponent for the Knicks, who had success against the Raptors in the regular season. The Knicks rested most of their starters in the final game, while the Hawks clearly wanted to face the Knicks after securing the fifth seed.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

The Knicks’ loss sets up a more challenging first-round playoff matchup against the Hawks, who the Knicks struggled with in the regular season. This could impact the Knicks’ chances of advancing deep into the playoffs, especially if they had to face the Celtics in the second round.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

The Knicks lost 110-96 to the Charlotte Hornets in their regular season finale on Sunday. With the loss, the Knicks will face the fifth-seeded Hawks in the first round of the playoffs instead of the fourth-seeded Raptors, who the Knicks dominated in the regular season. The Hawks clearly wanted to face the Knicks, resting their top players in a blowout loss to the Heat on Sunday. The Knicks rested most of their playoff rotation, with only Mikal Bridges playing meaningful minutes.<\/p>\n

The Knicks lost to the Hornets on Sunday, April 12, 2026.The Hawks rested their top players in a loss to the Heat on Sunday, April 12, 2026.<\/p>\n

The players<\/p>\n

LaMelo Ball<\/a><\/p>\n

Charlotte Hornets guard who played against the Knicks in the regular season finale.<\/p>\n

Jose Alvarado<\/p>\n

New York Knicks guard who played in the regular season finale.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Sochan<\/p>\n

New York Knicks forward who played in the regular season finale.<\/p>\n

Miles Bridges<\/p>\n

Charlotte Hornets forward who played against the Knicks in the regular season finale.<\/p>\n

Mikal Bridges<\/p>\n

New York Knicks starter who played 23 seconds in the regular season finale to maintain his consecutive games streak.<\/p>\n

Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a>
\n What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

\u201cJust wait until it’s over. At the end of the day, I’m sure somehow, some way, I might be told it. But at the end of the day, I’m a firm believer that trying to ask for this opponent or that opponent is not good for you, when you mess with the basketball gods. So whatever happens, happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Mike Brown, Knicks Head Coach<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

The Knicks will face the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The series schedule has not yet been announced.<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/p>\n

The Knicks’ loss in the regular season finale sets up a tougher first-round playoff matchup against the Hawks, who the Knicks struggled with during the regular season. This could impact the Knicks’ chances of advancing deep into the playoffs, especially if they have to face the Celtics in the second round.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a The Knicks’ first-round playoff matchup against the Hawks will test…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":709421,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3768],"tags":[7,304,6,1136,191,3810,3806],"class_list":{"0":"post-709420","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-knicks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-knicks","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-knicks","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkknicks"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116395680259255512","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709420","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=709420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/709421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}