![\"Magic](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2248214919-e1775587233829.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Magic Johnson is concerned about Lakers injuries.<\/p>\n
Hall of Famer Magic Johnson believes former Golden State Warriors<\/a> star Jonathan Kuminga has played a key role in helping the Atlanta Hawks seize a 2-1 series lead over the New York Knicks<\/a> in the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n Kuminga, who dropped 21 points off the bench in Atlanta\u2019s 109-108 win in Thursday\u2019s Game 3, received a positive endorsement from Johnson after the game.<\/p>\n \u201cA big reason why the Atlanta Hawks now lead the Series 2-1 is because Jonathan Kuminga had a strong game coming off the bench with 21 points,\u201d Johnson wrote on X<\/a>, while also praising CJ McCollum and Jalen Johnson for combining for 47 points.<\/p>\n CJ McCollum\u2019s jump shot with 12 seconds left in Game 3 sealed the victory for the Atlanta Hawks over the New York Knicks 109-108! McCollum finished with 23 points and Jalen Johnson had 24 points. A big reason why the Atlanta Hawks now lead the Series 2-1 is because Jonathan<\/p>\n Johnson also called Atlanta\u2019s nail-biting 109-108 win in Game 3 \u201cone of the most entertaining\u201d games of this year\u2019s young postseason.<\/p>\n The Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks NBA Playoff Game 3 was one of the most exciting and entertaining games in the Playoffs so far!<\/p>\n Hawks Down Knicks to Take 2-1 Lead<\/p>\n The Hawks seemed in control for most of Game 3 until a late run by the Knicks \u2014 who outscored the home team 28-21 in the fourth quarter \u2014 made the game interesting.<\/p>\n CJ McCollum, the hero of Atlanta\u2019s Game 2 win at MSG, once again hit key buckets down the stretch, including a go-ahead 15-foot fadeaway jumper with 12.7 seconds left.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m comfortable with failure. I\u2019m comfortable with success,\u201d McCollum said after his game-winner, via Associated Press. \u201cI\u2019ve played a long time. I really cherish the game.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCJ hit a great shot,\u201d Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said. \u201cWe have a ton of confidence in him being able to make those plays.\u201d<\/p>\n Kuminga feels his new team is starting to come together at the right time.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all came together and knew we needed just one stop,\u201d said Kuminga, who joined the Hawks as part of a midseason trade. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to sacrifice out there and make a play.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt takes time to create that bond with the guys,\u201d added Kuminga. \u201cI\u2019m learning from the coach and some of those things carried up to this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Knicks in Big Trouble?<\/p>\n In the lead-up to the series, many expected the Hawks to pose problems for the Knicks, given how their tall, athletic wings match up with New York\u2019s perimeter scorers. Those concerns have come true thus far, as detailed by ESPN\u2019s Vincent Goodwill.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe Atlanta Hawks are doing everything they can to make life uncomfortable for the New York Knicks, and they are succeeding. From the onset, they grabbed early leads and had the Knicks fighting from behind all night,\u201d Goodwill wrote after Game 3.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Knicks were only surviving, first with Jalen Brunson, then OG Anunoby<\/a>. But it was Atlanta that was the desperate team, especially Jonathan Kuminga, who was opportunistic on offense and repeatedly getting out in the open floor.<\/p>\n \u201cHe and the Hawks sensed an opportunity and seized it. Now the Knicks are at a place they don\u2019t like being: on the ropes.\u201d<\/p>\n The Knicks now face a must-win situation in Game 4 on Saturday. They have never bounced back from a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA<\/a> playoffs and are currently 0-15 in franchise history when facing such a deficit.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tSai Mohan<\/a> covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Knicks\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Magic Johnson is concerned about Lakers injuries. Hall of Famer Magic Johnson believes former Golden State Warriors…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":703866,"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-717005","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\/116458610405616044","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717005","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=717005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/703866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=717005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=717005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=717005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}