NEW YORK \u2013 Jalen Brunson scored 39 points, nearly extending his own franchise record for 40-point playoff games, and the New York Knicks routed the Atlanta Hawks 126-97 on Tuesday night for a 3-2 lead in the first-round playoff series.<\/p>\n
With their second straight lopsided victory, the Knicks positioned themselves to win the series Thursday night in Atlanta. They would have another chance at home in Game 7 if they need it \u2014 and it’s getting harder to picture why they should.<\/p>\n
The Hawks took a 2-1 lead in the series with one-point victories in Games 2 and 3, but a pretty sizable gap between the teams has appeared since. The Knicks led by 24 on their way to a 114-98 win in Game 4 in Atlanta and by 32 on Tuesday, when the lead was never below double digits in the second half.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know they\u2019re going to try to bring a lot of force down there,\u201d Knicks reserve Jordan Clarkson said. \u201cSo we’ve got to be prepared and we know what\u2019s coming, so we\u2019ll be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brunson already had eight 40-point games in his first three postseasons with the Knicks. He hadn’t even cracked 30 in this series until pouring in 17 points in the fourth quarter to prevent any chance of Atlanta making it a game.<\/p>\n
Brunson said the Knicks have picked up their play in the last two games and said they were confident, but also cautious.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything can happen in this series, so we\u2019ve just got to be locked in for Game 6,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
OG Anunoby added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, while Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. The Knicks need one more victory to reach the second round for the fourth straight season, which would continue their longest streak since advancing nine straight times from 1991-92 through 1999-2000.<\/p>\n
Jalen Johnson had 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Hawks. Dyson Daniels scored 17, but CJ McCollum, the catalyst of both Atlanta victories, had just six. <\/p>\n
The Knicks outrebounded the Hawks 48-27 and had a 13-4 advantage in fast-break points against an Atlanta team that needs to win the transition game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think that their mindset was to come out and try to bully us and be physical, and they did that,” Daniels said.<\/p>\n
The Knicks made eight of their first 12 shots, then broke free with a 9-0 run late in the first quarter and were ahead 35-22 at the end of the period. Brunson had the last two baskets of an 8-0 surge in the second that pushed it to 59-37, and the Knicks led 64-48 at the break after making 58.5% their shots.<\/p>\n
Leading by 18 after three, they put it away when Brunson had a three-point play and 3-pointer to ignite a 12-0 spurt that made it 110-82.<\/p>\n
Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Onyeka Okongwu both had 16 points for the Hawks.<\/p>\n
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