In Game 1, the Hawks didn’t have an answer for Karl-Anthony Towns.
They weren’t really slowing him down the first three quarters Monday, either.
But in the final stanza, Towns didn’t see the ball much, and the Knicks blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead in this best-of-seven opening-round series. Now, the Hawks own home-court advantage after their come-from-behind 107-106 victory at the Garden.
Towns attempted just two shots over the final 12 minutes as the Knicks offense stalled, managing just 15 points on 22.7 percent shooting.
“The opportunity just didn’t come around shooting,” said Towns, who finished with 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting and eight rebounds. “But at the end of the day, I trust everybody in this locker room to shoot the ball. The opportunities weren’t available for me in the fourth and it was fine.”
Atlanta supposedly didn’t have anyone to deal with Towns, although Jonathan Kuminga was up to the job Monday, producing 19 points off the bench and helping to keep the ball out of Towns’ hands in crunch time.
There were plenty of culprits in the final quarter. The Knicks couldn’t slow down CJ McCollum. Mikal Bridges opted for a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer with the Knicks down a point instead of attacking. OG Anunoby missed two clutch free throws.
It didn’t help that Towns was such a nonfactor, especially after he lit up the Hawks for 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists in Game 1 and played so well against them during the regular season.
It became the Jalen Brunson show. He took eight shots and made three of them in that fateful final stanza. The Knicks also did a lot of settling, attempting 11 3-pointers. They hit three of them.
“We could’ve flowed better, for sure. We could’ve done that,” Towns said. “But at the end of the day, I have to watch the tape. When you’re so into the game, it’s hard to give a great assessment about it.”
