NEW YORK — Someone downstairs called for the first bus to leave Madison Square Garden.
Jonathan Kuminga, fresh off the bench after scoring 19 points, was sitting shirtless in front of his locker, eating a plate of chips and guacamole (with a chocolate chip cookie on the side) and listening to Nas’ “If I Rule the World,” featuring Lauryn Hill.
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Veteran guard C.J. McCollum made the most of his villainous arc, resting his feet in an ice bath. Just minutes before, he had so enraged the crowd here that they serenaded him repeatedly with a song whose first word rhymed with truck. For example: “CJ, truck for you.”
As Atlanta Hawks staff bundled towels and closed the locker room, general manager Onsi Saleh sighed.
“We’ll take it,” he told USA TODAY Sports. “My heart rate needs to come back up, but we’ll take it.”
Somehow, the Eagles stole this one at the Garden.
Atlanta erased a 12-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to beat the New York Knicks 107-106 to even the first-round playoff series to one game apiece.
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This was a game controlled by New York. The Hawks led for just 1 minute and 25 seconds in 48 minutes, including a 14-second lead in the second quarter and a lead in the final minutes of the game.
The Eagles, meanwhile, led with 39 minutes and 36 seconds remaining.
In this game, Atlanta’s two top players, first-time All-Star Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, were the full focus of the Knicks’ defense, and the Knicks’ main focus was to frustrate them and compete for every scrap of space they had.
In this game, the Hawks made 1 of 12 three-pointers in the second half (8.3%).
However, veteran McCollum, who was initially considered a hangover from the Trae Young trade to the Wizards, scored 32 points. The greatest thing of all was a fadeaway jumper from the left baseline with 33.3 seconds left, beating one of the best defenders in the world, OG Anunoby, to win the game.
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The Eagles pulled off a shocking upset. But can they really win this series?
The knee-jerk reaction is to assume Johnson and Alexander-Walker have to produce more. In the first two games of this series, the Knicks released Josh Hart (who served as Johnson’s primary defender) and Mikal Bridges (Alexander Walker).
Although neither player posted explosive totals, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder didn’t mind that – as long as the two focused on making positive performances in the best interest of the team, especially Johnson, who scored only 4 points on 0-for-4 shooting in the first half.
“I thought he just stayed even,” Snyder told reporters after the game. “He finds more of a rhythm as the game goes on; that’s harder to do than go out and have everything go your way. He has the ability to overcome those situations — and when that happens, the ball goes (elsewhere).
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“That’s a big thing for Jalen, understanding how important he is and how much we need him offensively, but also being able to recognize that there are times in the game where he plays more of a secondary role.”
Jaren Johnson reacts after taking a shot in Game 2 against the New York Knicks.
Johnson made 6 of 12 shots in this efficient game and scored 17 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
It’s been a tougher game for Alexander-Walker, who has scored 26 points on a combined 9-of-29 shooting (31%) in the two games of this series.
Snyder allows his players to read and react to the defense, running concepts rather than plays, and the result is an offense that becomes somewhat amorphous and intuitive.
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“We’re just guys playing unselfish basketball,” Johnson said. “So if we can’t do that, we’re not going to force bad shots. We’re going to stay aggressive and continue to find and make the right plays. But there are other ways we can impact the game besides just scoring.”
Johnson added that the Eagles have a “late-game menu” that they rely on and that the team is looking to feed the hot hand. In this case, it’s McCollum.
But the Knicks are a very good defensive team. Overall, playoff series can’t be won with role players alone. If Snyder and his staff can find ways to engineer an easier offense for Johnson and Alexander-Walker, it would be a boon for the Hawks.
But given the overall philosophy the Hawks embody, even if they tried to do so, it didn’t work out and Atlanta’s players and coaches vowed to adapt. Their next test will be Thursday, April 23, in Atlanta, where they’ll face a Knicks team that knows they’re going to miss.
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“This is a game we should win,” Hart told reporters after the game. “You can’t lose in the playoffs.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hawks steal game against Knicks. Can they really win the series?