ATLANTA — Karl-Anthony Towns had his first postseason triple-double, OG Anunoby scored 22 points, and the New York Knicks recovered after back-to-back losses to beat the Atlanta Hawks 114-98 on Saturday night, tying the Eastern Conference playoff series at 2-2.
Towns had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. The 11th-year All-Star became the fourth Knicks player to record a triple-double in a playoff game, joining Walt Frazier, Dick McGuire and Josh Hart.
The Knicks host Game 5 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, and the series is now guaranteed to return to Atlanta for Game 6 on Thursday.
New York took control of the game midway through the first quarter and maintained the lead for the rest of the game. The Knicks held a 68-44 advantage at halftime and extended that lead to 20 points by the end of the third quarter.
New York, who had one-point losses in the previous two games, returned to form behind its core of Towns, Anunoby and Jalen Brunson, who scored 19 points.
“Let’s go Knicks!” “Let’s go Knicks!” chants erupted through State Farm Arena as the Knicks led by as much as 24 points in the fourth quarter. Both teams had their reserves in with 3½ minutes remaining.
CJ McCollum again led Atlanta in points with 17.
NBA Most Improved Player Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 15 points. Dyson Daniels had a team-high nine rebounds for Atlanta.
