The New York Knicks crushed the Atlanta Hawks 113-102 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference playoff series on Saturday night.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 28 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 25, OG Anunoby 18, and Josh Hart added 11 and 14 boards.
Coach Mike Brown had his first postseason game for the Knicks after making four trips in five years under Tom Thibodeau, capped by their first trip to the Eastern Conference finals since 2000 last year.
On the other hand, CJ McCollum led the Hawks with 26 points, while Jalen Johnson added 23, who went 20-6 after the All-Star break to earn the No. 6 seed.
After Brunson made the Knicks’ record with eight 40-point games in the postseason, he was almost halfway to another in the opening quarter as he already had 19 points to have a 30-24 edge.
Towns took charge in the second half, as Brunson had just 1 for 6.
Meanwhile, McCollum was reviewed for a hostile act and called for a technical foul after kicking his leg up on a jumper into Brunson’s groin area.
Atlanta intentionally fouled Mitchell Robinson twice and went 1-for-4.
With the Knicks up by eight, Towns hit a 3-pointer, and after Gabe Vincent’s basket, Jordan Clarkson had two buckets.
Towns sank another triple for a 10-0 burst that made it 106-87 with about 4 1/2 minutes remaining.
The Hawks ran off 11 straight to cut it to 106-98, but Towns scored to restore the double-digit lead.
The No. 3 seed in the East again this season hosts Game 2 on Monday night.
