1st Playoff Triple-Double For Towns
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Andrew Rosario
OG Comes Up Big In Game 4
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
When the New York Knicks faced the Atlanta Hawks this past Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, they were looking to take control of the series that was tied at 2 games apiece. The Knicks took game one handily and looked to take a strong hold of the series if they could hold serve by coming away with a game two win. Atlanta had other things in mind. In one of the Knicks worst home playoff losses, New York blew a double digit, 4th quarter lead and watched as the Hawks came away with the 107-106 win. The Knicks made matters worse for themselves by getting embarrassed in game 3. New York battled all game long, erasing an 18-point Hawks lead, only to come up short in the 109-108 loss. Knicks forward Mikal Bridges struggled in game 2 (10 points, 3-10 field goals) and was even worse the following game as he scored zero points in 21 minutes, turning the ball over 4 times. With their backs to the wall and not wanting to go down 3-1, the Knicks kept their season and series alive with a dominant win in game 4 tying the series at 2 games with the series going back to the Garden for game 5.
ln coming away with the game 4 win, the Knicks took control of the game from the very beginning and did not look back. In one of his best playoff performances, center Karl-Anthony Towns finished the game with a triple-double as he scored 20 points, adding 10 rebounds and 10 assists. lt was Towns first career playoff triple double. Not to be undone, forward OG Anunoby continued his stellar play as he led New York scoring 22 points, nailing 3 of 6 3-pointers. Bridges showed signs of life as he scored 8 points in 19 minutes. Back-up guard Miles (Deuce) McBride came off the bench to score 11 points, connecting on 3 of 6 3-pointers.
Defensively, New York suffocated the Hawks and guard CJ McCollum who was a force in the first 3 games. McCollum did finish with 17 points but missed all 4 of his 3-point attempts.
Towns knew the importance of coming away with the win to even the series. “We understood that in a pivotal game like tonight, we needed to be at our best. I thought we not only met the challenge but we exceeded the expectations of the moment, and that’s what you expect a team that has experience like us to do.”
The New York Knicks have been “Sybil” like in the first 4 games of this series. Which team will show up is anyone’s guess. They were hoping the momentum would carry over from their game 4 win when they took the floor at home Tuesday night. Game 6 goes back to Atlanta Thursday night.
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