The Atlanta Hawks faced off the New York Knicks in Game 4 of their best-of-seven series with a 2-1 lead on their hand.
Now the Hawks are only one win away from clinching a spot in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
As they defeated the Knicks 113-96 on Sunday afternoon at State Farm Arena.
The Knicks couldn’t contain the Hawks star, Trae Young, and other Hawks players on their defensive end.
Trae Young even made a little bit of history in the process of winning the Game.
Game 4 started with both teams going head to head and not letting each other take a bigger lead.
But after the second quarter, the Hawks started to pace up.
Subsequently, dominated the Knick in the second half and ultimately took the win.
The Knicks took the lead in the first quarter.
Trae Young started the first quarter with a floater for the Hawks.
Derrick Rose answered back with a floater as well on the next possession.
Subsequently, Clint Capela dropped a dunk on Young’s pass.
Julius Randle quickly answered back with a layup on the other end.
Rose then dropped a three-pointer next on RJ Barrett‘s pass.
They were 7-6 with the Knicks in the lead with 7:39 remaining in the quarter.
Randle then came up with a mid-range jump shot, extending the lead to three points.
Young drove straight to the rim on the other end and dropped a layup quickly cutting the lead to a point again.
He then came up with a steal on the next possession and dropped a three-pointer after that.
YESSSSIR. pic.twitter.com/EtbrVYCYQx
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) May 30, 2021
Rose then answered back, knocking down a three-pointer.
John Collins came up with a jump shot on the next possession.
Randle dropped a three-pointer, tying the game 15-15 with 4:10 remaining in the quarter.
Rose dropped a floater taking the lead for the Knicks.
They were 19-20 with the Hawks in the lead then Alec Burks dropped a floater taking the lead with 1:47 remaining in the quarter.
Barrett dropped a wide-open bucket from behind the arc with 22 seconds remaining and took 4 point lead over the Hawks.
But Solomon Hill answered right back with a three-pointer at the final 7 seconds remaining.
The quarter ended 26-25 with the Knicks taking a one-point lead.
The Hawks took the lead in the second quarter.
The Knicks quickly added four points at the start of the second quarter, taking five points lead.
Bogdanovic dropped a three-pointer on Capela’s pass, cutting the lead to two points.
Danilo Gallinari then quickly added another three-pointer taking a point lead with under 10 minutes left to play.
With that the Hawks made a 9-0 run taking a four-point lead.
Rose then dropped a jump shot and Obadiah Toppin added a floater on the next possession
Taj Gibson made a dunk on Rose’s pass for another bucket and a point lead. He also blocked Collins on the other end.
Burks drove straight to the rim, dropping a layup.
Young subsequently drew a foul along with a bucket.
They were 38-40 with the Hawks in the lead as the clock showed 5:04.
Young then knocked down a three-pointer but the Knicks quickly added four points cutting the lead to a point.
Barrett then dropped a layup taking the lead.
Collins answered back with a three-pointer on Bogdanovic’s pass. He dropped a dunk on Young’s pass taking a four-point lead.
Randle lost the ball and Bogdanovic came up with a three-pointer on the other end.
Bogi fakes. Bogi shoots. Bogi scores. pic.twitter.com/o5qhXLTxHW
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) May 30, 2021
With the buckets, the Hawks made 8-0 run and took 7 point lead with 2:20 minutes remaining.
Rose then dropped a layup on the other end.
The quarter ended 49-53 with the Hawks taking the lead.
The Hawks dominated in the third quarter.
Collins knocked down a three-pointer at the start of the quarter.
The Hawks quickly took 9 point lead next.
As Rose missed a shot but Randle tipped the ball for the bucket.
De’Andre Hunter answered back with a mid-range jump shot.
Barrett then dropped a three-pointer and Collins answered back with a jump shot and then with a three-pointer on the next possession.
They were 61-73 with the Hawks taking 12 point lead with 4:16 remaining in the quarter.
Trae Young extended the lead with a three-pointer.
Took care of business in the second half today 🔥#BelieveAtlanta pic.twitter.com/L29ny5M5rX
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) May 31, 2021
Barrett answered back with a bucket on the other end and Burks added a three-pointer on the next possession.
Young subsequently found Bogdanovic for a three-pointer.
While Randle answered back with a three-pointer on the other end.
Gallinari quickly added a mid-range jumper and Bogdanovic followed with a three-pointer.
The quarter ended 71-85 with the Hawks taking a 14 point lead into halftime.
The Hawks dominated the Knicks and ultimately took the win.
Capela started the fourth quarter with a dunk on Lou Williams’s pass.
Toppin then dropped a layup on Rose’s pass.
And Kevin Huerter answered back with a jump shot. He dropped a three-pointer on the next possession.
Bogdanovic’s long pass found Gallinari for a dunk, giving a 23 point lead.
The Hawks added another bucket, extending the lead to 25 points with 8:11 remaining in the quarter.
Randle then came up with a dunk subsequently.
They were 78-101 with 7:14 remaining as Young drove to the rim, dropping a layup.
Barrett came up with a floater and Gallinari answered back with a fadeaway.
Burks then knocked down a three-pointer and Heurter answered right back with a three-pointer on Young’s pass.
No slowing down. pic.twitter.com/cyjv9tnZrW
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) May 30, 2021
Toppin then dropped a bucket on Burk’s pass.
Young shot a long three-pointer but missed then Collins tipped the ball inside the basket.
They were 91-113 with 2:09 remaining in the game as Toppin knocked down a three-pointer.
Barrett then added a floater.
The quarter ended 96-113 with the Hawks taking the win and leading the series 3-1.
Trae Young making history.
The Hawks as a team had an impressive performance in the game with six of the Hawks players scoring in double-figures.
While Trae Young continued to put on a show for his first career playoffs.
He dropped 27 points and 9 assists in game 4 against the Knicks.
15 PTS & 4 AST for Trae at the half. ❄️
🎥 Presented by @Verizon pic.twitter.com/d6jiDioGMV
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) May 30, 2021
As a result, he now averages 27.5 points and 10 assists per game through four games.
He also made a little bit of history in the process, becoming the second player in NBA history to lead his team outright in points and assists in each of his first 4 career playoff games.
In addition, Young also became just the fourth player in NBA history to average 25 points and 10 assists over his first four playoff games.
Consequently, he joins the elite club of Kevin Johnson, Stephen Curry, and Oscar Robertson.
“This is a fun series,” Young said post-game. This is a lot of excitement.”
The Hawks players impressive night.
Trae Young receive a lot of help to win this game 4.
The other Hawks players dropped a great performance especially from the three-point line and with the defense.
They dropped 15 three-pointers in the game.
They also had a great offensive performance as a result six players scored in double figures and three even dropped 20 plus points.
The first being Trae Young, who led the Hawks scoring lineup.
After Young, John Collins dropped 22 points along with 8 rebounds and an assist.
”We have so many guys who are skilled with the basketball,” Collins said. ”We have great chemistry with each other. I think the sky’s the limit with this team when we do the right things.”
Go off, JC‼️ pic.twitter.com/iMjHEsH8q4
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) May 30, 2021
Collins added, ”I loved it. I felt like from the very start, we came out with the mindset that we were not going to let their physical game get to us. We matched their physicality and played our game.”
Danilo Gallinari led the Hawks bench, scoring 21 points with 4 rebounds and an assist.
Clint Capela had 10 points and 15 rebounds double-double along with 2 assists.
Meanwhile, Kevin Huerter dropped 11 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist all coming off the bench.
With the win, the Hawks take the series lead and are now only one game away from the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
”Obviously, we’re excited to win a game,” Young said. ”But the job’s not done. It’s not done until the series is over. We have to have that same mentality, that same approach, try to go up to New York and finish it there.”
Julius Randle led the Knicks.
On the other hand, the Knicks struggled with their offense as result they lost to the Hawks.
The Knicks started strong but failed to keep up the momentum in the second half.
Julius Randle dropped the highest-scoring of the series with 23 points along with 10 rebounds and 7 assists.
But it was not enough for the win. The Hawks defended him well letting him drop only 7 of 19 from the field.
”We’ve got a Game 5 back at home to extend this series,” Randle said. ”I love our chances. It’s not over. It’s not nearly over.”
RJ Barrett dropped 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Derrick Rose contributed 18 points, 2 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Obadiah Toppin led the Knicks bench, scoring 13 points, 3 rebounds. Followed by Alec Burks, who dropped 12 points and 6 rebounds.
They will face each other for Game 5 on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
