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Watch Hawks’ CJ McCollum nearly send Knicks game to OT with Hail Mary
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- Watch Hawks’ CJ McCollum nearly send Knicks game to OT with Hail Mary
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On Monday night, the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks battled in a contest that could have been a preview of a potential first-round matchup depending on how the last few games of the regular season unfold for both teams. One thing's for sure: both teams played with postseason-level intensity, with the ending of the game being an instant classic.
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In the end, it was the Knicks that came out, 108-105, on top thanks to a fourth-quarter explosion from Jalen Brunson ; Brunson ended up scoring 17 of his 30 points on the night in the final frame, carrying New York over the pesky Hawks led by a 36-point night from Most Improved Player frontrunner Nickeil Alexander-Walker .
However, for a second there, it looked as though the Hawks had pulled a rabbit out of a hat. With only 1.2 seconds left and Brunson having nailed two free throws to extend New York's lead to three, the Hawks had to inbound the ball from the backcourt for they had no timeouts remaining.
CJ McCollum caught the ball, took a few dribbles, before uncorking a Hail Mary heave from three-quarters court — banking it in and seemingly tying the game in improbable fashion. Alas, that shot did not count, handing the Hawks their 34th loss of the season in 79 games.
Hawks are going to be a force in the playoffs
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
The Hawks have hit their stride since the All-Star break, making them a dark-horse contender in the Eastern Conference. They have excellent two-way play, and the integration of McCollum has given Atlanta the perimeter scorer they needed without having him totally commandeer the offense like Trae Young once did for the team.
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Dyson Daniels has been incredible as a fill-in-the-gaps player on offense while being a lockdown defender. Alexander-Walker has been a 3 and D force. Jalen Johnson has become LeBron James-lite . The Hawks are not going to be an easy out whatsoever, and this showing against the Knicks just proves that.
Related: The lesson Hawks' Nickeil Alexander-Walker learned from close loss to Knicks
Related: Hawks' Quin Snyder reveals Jalen Johnson's key improvement area during breakout season
