Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks deliver dominant Game 5 victory

New York — Jalen Brunson A signature game has yet to be delivered New York KnicksAgainst the first round of the series Atlanta Hawks. Swing Game 5 seemed like the perfect time to remedy that.

Brunson’s 39 points was, by far, his best showing in the series, and it matched the Knicks’ all-around dominance over the Hawks on Tuesday. 126-97 win at Madison Square Garden. New York held a 3-2 lead Thursday to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

It was the Knicks’ second straight complete performance after two one-point losses, and Brunson had the Hawks’ Game 2 visit in mind when he stalled with the Knicks in a fourth-quarter rally to perhaps steal homecourt advantage.

Branson closed out the evening with 17 in the fourth to help the Knicks win comfortably.

“The ball went in, but we were happy to hold onto the lead,” Brunson said. “They’re a team that’s capable of making runs early in the series, as you know. But I liked the way we played in the fourth game and held onto the lead.”

Some of Brunson’s highest scoring playoff series since becoming a Knick. He had three consecutive 40-point games against him in the first round Philadelphia 76ers In 2024, he had a 40-point performance in Game 6 against Detroit last year to win the series and one of his best, a 39-point, 12-assist performance to give the Knicks a 3-1 lead in the second round against Boston last year.

It wasn’t all that dramatic, but it was just as necessary for the Knicks themselves. Brunson came off two sub-40 percent shooting games in Game 5, which the Hawks were victimized by the tall, lanky guard. Dyson Daniels.

but later Karl-Anthony Towns Picking apart the Hawks with a triple-double on Sunday, Hawks coach Quin Snyder put Daniels on Towns, giving Brunson more room to breathe for the first time in the series.

and Anunoby Continued his lackluster production with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Towns added 16 with 11 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks.

“It’s like a chess match,” Brunson said. “If somebody makes a move, you have to make another move. You have to wait to see what they do. The way we play, we have to be ready for anything.”

The Knicks have dominated the last two games since falling behind in the series, winning by an average of 22.5 points. The Knicks have limited the Hawks to just 42.7 percent from the field and 27.7 percent from the 3-point line over the last two games.

As a result, they limited Hawks veteran guard C.J. McCollum to just six points, his lowest output since joining the Hawks in January.

“It’s been a lot. We’ve picked it up as a unit,” Brunson said. “They also got a lot of looks and we were lucky they were missing. I think us being on the same page, on both sides of the ball, was a factor.”

Knicks coach Mike Brown called Brunson’s performance “phenomenal” and believes the team has developed some tough skin through a rocky first round.

“You have to go through some adversity during the year, and see what you create, see how you respond,” Brown said. “The guys have been through a lot this year so far and continue to do so. They’ve been through it as a group. There’s nothing that can stop this group, this veteran group.”

with Boston Celtics Losing a potential closeout Game 5 against Philadelphia at home, that puts the Knicks and Celtics in the same amount of rest, should both take care of business on the road Thursday night. They’ve been on a collision course seemingly all season.

“Throughout the playoffs, you have to be smart. Rest is a big thing,” Brown said. “The physicality of the game is on another level, so trying to give your guys the ability to recover, not just their minds, but their bodies, is something we can really lean on.”