Knicks lose control against the Hawks late, collapsing in Game 2 loss

When CJ McCollum was introduced before the game Monday night the fans at Madison Square Garden loudly booed, welcoming the latest postseason villain into the postseason rivalry.

It grew louder, even to profane chants, as the game wore on and McCollum found himself nose-to-nose with Jose Alvarado, drawing double technicals. But in the end, he left the Garden crowd speechless as he delivered shot after shot, like Trae Young had before him, to pull Atlanta out of a 14-point hole and capture a 107-106 Game 2 win. The Hawks evened the best-of-seven opening round series at 1-1 as the series shifts to Atlanta Thursday.

McCollum led all scorers with 32 points and went to the line with a chance to ice it with 5.6 seconds left and the Hawks up by one. But he misfired on both free throws with the crowd loudly screaming at him. Josh Hart grabbed the rebound and with no timeouts remaining, threw it ahead to Mikal Bridges, who hesitated near the three-point line before continuing toward the baseline and putting up a jumper that rimmed out to end the game.

The Knicks had controlled the game for nearly the entire night before a fourth-quarter collapse and Jalen Brunson did not have the magic on this night, finishing with 29 points, but shooting just 10-for-26 and missing on a handful of late chances to pad the lead.

Atlanta cut a lead that had grown to as many as 14 to just four, 96-92 with 6:15 remaining. Brunson converted a pair of free throws to stop the bleeding and then after a solid defensive stand, Brunson dropped in a short jumper with 5:26 left to give the Knicks an eight-point lead and have the Hawks scrambling for a timeout.

The Hawks closed it to a one-point game on a three-pointer by Nickeil Alexander-Walker and a layup by Jalen Johnson. When Josh Hart misfired on a three Atlanta had a chance for the lead. Mikal Bridges came up with a steal of a McCollum pass near midcourt but after a timeout OG Anunoby lost the ball driving to the rim and McCollum scored on a layup to give Atlanta the lead at 101-100, with 2:08 left. Anunoby then missed a pair of free throws with a chance to tie or take the lead and McCollum got in the lane again for a floater and a three-point lead.

But Brunson answered with a pull-up three with 1:21 remaining. Hart and Bridges combined for a steal, but Brunson missed on an elbow jumper and McCollum delivered again, this time a baseline jumper with 33.5 seconds left. Brunson tried one more time to play the hero, but was stripped by Alexander-Walker, feeding it ahead to Johnson for a dunk with 10.2 seconds left.

Brunson delivered a three-point field goal with 7.1 seconds left and Atlanta called time. McCollum got the ball and dribbled briefly before being fouled, heading to the line to set up the final sequence.

The Knicks turned a seven-point lead at the half immediately into a 13-point advantage with back-to-back threes by Hart and Towns before Jalen Johnson finally converted his first field goal of the night after Hart harassed him into an 0-for-4 first half. But with 4:40 left in third, Brunson was called for fourth foul. After remaining in for a minute and scoring again, he left with the Knicks up 84-75.

As the Knicks readied for Game 2 players and coach warned that they would see more energy and more physicality from the Atlanta Hawks after the Knicks had easily handled them in the first game of the opening round playoff series.

Energy? Physicality? The Knicks turned to the smallest player on the roster, Jose Alvarado, and he delivered, changing the tempo and intensity of the game — and Madison Square Garden. Alvarado was the last player to enter the rotation Monday after not playing at all Saturday in the opening game, but made an immediate impact and exited to a huge ovation without scoring a point.

Alvarado entered for Brunson and immediately made an impact again, finding Towns with a pretty pocket pass cutting down the lane and then hitting him for a trail three. Alvarado then drew an offensive foul on a screen by Tony Bradley and exchanged words with CJ McCollum, both players hit with technical fouls.

It seemed early as the most fight from the Hawks would come in an actual fight. With 1:01 left in the first quarter, Mitchell Robinson set an illegal screen, knocking over Dyson Daniels from behind. He walked forward over Daniels and the Hawks wing hopped up and began jawing at Robinson, who shoved him away as players came rushing into the scrum. When the officials separated the crowd Robinson was the only player penalized, called for an unsportsmanlike technical foul for walking over Daniels.

But the Knicks bench that had built a huge lead in the fourth quarter Saturday in Game 1 struggled badly with Deuce McBride and Landry Shamet combining to turn the ball over three times early in the second quarter and an 11-point lead disappeared. Atlanta took the lead, 36-35, when Jonathan Kuminga raced in for a fast break dunk off an errant McBride pass. Alvarado entered the game and in one minute was a plus-five as he changed the tempo as soon as he got on the floor.

Jordan Clarkson and Robinson provided some spark off the bench — Robinson contributing 11 first-half points on 5-for-5 shooting and grabbing five rebounds (three offensive) and Clarkson crashing in for a pair of offensive rebounds and forcing a Hawks turnover on another missed shot as his hustle caused them to lose the ball out of bounds.

Brunson then took over again, drawing a third foul on Daniels — a shoulder into Hart’s face as he tried to fight through a screen that cost the Hawks their challenge — and finishing the half with 12 points as the Knicks went into the locker room with a 61-54 lead.

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By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.