Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – CJ McCollum hit the game-winner with 12.5 seconds remaining as the Atlanta Hawks pulled off another nail-biting victory over New York to take a 2-1 lead in their NBA first-round playoff series on Thursday. The Hawks beat the Knicks 109-108 in Atlanta, their second straight one-point triumph giving them the advantage in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Series.
The Toronto Raptors also thrived at home, pulling away late in a 126-104 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers to cut the deficit in their series to 2-1. The Hawks produced a fine collective effort, especially on the defensive end, to thwart the third-seeded Knicks’ comeback bid. With plenty of time after McCollum’s go-ahead basket, the Knicks were unable to get a shot off as the Hawks pressured Jalen Brunson into a poor pass intended for Josh Hart and Jonathan Kuminga lunged in for a game-clinching steal.
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“Picture perfect,” McCollum said. “When it was time to get a stop our guys dug deep and they did what it takes to win in these types of environments.” Jalen Johnson scored 24 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and handed out eight assists for the Hawks. McCollum added 23 points and Kuminga scored 21 off the bench. The Hawks led by as many as 18 in the first half, but the Knicks took a 108-105 lead on a three-point play by Brunson, who was fouled by McCollum on a drive to the basket and converted the free throw with 1:03 to play.
Johnson pulled the Hawks back within one with a putback layup and, after misses by Hart and Brunson, McCollum came through. “I got to a spot and did what I had to do to get this win,” McCollum said. OG Anunoby scored 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Knicks. Brunson scored 26 points and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 21 points with 17 rebounds for New York, who will try to turn the tables in game four in Atlanta on Saturday.
In Toronto, Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett scored 33 points apiece, and rookie Collin Murray-Boyles added 22 off the bench for the Raptors. Barnes handed out 11 assists and the Raptors, who took a two-point lead into the fourth quarter, stormed home. They connected on eight of nine three-point attempts in the final frame, out-scoring the Cavaliers 43-23. “We knew we needed one,” said Barnes after the Raptors avoided falling behind 0-3, a deficit no NBA team has come back from to win a playoff series. Toronto will try to level the Eastern Conference series when they host game four on Sunday. James Harden scored 18 points and the Cavs also got 15 apiece from Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Max Strus.
– Timberwolves dominate Nuggets – In Minneapolis, Rudy Gobert keyed a formidable Minnesota defensive effort in the Timberwolves’ 113-96 victory over Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. The Timberwolves, who had erased an early 19-point deficit to snatch game two in Denver, seized a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference series and host game four on Saturday.
Minnesota led all the way in this one, holding the Nuggets to 11 points in the first quarter and pushing their lead to as many as 27 in the third. Ayo Dosunmu scored 25 points off the bench for the Timberwolves. Jaden McDaniels scored 20 points and added 10 rebounds as Anthony Edwards, limited by foul trouble, scored 17. Gobert kept three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic largely in check. The Serbian star finished with 27 points and 15 rebounds but connected on just seven of 26 shots from the field.
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