The return to the playoffs was made to wait for the fans of the New York Knicks and when they returned to enjoy the emotion and intensity they found themselves at the base Bring young that embittered the party by scoring with 0.9 seconds left the winning basket of the Atlanta Hawks, who won on the road 105-107 in the first game of the first round of the Eastern Conference.
Young ended up as a great figure of the Hawks by getting a double-double of 32 points and 10 assists plus seven rebounds that frustrated the Knicks with his ability to commit fouls and made all nine free throws he had.
Many in the noisy attendance of more than 15,000 fans who gathered in the stands at Madison Square Garden booed. Young throughout the night, but he had the last word when he broke through the defense of the Knicks and floated on his shot from the right of the basket, then put his fingers to his lips to tell New York fans to “cool off.”
The Serbian escort Bogdan bogdanovic added 18 points as the second highest scorer of the Hawks in his first postseason game since 2017.
The Hawks they improved 2-8 against the Knicks in playoff games and snapped a four-game losing streak in every game since last season.
The eaves Alec burks scored 27 points as for the Knicks, who are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2013. The veteran point guard Derrick Rose scored 17 points, but the power forward Julius Randle, the franchise player of the New York team, hit only 6 of 23 shots from the field and finished with a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, which were not enough to avoid defeat.
While the Canadian guard-forward Barrett He finished with another double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds, but without it being a winning factor either.
The Knicks will play again at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday for Game 2, and Randle he will have to seek redemption if he does not want to see that the New York team’s presence in the playoffs may be shorter than desired.
Ironically during the regular season Randle had two games against Hawks in which he scored at least 40 points in each of them.
Neither team led by more than six points in a fourth quarter and they took turns recovering and then losing momentum.
Young hit a pair of free throws for a 103-105 lead with 28 seconds to play after the Knicks unsuccessfully challenge the decision, and Rose he tied it with a basket with 9.8 seconds to go.
New York hadn’t hosted a playoff game in eight years and hadn’t received many fans all season, with its highest attendance of 1,981.
So the 15,047 the Knicks announced Sunday sounded deafening at times, particularly when Barrett it strucked with Bogdanovic to forge a 63 tie with 5:19 left in the third quarter, and fans of the New York team chanted his name during the timeout that followed Atlanta.
Both teams went 41-31, with the Knicks winning fourth place and home-court advantage after sweeping the Hawks in the season series of three games, which from the second game they will no longer have even if they play at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks They were able to increase seating capacity with the addition of fully vaccinated fan sections, announcing throughout the week that Playoff Games 1 and 2 had been sold out and would be New York’s largest indoor events since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Chants and cheers erupted at random even before the players took to the court for their final warm-up, and the Knicks they were greeted with a standing ovation when they emerged about 15 minutes before the start.
But the Knicks They couldn’t give the fans much to cheer on once the game started. Atlanta immediately built a 7-17 partial lead when the New York team missed 14 of their first 17 shots from the field.
Down nine points in the middle of the second quarter, the Knicks they finally reacted while Randle rested. A 12-4 streak reduced it to 44-45 and the Hawks they led 50-52 at halftime.
Bring young scored eight straight Atlanta points for a 58-63 lead about halfway through the third before Barrett made a triple and then a mate.
Bogdanovic responded with a triple before the Knicks achieved a 10-0 run, opening a 73-66 lead on the power forward’s three-point play Taj gibson. The escort Lou williams scored the last five points and got back to the Hawks in the game on the way to the surprise victory of the day in the NBA.