The Knicks are back in the playoffs with a first-round matchup against the Hawks, and this one starts with New York holding the edge from the regular season. The Knicks won two of three meetings with Atlanta, and both of those wins came by three points, including the wild game on April 6.
That makes this knicks game feel tighter than the records suggest. New York finished 53-29, its best mark since 2012-13, and enters after reaching the conference finals for the first time in 25 years. The Knicks also posted the league’s fourth-best offensive efficiency, ranked seventh on defense and finished fifth in net rating, a balance that helped them run up a third straight 50-win season.
Mike Brown took over from Tom Thibodeau and immediately changed the benchmark in his first year, passing Pat Riley for the most wins by a first-year Knicks coach. Jalen Brunson led the offense at 26 points per game, Karl-Anthony Towns topped 20 points per game for the 10th time in a row, and Josh Hart kept the attack moving with 3-pointers, rebounds and secondary playmaking. OG Anunoby was named a first-team All-Perimeter-Defense selection by The Athletic’s Fred Katz, and Mikal Bridges played every game for a fifth consecutive season.
The Knicks also won the third annual NBA Cup in December, adding another line to a season that already looked complete before the bracket opened. But Atlanta arrives with a different kind of momentum. The Hawks were 18-21 before the trade deadline, then reshaped the roster with moves that brought in CJ McCollum and Jonathan Kuminga, and they caught fire after the All-Star break.
Since then, Atlanta has gone 20-6, ranking second in defensive rating, fourth in net rating and third in plus-minus over that stretch. Jalen Johnson has been at the center of it, averaging 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists while ranking in the 98 percentile in assist-to-usage ratio, according to Cleaning the Glass. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has added 20.8 points per game in his Atlanta debut after averaging 8.4 with the Minnesota Timberwolves, while Dyson Daniels and Onyeka Okongwu have anchored the defense. Jock Landale had a sprained ankle.
That split screen is what gives this series its shape. New York comes in with the steadier season and the better overall resume, while Atlanta brings the sharper recent form and a roster that changed course after a slow start. The Knicks may have taken the regular-season series, but the margins were thin enough to leave the door open for a much longer fight now that the games count for good.