CJ McCollum delivered a 32‑point performance as the Atlanta Hawks pulled off a dramatic 107‑106 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday night, tying the opening round series at one game each. McCollum sparked a late rally that almost slipped away when he missed two free throws with just 5.6 seconds left on the clock. The Knicks, having exhausted their timeouts, pushed the ball up the floor in a final attempt, but Mikal Bridges missed a jump shot as the buzzer sounded, sealing the win for Atlanta. Atlanta had spent the entire second half trailing, finding themselves down by 12 points after three quarters.
The Hawks gradually chipped away at the deficit, and a crucial bucket from McCollum gave them a 101‑100 edge with 2:09 remaining – their first lead of the night in the second half. He then knocked down a second shot to push the lead to three.
After Jalen Brunson answered with a three‑pointer to knot the score, McCollum responded with another jumper, making it 105‑103 with 33 seconds to go. Bench contributor Jonathan Kuminga added 19 points, while Jalen Johnson supplied 17, including a go‑ahead basket with ten seconds left that extended the Hawks' margin to four.
The No. 6 seed from the Western Conference will host Game 3 on Thursday, hoping to build on the momentum from this comeback.
For the Knicks, Brunson finished with 29 points and Karl‑Anthony Towns added 18. New York is aiming for a fourth consecutive second‑round appearance, which would mark its longest playoff run since the early 1990s stretch from the 1991‑92 to 1999‑2000 seasons. In other NBA action, the Minnesota Timberwolves matched the Denver Nuggets 119‑114, evening their Western Conference series at one‑all.
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 30 points, while Julius Randle contributed 24 for Denver. The Nuggets, who had won 13 straight games after a loss on March 18, saw their advantage evaporate in the final minutes.
Edwards turned the ball over with 31 seconds remaining, and Christian Braun was fouled on the opposite end; he missed one of two free throws, leaving Denver down 115‑114 with 19 seconds left. After a Timberwolves timeout, Randle sank two free throws and Donte DiVincenzo finished with a breakaway dunk, completing a comeback from a 19‑point first‑quarter hole. Jamal Murray posted 30 points and Nikola Jokic added 24 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for Denver, but the All‑Star duo went a dismal 2‑for‑12 from the field in the fourth quarter, scoring only four points as the Wolves forced a tie. The Nuggets have never lost a series after winning the first two games (8‑0), while Minnesota is 0‑8 when dropping the opening two contests.
Murray’s half‑court three‑pointer at the halftime buzzer tied the game at 64, and Jokic erupted in the third quarter with 16 points, giving Denver a 93‑90 edge. Edwards, who had struggled with a sore knee in Game 1, showed a more aggressive approach, attacking the rim more often rather than relying solely on jump shots.
Minnesota out‑scored Denver 20‑3 on second‑chance opportunities and erased a 19‑point early deficit to seize a brief 64‑56 lead before Denver answered with an eight‑point run to close the half. Murray, who missed all eight of his three‑point attempts in the series opener, started the night strong, hitting a three‑pointer and going 5‑for‑7 from beyond the arc before halftime. He also recorded two four‑point plays in the first quarter, drawing fouls from Ayo Dosunmu on both occasions. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers continued their dominant start to the Eastern Conference first round, beating the Toronto Raptors 115‑105 to take a 2‑0 series lead.
Coach Kenny Atkinson praised the trio of stars—Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and Evan Mobley—calling it a "superstar game" where each delivered crucial big shots. Mitchell poured in 30 points, including four triples, and added seven rebounds, five assists and a steal in 37 minutes.
Harden contributed 28 points and was a defensive force with four steals in the second half, while Mobley posted a team‑high eight rebounds and 25 points on an efficient 11‑of‑13 shooting night. The Cavaliers made history, marking the fourth occasion in franchise lore that three players have each scored at least 25 points in a playoff game. Mitchell’s fourth‑quarter burst of nine points, highlighted by a seven‑point run, helped push the lead to 106‑90 with just over three minutes left. He capped the night with a spectacular 13‑foot turnaround bank shot with 45.3 seconds remaining.
Harden, shooting 9‑of‑14 from the floor, added five rebounds, four assists and a block, moving past Rajon Rondo for seventh place on the all‑time postseason assists leaderboard with 1,139 assists. Defensively, Mobley and Harden teamed up effectively; Mobley forced Toronto’s Sandro Mamukelashvili to alter his shot in the paint, and Harden recorded a crucial steal with 4:02 left, marking his fourth playoff game with at least five steals. The Cavaliers will look to maintain their momentum as the playoffs progress, while the Knicks, Timberwolves, Nuggets and Hawks each have pivotal games ahead to either seize control of their series or stave off elimination.