The Knicks stepped up on defense in the second half and held on to beat the Atlanta Hawks, 113-102, in Game 1 of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs.

-- Jalen Brunson started the game on fire with 15 of New York's first 22 points, making all six shots he took, including three three-pointers. Mikal Bridges also got involved early, scoring the team's other seven points. Although, the Knicks defense wasn't on the same level as the offense, and the Hawks kept pace by finding ways to score inside, blocking shots, and creating turnovers to get out in transition. 

OG Anunoby began to heat up toward the end of the first quarter, getting to the foul line and scoring inside. Brunson capped off his big first quarter with a high floater as time expired, giving him 19 points and the Knicks a 30-24 lead after one. 

-- Mitchell Robinson made his impact right away in the second quarter with a block on Nickeil Alexander-Walker, leading to a Jordan Clarkson dunk. Robinson got his second block a few possessions later and Anunoby buried a step-back three to make it a 38-27 game.

Atlanta continued to fight back as Jonathan Kuminga scored on the fastbreak and Alexander-Walker nailed a three-pointer to cut the New York lead down to three. Josh Hart countered with a layup, but C.J. McCollum came right back with a wide open three to keep it close with five minutes left in the second quarter.

-- Despite a quiet first half, Karl-Anthony Towns made his presence felt at the end of the second quarter. The All-Star big man got his third assist on an Anunoby dunk and then scored on a dunk of his own for his first basket of the game. He made up for his fourth turnover of the game by blocking Alexander-Walker at the rim, but the Knicks couldn't capitalize on the other end.

Towns made two free throws with 8.0 seconds left, but with the clock winding down, Jalen Johnson found Onyeka Okongwu for three at the buzzer and the Hawks trailed by just two, 57-54. Atlanta outscored New York 31-27 in the second quarter and shot 50 percent from three in the half (8-for-16). Brunson finished with 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting, while McCollum had 17 points (7-for-10 from the field) for the Hawks.

--Towns and Anunoby opened the third quarter with back-to-back three pointers, and Hart turned defense into offense with a steal and fastbreak dunk to go up 68-60. Looking for ways to slow down the Knicks, the Hawks turned to the "hack-a-Mitch" play twice -- and it worked as he went 1-for-4 from the foul line and was subbed out by Mike Brown.

With under a minute left in the quarter, Brunson grabbed a rebound and found Anunoby wide open down the court for an easy dunk, going up 83-74 heading into the fourth.

-- Robinson scored on an alley-oop jam and Miles McBride made his first three-pointer of the night in the fourth quarter, giving the Knicks their biggest lead of the night, 88-76. McBride drilled another three-pointer, but Atlanta kept up with the pace and Alexander-Walker hit a three right back. Towns then took over, making a pair of threes and using his size to score inside and extend the lead to 106-87 on a 13-2 run for NY.

-- It wouldn't be a playoff game without the dramatics as the Hawks made it a 106-98 game all of a sudden with about 1:30 left on the clock. The Knicks were able to hold on, icing the game at the foul line. 

All five Knicks starters finished in double figures -- Brunson (28), Towns (25), Anunoby (19), Bridges (11), and Hart (10). The shot 48 percent from the field and from three-point range (12-for-25). They also won the rebound battle, 45-40, with Hart grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds. McCollum finished with just 26 points for the Hawks and Johnson had 23 points.

Towns stepped up in the second half after Brunson's high-scoring first quarter. He scored 21 of his 25 in the second half, to go along with eight rebounds, four assists (five turnovers), three steals, and a block.

Jalen Brunson pull-up pop! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/gblKSMbBbL

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 18, 2026

Beautiful ball movement and Mikal Bridges drains the triple 🔥 pic.twitter.com/KAiGD3OlLe

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 18, 2026

JALEN BRUNSON IS ON FIRE pic.twitter.com/YVPcUlCOFQ

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 18, 2026

19 FIRST QUARTER POINTS FOR JALEN BRUNSON! pic.twitter.com/S30KeusZRk

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 18, 2026

DENIED BY MITCHELL ROBINSON 🚫 pic.twitter.com/hG2x2IwRDh

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 18, 2026

KAT's first bucket of the night 💪 pic.twitter.com/4dNLFuICE3

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 18, 2026

KAT 😤 pic.twitter.com/Uc9yYanDYl

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 19, 2026

The Knicks and Hawks play Game 2 of their first-round playoff matchup on Monday at 8:20 p.m.