It was a playoff nightmare for Dyson Daniels and the Atlanta Hawks, who were blown away 140-89 by the New York Knicks after a record 47-point first-half deficit set the tone for a brutal 4–2 series defeat.
Watch NBA with ESPN on Kayo Sports | Stream the best of the NBA Playoffs. | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
“To lose the way we did, given the enthusiasm and support that we had from the people in this building… disappointed on a lot of levels.”
Quin Snyder didn’t hold back after the Atlanta Hawks’ season came to a crashing end, suffering a 140–89 defeat to the New York Knicks that sealed a 4–2 series loss and a brutally early exit.
The game was effectively over before half-time. New York piled on a record-breaking 83–36 lead at the break, the widest half-time margin in NBA playoff history, before stretching it even further on the way to a dominant win. The Hawks briefly led early, but things quickly fell apart as the Knicks took full control.
The margin ballooned to as much as 61 points before New York emptied its bench in the final quarter. It was the Knicks’ biggest playoff win on record, and their highest scoring output in a post-season game.
OG Anunoby led the way with 29 points, 26 of them coming in a blistering first half before he was rested. None of New York’s starters played more than 29 minutes in a one-sided finish.
“We can’t just meet the moment, we’ve got to exceed it, and I thought we did a great job of doing that tonight,” said Karl-Anthony Towns, who posted a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
After finishing third in the East and entering the series as favourites, the Knicks recovered from an early 2–1 deficit to storm into the semi-finals for a fourth straight season. They now await the winner of the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers series.
For Atlanta, frustration took over as the game slipped away. With 4:39 left in the second quarter, tensions boiled over during a free-throw sequence when Dyson Daniels and Mitchell Robinson became entangled, sparking a scuffle involving multiple players before both were ejected.
Calling the moment live, Mike Breen described the chaos as it unfolded.
“Oh, and Robinson and Dyson just being held up… Brett Barneke gets knocked down! Robinson wants to go after somebody,” he said.
“They’re trying to separate the two. Robinson really upset. The frustrations coming through for the Hawks right now.”
After review, both players were handed offsetting technical fouls and ejected from the game.
“Their physicality… they made it hard for us… we didn’t get the results we wanted and even as the series progressed you could see what a really good team they are… why they are contender,” he said.
Originally published as Aussie star ejected after fiery brawl as team suffers all-time NBA playoffs nightmare
