The New York Knicks turned Game 6 into a record-breaking rout, dismantling the Atlanta Hawks 140–89 on Thursday night to clinch their first-round series and move on in the playoffs.
From the opening minutes, New York seized control. After trailing 11–9 early, the Knicks unleashed a massive run, outscoring Atlanta by 53 points over the next stretch and building a staggering 40–15 lead by the end of the first quarter—the largest margin in that period of any playoff game in the shot-clock era.
By halftime, the game was effectively over. The Knicks piled up 83 points while holding the Hawks to just 36, setting an NBA postseason record with a 47-point halftime advantage. They shot better than 60% from the field and 44% from three-point range, while forcing 14 turnovers. At one point, OG Anunoby alone had outscored the entire Hawks team, finishing the half with 26 points.
The lead continued to balloon, reaching 50 points midway through the second quarter—faster than any team has ever hit a 40-point playoff lead in the play-by-play era—and eventually peaking at 61. A brief altercation led to the ejections of Dyson Daniels and Mitchell Robinson, but it did little to disrupt New York’s dominance.
Anunoby finished with 29 points in just 27 minutes, leading a balanced attack that also featured Mikal Bridges with 24 points—his best performance of the series—and Karl-Anthony Towns, who recorded 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists for his second triple-double of the series. The Knicks surpassed 100 points early in the third quarter, allowing their starters to rest before the final period.
Atlanta never found a rhythm, shooting just 12-for-39 in the first half and struggling from deep. Jalen Johnson led the Hawks with 21 points, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker, CJ McCollum, and Jonathan Kuminga each added 11.
The 51-point margin marked the largest playoff victory in Knicks franchise history and tied for the sixth-biggest blowout in NBA postseason history. With the series wrapped up in emphatic fashion, New York now awaits the winner of the matchup between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
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