MANILA – New York Knicks leaned on a second-half uprising to turn back Atlanta Hawks, 101-92, in Game 2 of the National Basketball Association’s Eastern Conference first-round playoffs on Wednesday night at the Madison Square Garden in New York.
Trailing 49-61 at the onset of the third quarter, RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, Derrick Rose, and Reggie Bullock heated up on offense for the Knicks to grab a 76-75 lead heading to the fourth quarter.
New York went on with its onslaught in the fourth canto to build its edge at 88-78 behind consecutive baskets from Alec Burks, Obi Toppin, and Immanuel Quickley.
The Hawks bounced back to tie the score at 91-all, but the Knicks went on a finishing run via a two-pointer hit by Rose, a triple by Bullock, and inside hits by Taj Gibson and Randle for a 100-91 advantage.
Rose top-scored with 26 points, while Bullock and Randle added 15 markers apiece as the Knicks tie the best-of-seven first-round playoffs series at 1-1.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 30 points and seven assists, while Bogdan Bogdanovic and DeAndre Hunter dropped 18 markers, respectively. Kevin Huerter added 10 points.
Philadelphia 76ers, meanwhile, displayed its full arsenal as it walloped Washington Wizards, 120-95, and take a 2-0 lead in their NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoffs series.
Trailing at 14-13, the 76ers started their rampage with consecutive points from Ben Simmons for a 35-24 lead. The Wizards rallied back to within 57-63, but baskets from Embiid and George Hill gave Philadelphia a 71-57 halftime edge.
The 76ers maintained to double-digit advantage in the second half via conversions by Joel Embiid and Simmons as it climbed to its largest at 120-93 on a basket by Paul Reed.
Simmons recovered from a subpar offense in Game 1 with 22 points with nine rebounds and eight assists; Embiid scored 22 markers, while Tobias Harris added 19 points for the 76ers.
On the other hand, Utah Jazz leveled their Western Conference first-round series with the Memphis Grizzlies with a 141-129 Game 2 victory. Donovan Mitchell went back to the Jazz’s lineup with 25 points, including five treys.
BOX SCORE:
NEW YORK 101 – Rose 26, Bullock 15, Randle 15, Barrett 13, Burks 11, Toppin 8, Gibson 6, Quickley 4, Noel 2, Payton 1.
ATLANTA 92 – Young 30, Bogdanovic 18, Hunter 18, Huerter 10, Gallinari 6, Williams 5, Capela 4, Okongwu 1, Collins 0, Snell 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
20-27, 44-57, 76-75, 101-92./PN
