Knicks Crush Atlanta Hawks by 51, Set Playoff Record with 47-Point Halftime Lead

Knicks Crush Atlanta Hawks by 51, Set Playoff Record with 47-Point Halftime Lead originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The New York Knicks delivered one of the most dominant performances in NBA playoff history Thursday night, overwhelming the Atlanta Hawks in a 140-89 victory to close out their first-round series and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

From the opening tip, the Knicks imposed their will, but few could have predicted the historic margin that followed. After trailing briefly 11-9, New York erupted, outscoring Atlanta by an astonishing 53 points over the next 18 minutes. By halftime, the Knicks held an 83-36 lead—a 47-point advantage that set a new NBA playoff record for the largest halftime margin.

The dominance didn’t stop there. At one point in the second half, New York’s lead ballooned to 61 points, the largest lead ever recorded in a playoff game in the play-by-play era (since 1996-97). The Knicks also came within three points of the largest halftime lead in any NBA game, regular season or playoffs, underscoring just how overwhelming their performance was.

Offensively, the Knicks were nearly unstoppable. They shot over 60% from the field and 44% from beyond the arc in the first half alone, carving up Atlanta’s defense with ease. Leading the charge was , who caught fire early and finished the first half with 26 points—at one point outscoring the entire Hawks team by himself.