Knicks-Hawks Playoff Game Descends into Chaos with Wild Brawl as Shaquille O’Neal Calls Out Atlanta’s ‘Embarrassing’ Effort

Credit: AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

NEED TO KNOW

• The Hawks lost to the Knicks on Thursday night
• Atlanta was eliminated from the playoffs
• The historic game featured fights, courtside collisions and hilarious halftime commentary

Facing elimination in the playoffs on Thursday, the Atlanta Hawks set records for futility in a game that featured one fight, two ejections, a courtside rapper hitting the deck and Shaquille O’Neal using a defibrillator to resuscitate a stuffed animal at halftime.

This game had everything — but seemingly no one could anticipate the New York Knicks would throttle the Hawks by 51 points (140-89) in a Game 6 that already had the latter team on the ropes.

Until Thursday night, the series was competitive, with the Knicks up 3-2, but the home team was seemingly out of it from the tip.

The Hawks had 10 turnovers in the game’s first 13 minutes, leading to a 47-point deficit (83-36) — the largest in NBA playoff history — at the half.

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Shortly before the break, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels got tangled up with Knicks center Mitchell Robinson, which led to a fight after which both were ejected.