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The Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks lock horns on Wednesday night for Game 2 of their first-round 2021 NBA Playoffs series at Madison Square Garden.
The Hawks emerged victorious 107-105 in Game 1, thanks to a match-winning floater from Trae Young with 0.9 seconds left on the clock.
The New York Knicks will be looking to avenge that defeat and avoid slipping up in this match as they play the next two games in Atlanta and won't have homecourt advantage.
The Atlanta Hawks, meanwhile, enjoyed silencing the hostile MSG atmosphere in the previous game. They will be eager to replicate that before they head home to continue the series.
Match Details
Fixture - Atlanta Hawks vs New York Knicks | Game 2, 2021 NBA Playoffs
Date & Time - Wednesday, May 26th, 7:30 PM ET (Thursday, May 27th, 5:00 AM IST)
Venue - Madison Square Garden, New York, NY.
Atlanta Hawks Preview
The Atlanta Hawks played with great intensity throughout Game 1 on Sunday. Trae Young had a playoff debut to remember as the guard tallied 32 points and ten assists on the night. As mentioned earlier, he also hit the game-winner in the dying moments of the match to cap off a brilliant outing.
The Hawks started strong, opening up a 24-16 lead over the home team. But the Knicks eventually caught up and the two teams went into halftime with Atlanta up by two. Despite struggling in the third quarter of the game, the Atlanta Hawks improved down the stretch to seal the win. They had just six turnovers all match and shot 46% from the field.
Although they did not completely outperform the New York Knicks, the Hawks dealt with the pressure of being the away team pretty well. They will need to improve on their rebounding, distribution and three-point shooting to win against a Knicks side that will be motivated to do well after their Game 1 loss.
Key Player - Clint Capela
Clint Capela had a decent Game 1 outing, tallying 9 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks. He will need to improve his scoring output, though, to give the Atlanta Hawks a better chance of winning this tie. Additionally, Capela will likely be tasked with guarding the New York Knicks' best player, Julius Randle, and will have to limit his threat as much as possible.
If Capela manages to do that, the Atlanta Hawks will be difficult to deal with for the home side.
Atlanta Hawks Predicted Lineup
Point Guard - Trae Young | Shooting Guard - Bogdan Bogdanovic | Small Forward - De'Andre Hunter | Power Forward - John Collins | Center - Clint Capela.
New York Knicks Preview
The New York Knicks will be looking to avoid a sloppy start to Game 2 after conceding an eight-point lead in the first quarter of Game 1. They weren't as solid defensively as they have been in the regular season.
The New York Knicks didn't shoot the ball well, managing just 10 threes and 11 of their 15 free throw attempts. Alec Burks led the charge with 27 points, as Julius Randle (15 points) and RJ Barrett (14 points) both had poor outings. Randle shot just 6-of-23 from the field.
The Knicks have tremendous home crowd support and will have to use it to their advantage to avoid going down 2-0 before they travel to Atlanta.
Key Player - Julius Randle
NBA Most Improved Player of the Year frontrunner Julius Randle had a playoff debut to forget. Nonetheless, he has a great chance now to make amends and lead the New York Knicks to a win in front of their diehard fans.
If Randle gets going, the Atlanta Hawks will be in all sorts of trouble. They have struggled in regular-season games to contain the Knicks whenever Randle has fired on all cylinders.
New York Knicks Predicted Lineup
Point Guard - Elfrid Payton | Shooting Guard - RJ Barrett | Small Forward - Reggie Bullock | Power Forward - Julius Randle | Center - Nerlens Noel.
Hawks vs Knicks Prediction
The New York Knicks will be the favorites to win the tie, but only by a slight margin. Their chances of claiming victory will rely heavily on how their star players, Julius Randle and RJ Barrett, perform.
But the Atlanta Hawks aren't far behind, as is evident from how well they matched up against the Knicks in Game 1. They too will need their role players to step up in this game to have a shot at claiming a 2-0 series lead.
Where to watch Hawks vs Knicks Game 2?
Local coverage of the game between the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks will be available on MSG and Bally Sports Southeast. The game will also be nationally televised on TNT and can be streamed online via NBA League Pass.
Also read: Top 5 debut performances from the 2021 NBA Playoffs opening weekend
