CJ McCollum, Hawks rally late to shock Knicks in Game 2 of NBA playoffs

CJ McCollum, Hawks rally late to shock Knicks in Game 2 of NBA playoffsLed by veteran guard McCollum, the Atlanta Hawks staged a late comeback to upset New York Knicks to tie their playoff series 1-1.CJ McCollum scored six of his ‌game-high 32 points in the final two-plus minutes on Monday night for the ⁠visiting Atlanta Hawks, ⁠who stormed back from an eight-point deficit in the last five minutes to stun the New York Knicks 107-106 in Game 2 of their ⁠Eastern Conference first-round series.The Hawks ended on a 15-6 run to even the best-of-seven series at a game apiece. Game 3 is scheduled for Thursday night in ⁠Atlanta.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Real Madrid look to pick up the pieces in La Liga after Bayern defeatlist 2 of 4Several injured as fans clash with police in Paraguay’s Superclasico matchlist 3 of 4Former Afghanistan cricketer Shapoor Zadran battles life-threatening diseaselist 4 of 4Tougher testing for Indian athletes in ‘extremely high’ doping risk bracketend of listThe Hawks, whose only lead before their concluding surge was at 36-35, trailed by as many as 14 points in the third quarter. Atlanta fell behind 100-92 when Jalen Brunson hit a floater with 5:26 left.The teams traded empty possessions before Atlanta scored ‌on its next three possessions to pull within 100-99 on Jalen Johnson’s layup with 3:25 remaining. McCollum drove past Brunson for the go-ahead layup with 2:08 left.New York’s OG Anunoby missed two free throws, and McCollum hit a short jumper, after which Brunson sank a 3-pointer to tie the score at 103-103. McCollum committed a turnover, and Brunson missed a mid-range jumper before McCollum put the Hawks ⁠ahead for good with a fadeaway jumper from the ⁠left baseline with 33.5 seconds left.Nickeil Alexander-Walker blocked Brunson’s shot and fed Johnson for a dunk to put the Hawks up 107-103 with 10.2 seconds left. Following a timeout, Brunson hit a 3-pointer that circled ⁠around the rim and went in, after which McCollum was fouled by Hart but missed both free throws.The Knicks had ⁠a timeout left, but they pushed the ball ⁠up the court, and Hart dished to Mikal Bridges, who missed a 12-foot attempt for the win from the left wing as time expired.