NBA Cup: Hawks storm past Knicks into semifinals with dominant second half

For a half on Wednesday, the New York Knicks were in full control of their NBA Cup quarterfinal against the Atlanta Hawks.

But Atlanta stormed back with a third-quarter outburst en rote to a xxx-xxx win to advance to a semifinal matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Hawks will face the Bucks on Saturday in Las Vegas. The Knicks are eliminated from the the NBA Cup.

The Knicks opened a 28-22 first-quarter lead that they extended to 54-47 at halftime. But the Hawks came out a different team after halftime and took their first lead of the game at 68-66 on a Trae Young catch-and-shoot 3.

The Knicks never led again. The Hawks outscored the Knicks, 34-18 in the third quarter and fought back a fourth-quarter Knicks run in front of an energized Madison Square Garden crowd.

Young scored 12 of his 22 points in the third quarter in a performance that echoed his effort in the 2021 playoffs to lead the Hawks in an upset of the Knicks. He added 11 assists and five rebounds.

The Knicks cut a nine-point deficit to 93-87 midway through the fourth quarter. But the Hawks withstood the run and punched back to silence the once-frantic home crowd with a xx-point victory.

The Hawks controlled the ball after halftime with a dominant effort on the offensive glass. They finished the game with an 58-49 rebounding margin that included 22 offensive rebounds.

This was not a one-man show for Atlanta. Far from it. Fourth-year breakout forward Jalen Johnson repeatedly made big plays on both sides of the court en route to a 21 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks. De'Andre Hunter add 24 points off the bench while hitting 4 of 5 shots from long distance. Onyeka Okongwu double-doubled with 12 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks off the bench.