NEW YORK — There’s a long list of Madison Square Garden villains, players who revel in torturing New York Knicks fans in high-leverage situations.
CJ McCollum became the latest addition to that list Monday night, as his fourth-quarter exploits helped the Atlanta Hawks beat the Knicks 107-106 in Game 2 to tie their first-round series.
McCollum led the Hawks with 32 points and six assists, keeping his team in the game when the Knicks, who led by 14 in the third quarter, threatened to pull away.
He scored three critical buckets in the final 2:08, including a go-ahead step-back jumper over OG Anunoby with 34 seconds left to cap a thrilling fourth quarter.
McCollum even elicited expletive-laced chants from the MSG crowd — usually reserved for former Hawks guard Trae Young — after getting into a verbal back-and-forth with Knicks backup guard Jose Alvarado, leading to both receiving offsetting technical fouls.
“I’m no villain, I’m a nice guy with two kids and a wife,” McCollum said. “I think it’s admiration. Great, passionate fans in a hostile environment. It’s fun, it’s basketball, it’s the playoffs. If anything, I think it’s a sign of respect.”
The two games have gotten chippier, and it promises to be an intense environment for Game 3 on Thursday in Atlanta.
McCollum’s approach, which drew the Garden crowd’s focus, perhaps loosened up his teammates, who had been playing out of sorts for most of the night. All-NBA candidate Jalen Johnson woke up late, with six of his 17 points coming in the fourth.
Despite his clutch buckets, McCollum missed two free throw attempts with 5.6 seconds left and the Hawks up one, leaving the door open for the Knicks. But Jalen Brunson was unable to get involved in the play, leaving Mikal Bridges to miss a fadeaway jumper before the buzzer.
It was about the only moment McCollum didn’t do well in the final period. He sought out mismatches against Brunson and scored every time, leaving the Knicks to scramble defensively in the final possessions.
“When the buzzer sounds and it’s quiet and you walk off the court, there’s a level of mutual respect,” McCollum said. “I’ve been to games in the Garden as a fan … I’ve seen playoff games here. It’s a pleasure to be able to play here. A pleasure to walk off the court with a win.”
The Knicks have had their fair share of current-day villains (Young and Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton) and all-time antagonists (Michael Jordan and Reggie Miller).
Perhaps unwillingly, the Knicks created the stage for McCollum. For a second straight game, the Knicks asserted dominance in the second half before the Hawks responded.
In Game 1, the Hawks didn’t recover in enough time. In Game 2, they bounced back from an 80-66 deficit in the third quarter.
At that point, the Knicks were rolling in their deployment of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson, who dominated due to the Hawks’ lack of quality size. Towns scored 14 of his 18 points in the third, and Robinson was perfect from the field — all in close range, scoring a playoff-career-high 13 points with seven rebounds.
“I’m no villain, I’m a nice guy with two kids and a wife. I think it’s admiration. Great, passionate fans in a hostile environment. It’s fun, It’s basketball, it’s the playoffs. If anything, I think it’s a sign of respect.”
CJ McCollum
But the Knicks couldn’t sustain offense in the fourth, while the Hawks finally got in gear, shooting 72% in the period.
“Down the stretch, we got some pretty good looks. We got the ball in the right players’ hands,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “We just didn’t convert.”
McCollum is just happy to be playing meaningful basketball again. After toiling in New Orleans and then Washington, he was involved in a midseason trade to Atlanta that jump-started the Hawks’ season and gave him a jolt.
“It’s exactly what we thought it would be in terms of role and being able to contribute towards winning on a good team,” McCollum said. “We talked about situations, we didn’t want to keep moving around and needed to find somewhere that we could make a home.”
For one night, that home was Madison Square Garden.