Knicks dominate Hawks so badly it breaks 37,964-game NBA trend originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The New York Knicks defeated the Atlanta Hawks in Game 6 of the first round of the NBA playoffs. The loss was so lopsided that it produced a stat the NBA has never seen since the 1996-97 season.
Led by Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, and others, the Knicks destroyed the Hawks, 140-89. At halftime, the scores were 83-36. The Knicks reached the 100-point mark with the help of a tip-shot from Towns with 8:21 remaining in the third quarter. Interestingly, at the time, the Hawks were at just 40 points.
According to NBA reporter Keerthika Uthayakumar, a total of 37,964 games have been played since the 1996-97 season. All this time, a road team has never been able to get to 100 points before the home team has scored at least 50 points. However, the trend failed to stand tall on Thursday at State Farm Arena.
37,964 games have been played in the NBA since the 1996-97 season, regular season & playoffs.
Knicks/Hawks is the first game where the road team scored 100 points before the home team had 50.
— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) May 1, 2026
More: Knicks Crush Atlanta Hawks by 51, Set Playoff Record with 47-Point Halftime Lead
OG Anunoby leads the Knicks’ one-sided win against Hawks
Knicks forward OG Anunoby put on a show against the Hawks, finishing the game with 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. He also had seven rebounds, two assists, four steals and one block as he ran the Hawks out of their own building.
He was well supported by the remaining starting group of Josh Hart, Karl Anthony-Towns, Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson. All of them scored in double digits. Like Anunoby, Bridges also shot very efficiently, converting 10-of-12 field goals for 24 points.
Towns recorded a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists while also chipping in with three steals and one block. Brunson was second in the assist column with eight.
The Knicks will hope to go deep once again this year and finally become NBA champions.
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