Atlanta gunner McCollum new subject of ‘admiration’ from Knicks fans
NEW YORK, United States — CJ McCollum has a new title in Manhattan — and it didn’t take long to stick.
Two nights after a controversial groin kick on Jalen Brunson, McCollum delivered the knockout blow Monday night (Tuesday Manila time), burying the New York Knicks with a late dagger to cap a stunning 14-point comeback and lift the Atlanta Hawks to a 107-106 Game 2 victory at Madison Square Garden.
The win evened the first-round series at 1-1 and crowned a new Garden villain.
The sold-out crowd made its verdict clear, unleashing chants of “F— CJ,” a remix of the venom once reserved for Trae Young during Atlanta’s previous playoff run through New York.
McCollum, though, wasn’t buying the label.
“I am no villain,” he said after pouring in 34 points. “I’m a nice guy with two kids and a wife. I think it’s admiration. They’re great, passionate fans that create a hostile environment. It’s fun. It’s basketball. It’s the playoffs. If anything, I think it’s a sign of respect.”
Respect didn’t exactly define the atmosphere.
Tensions boiled over in the second half when McCollum and Knicks reserve guard Jose Alvarado went chest-to-chest, drawing double technical fouls. The jeers only grew louder — and so did McCollum’s response.
He scored six straight points in the closing stretch, each bucket louder than the last, flipping the game and the building in Atlanta’s favor.
“They hit shots and we didn’t make shots,” Karl-Anthony Towns said after being held scoreless in the fourth. “But also, when it came down to it, CJ McCollum made some tough shots. You have to give credit where credit’s due. Hell of a player. He’s been a hell of a player for a long time in this league, and we’ve got to do a better job of making it more difficult for him.”
For all of Brunson’s reputation as “Captain Clutch,” it was McCollum who owned the final seconds.
He beat Brunson twice in isolation down the stretch, the second giving Atlanta a 105-103 edge. Moments later, Jalen Johnson hammered home a dunk off a Brunson miss to push the lead to four with 10 seconds remaining.
Brunson answered with a quick three out of a timeout, and two missed free throws by McCollum gave New York one last look — a chance to seize a commanding 2-0 series lead.
Instead, Mikal Bridges’ fallaway jumper at the buzzer spun off.
“Yeah, I just missed it,” Bridges said. “Nothing wrong with it. Just have to make it next time. Tried to get to my spot with the time going out — just get a nice rhythm shot.”
It was a cruel twist. Bridges had beaten the halftime buzzer to give the Knicks a 61-54 lead. This time, the moment belonged to McCollum.
Brunson finished with 27 points on just 10-of-26 shooting and didn’t shy away from accountability.
“I can control what I can control,” he said. “Poor decision-making on my part on a couple of possessions. They played great defense, smacked the ball out of my hands. We’ve got to be better with the lead. That’s twice now in the fourth quarter.”
The collapse felt familiar.
New York squandered a 19-point lead late in Game 1 before holding on. On Tuesday, a 14-point cushion vanished — slowly, then all at once.
“This was a game you should have won,” Josh Hart said. “You can’t give away games. We’ve got to lock in, watch the film, get better, and go battle for Game 3.”
“We were up most of the game,” OG Anunoby added. “It’s disappointing, but it’s the playoffs. That’s how the series goes.”
The unraveling began in the margins — specifically, the minutes without Brunson and Towns on the floor.
Atlanta chipped away early against New York’s second unit, briefly taking the lead in the second quarter. The same pattern repeated in the fourth, when the Hawks erased the deficit before the Knicks’ stars could return.
By then, the momentum — and the noise — had shifted.
Knicks coach Mike Brown, however, refused to pin the loss on rotations.
“I don’t think so,” Brown said. “We’ve played that lineup quite a bit, and it’s been good. We just weren’t good tonight. We turned the ball over too much during that stretch, but we had opportunities with our starters to close it. I wouldn’t say that specific lineup caused it.”
Mike Brown on the non-JB/KAT minutes: pic.twitter.com/lZ6U4mzs8k
— alder almo (@alderalmo) April 21, 2026
Now the series heads to Atlanta tied, but tilted — if only slightly — by one man who insists he’s not the villain.
The Garden might disagree.
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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for US-based publication Heavy.com.
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