Hawks’ last-second heave is too late as Knicks hang on for win

The Atlanta Hawks were about a half-second away from tying their game against the New York Knicks and forcing overtime on Monday night.

The Hawks were inbounding the ball underneath the basket on the far side of the court. The ball came to C.J. McCollum, who took two dribbles and threw up a prayer near half-court. The ball banked off the backboard and into the basket as the buzzer sounded.

Fans at the State Farm Arena went wild as it appeared McCollum tied the game. However, officials reviewed the play, and it was determined that the veteran guard got the ball out of his hands a little too late.

New York won the game, 108-105.

Knicks head coach Mike Brown explained why he didn’t instruct the team to foul at the end instead of risking a possible game-tying scenario.

“It’s tricky. If he misses it, obviously it’s a long heave. But if you foul him on the rebound, or you foul him when he’s turning to heave it now, they get three free throws,” he said, via the New York Post. “It’s something we’ve talked about before — it’s still a toss-up situation. … The whole thing was at worst they’ll tie it, and we’ll go to overtime. Lesson learned on a couple possessions down the stretch.”

Knicks star Jalen Brunson, who made two free throws to give the team a three-point lead with a second left to play, led the team with 30 points and 13 assists. Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

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It was Atlanta’s first home loss since early February, ending the team’s 13-game home winning streak.

Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 36 points in the loss. Jalen Johnson added 21 points and 11 rebounds, notching his 48th double-double of the season.

New York and Atlanta could potentially meet in the postseason as they’re jockeying for seeding ahead of the playoffs. The Knicks are 51-28 and currently third in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks fell to 45-34 and are currently fifth in the East.

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Atlanta is only 1.5 games up on the Toronto Raptors for their spot.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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