Knicks flying high again after hammering Hawks

OG Anunoby scored 22 points, while Jalen Brunson added 19 as New York took control early and never really gave Atlanta a chance to breathe.

This one was decided long before the final buzzer.

The Knicks led 68-44 at halftime, stretched it to 20 after three, and pushed it to as many as 24 in the fourth. From there, it was about finishing the job. They did.

“Obviously, we didn’t win Game 3, but I think the way we played in the second half … propelled us,” Brunson told reporters. “We’re trying to continue to push that forward.”

They carried it over, no question.

“The way we’ve been able to play … these past five quarters is how we’ve got to play,” he added.

Defensively, New York cleaned things up. CJ McCollum, who had burned them earlier in the series, was held to 17 points and didn’t make a three.

“CJ’s a handful,” coach Mike Brown said. “We’ve just got to keep trying to find ways to show him different looks.”

Game 5 heads to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Best-of-three now.