Hawks' CJ McCollum becomes newest MSG villain in Game 2 win over Knicks

McCollum's only misstep came at the foul line, when he missed two free throws with 5.6 seconds left to give the Knicks a chance, but Mikal Bridges missed a wild shot at the buzzer. After the game, McCollum mainly talked about the misses — his only two of the game — and not his heroics.

CJ McCollum beefed with NYC native Jose Alvarado

McCollum and Alvarado were teammates on the New Orleans Pelicans, but after Alvarado was traded at this year's deadline and McCollum was traded twice in the last 10 months, they ended up on opposite sides of this first-round series. The trade sent Alvarado home, as he was born in Brooklyn and played high school basketball in Queens.

Late in the third quarter, the old Pelicans clashed. Atlanta's Tony Bradley was whistled for an offensive foul after a hard screen on Alvarado to free up McCollum. The two yelled at each other and got cheek-to-cheek before the referees assessed double technicals.

The performance from McCollum evoked Young's performance against the Knicks in the 2021 playoffs. The Hawks beat the Knicks in five games while Young averaged 29.2 points and taunted the MSG crowd, bowing near the end of Atlanta's Game 5 win.

Young is so hated by Knicks fans that profane, anti-Young chants erupted in the arena at the end of Game 1.

How did McCollum know he'd assumed Young's mantle as the Knicks' top enemy? At the end of Game 2, the arena was cursing out McCollum instead. By Game 5, McCollum can complete his villain's journey by beefing with Spike Lee, talking smack about the bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich — and beating the Knicks again.