Winners and Losers From the Atlanta Hawks Disappointing Game Five Loss to The Knicks

The Atlanta Hawks are officially on the brink of elimination.

Atlanta was hoping to respond to the physicality and intensity that the Knicks brought in game four, but it was hard to tell the two games apart. New York got up double digits in the first quarter and just never gave it up. It was another struggle for the Hawks on the offensive end of the court and they could not get enough stops to make up for it. Atlanta will now head into Thursday's game six in a win or go home scenario.

Here are the winners and losers from tonight's game.

Loser: CJ McCollum

After his shotmaking in games two and three, McCollum was being dubbed the "villian" of Madison Square Garden. He was the Hawks best player through the first three games of the series, but tonight he could not make shots and had trouble with turnovers, not to mention the continued defensive struggles.

It was not fair to expect McCollum to keep up that pace of play and he should not have to on a team with players like Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, but the Hawks have been reliant on him because of other guys not stepping up. McCollum had nearly the same amount of turnovers as points and was a non-factor all game. For the Hawks season to survive on Thursday and possibly beyond, Atlanta is going to need more from McCollum.

Loser: Hawks offense

It was Deja Vu tonight for the Hawks offense. In Saturday's loss to the Knicks, the Hawks shot 10-41 from three and it was not very different tonight. The Hawks offense has gone cold at the wrong time of the season and the desperately need their shots to start falling if they want to force a game seven. The offense has not found ways to counter the Knicks physical and aggressive defense and it is the story of the last two games. Another poor shooting night on Thursday will send the Hawks home for the offseason.

Tonight, the Hawks were 13-42 from three and finished with a 101.6 offensive rating. They finished with four fast break points in tonight's game.

Loser: Hawks Bench Rotation

Atlanta's bench was a glaring weakness heading into the playoffs and aside from some big performances from Jonathan Kuminga in games two and three, the bench play for the Hawks has been subpar.

It was not good again tonight and there are some real decisions that Hawks head coach Quin Snyder is going to have to make. Will he continue to play Cory Kispert and Tony Bradley? Will Mo Gueye see minutes? Is it time to see what Buddy Hield can do? Everything should be on the table for the Hawks.

Loser: Hawks Rebounding

The Hawks were crushed on the glass tonight 48-27 and had no answer for Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson, or OG Anunoby on the glass. This was an advantage for the Knicks coming into the series and it was on full display tonight.

Winners: We get to learn what the Hawks will do in an elimination game

The Hawks have not looked good in the past two games, but do they have anything left in the tank to pull out two more victories against the Knicks or will it be another blowout win for New York and a conference semifinals appearance for them? Atlanta has not responded well to adversity so far in the last two games, but they have a chance to quiet the narrative that the lights got too bright for them on Thursday.

It is officially do or die time in Atlanta.

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