SI:AM | Six Mind-Boggling Stats About the Knicks’ Historic Blowout Win

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A historic beatdown

The stakes in Game 6 of the Knicks-Hawks series on Thursday night couldn’t have been clearer. Atlanta, which had previously held a 2–1 lead in the series, needed to recapture that magic and win at home to force a decisive Game 7.

Instead, the Hawks played what was, without exaggeration, the most embarrassing first half of basketball in NBA playoff history en route to an equally embarrassing 140–89 loss.

It was baffling to watch. The deficit just kept getting larger and larger, and had already grown insurmountable before the second quarter was halfway over. And yet the game had to proceed as normal. The Atlanta rapper Yung Joc still performed at halftime. The PA system still played the music cues meant to entice the fans to chant “de-fense” and, most comically, the screeching hawk sound effect after an Atlanta three-pointer. Again, all while the deficit hovered around 50 points. The ESPN broadcast team of Mike Breen, Richard Jefferson and Tim Legler had to fill time like they were calling a lopsided baseball game on a Wednesday afternoon in August.

The best part of a game like this is gawking at all of the unbelievable stats and facts. Here are a few of my favorites.

The Knicks’ staggering halftime lead

New York first stretched its advantage to 50 points on an OG Anunoby three-point play with 4:39 left in the second quarter that made it 72–22. From there, the Hawks managed to chip away at the deficit and head into the locker room trailing by only 47 (83–36).

It was the largest halftime lead in playoff history and tied for the second-largest in any NBA game. (The Mavericks led the Clippers by 50 at halftime on Dec. 27, 2020, and the Warriors were up by 47 at the break against the Kings on Nov. 2, 1991.)

An unstoppable run

Go ahead and pick your favorite way to slice up the Knicks’ dominant first-half scoring run:

23–2
39–4
41–7
52–8
63–11

The biggest gap of the night

At one point in the third quarter, the Knicks led by 61 points. That’s the largest lead in any playoff game on record since the NBA began tracking play-by-play data in the 1997–98 season.

The final damage

New York’s eventual 51-point margin of victory was merely tied for the sixth largest in playoff history. It’s the third largest in a series-clinching game behind the Cavs’ 55-point win over the Heat last year and the Bulls’ 54-point win over the Bucks in ’15.

Three straight blowouts

After a competitive first three games, this series turned out to be totally lopsided. The Knicks won Game 4 by 16 points and Game 5 by 29 points before last night’s total obliteration. Both of the Hawks’ wins came by a single point. As a result, the series was among the most one-sided in playoff history.

The Knicks’ cumulative margin of victory was 105 points, the third highest ever. The Cavs hold the record at 122 points in their four-game sweep of the Heat last year, and the Nuggets were 121 points better than the Hornets in 2009.

KAT makes individual history

The Knicks didn’t need to play their starters much, but Karl-Anthony Towns still had a historic night. He had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his second triple-double of this postseason. He joins Walt Frazier as the only players in Knicks history with multiple playoff triple-doubles.

Towns is also one of 12 active players with multiple postseason triple-doubles. He needed just four field-goal attempts to do it, too, going 10-for-10 from the free-throw line.

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The top five…

… things I saw yesterday:
5. Mets prospect Jackson Cluff’s leaping catch into the netting in foul territory.
4. A really tough bucket by Joel Embiid early in the Sixers’ win over the Celtics.
3. Justin Crawford’s hustle to beat out an infield single for a walk-off Phillies win. That was the first game of a doubleheader against the Giants. Alec Bohm’s walk-off sacrifice fly gave the Phillies the win in the nightcap, marking the first time since 2004 that a team won both games of a doubleheader via walk-off.
2. Julius Randle’s clutch fadeaway as the shorthanded Timberwolves closed out Game 6 against the Nuggets.
1. Terrence Shannon Jr.’s thunderous dunk.

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