Expect More Urgency From Knicks at Home in Game 2

The Knicks (41-32 SU, 45-27-1 ATS) have won 11 of their last 13 home games and need another win at MSG on Wednesday night to draw even with the Hawks (42-31, 40-32-1) before the series shifts to Atlanta. New York opened as a 2.5-point favorite.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

With New York desperate to avoid going down 2-0 in the series, oddsmakers opened the Knicks as 2.5-point favorites for Game 2 — a point more than they were favored by on Sunday.

Atlanta News & Notes

Not only did a raucous Madison Square Garden crowd not faze Trae Young in his playoff debut, it might have fueled him. Young, the target of a profane chant throughout the evening, joined LeBron James as the only players to record 30 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in their first career playoff game, according to ESPN. The 22-year-old got stronger as the game went along, saving 13 of his 32 points for the final frame, including the game-Sportsbook with 0.9 seconds left.

His teammates were also clutch down the stretch, drilling five of their seven three-pointers in the fourth quarter. Bogdan Bogdanovic hit three of his four attempts from behind the arc, the third tying the game in the final minute. Fourth-quarter heroics are nothing new to Hawks fans, who have seen their team post an NBA-best +3.0 point differential in the fourth since Nate McMillan began coaching the team on March 1.

New York News & Notes

After starting Elfrid Payton at point guard all year, the Knicks appear on the verge of making a switch. Payton was scoreless in Game 1 — the third time in his last four games that he has failed to score a point — and was replaced by Derrick Rose just 4:15 into the first quarter.

If coach Tom Thibodeau does decide to make a change, Frank Ntilikina might take Payton’s place in the starting lineup so Rose can stay with New York’s effective second unit. New York’s bench scored 67 of the Knicks’ 105 points on Sunday, paced by 27 points from Alec Burks and 17 from Rose.

Point guard production won’t make much difference for the Knicks if Julius Randle can’t manage to shake off a subpar performance in his playoff debut. Randle, who was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player on Tuesday, missed 17 of his 23 shots and finished with 15 points — a far cry from the 37.3 he averaged in three regular-season games vs Atlanta.

Betting Pick: Knicks -2.5

New York nearly won Game 1 without getting much from Randle or R.J. Barrett, and the Knicks should be desperate to even the series headed back to Atlanta.