From a floor seat in Atlanta, Knicks owner James Dolan watched a nightmare unfold. Three months ago Dolan boldly proclaimed his team should—not would, should—win a championship, raising the bar for one of last season’s conference finalists even higher. On Thursday, Dolan was one of 18,452 inside State Farm Arena watching the Hawks squeeze out a 109–108 Game 3 win—and push New York closer to a catastrophic NBA playoffs first-round elimination.
“We know we didn’t play our best basketball,” said Knicks coach Mike Brown.
