Scuffle breaks out between Knicks, Hawks at halftime

The New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks started sizing each other up at midcourt at the end of the first half. Three technicals were assessed.

The New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks don’t like each other very much. These bad feelings are on full display in this series and the Knicks can’t seem to help themselves.

At the end of the second half, Julius Randle tossed the ball at Trae Young. Nerlens Noel gave a little shoulder bump to Young on the way to the locker room and then Solomon Hill retaliated with a shove of his own. There’s bad blood here.

https://twitter.com/EliteSportsNY/status/1400256839036592128

Noel, Randle, and Hill were assessed technical fouls. That’s not the best way for the Knicks to start the second half of an elimination game, but the spark it can provide might be worth it.

Per end of half scuffle between Knicks and Hawks, I’m told Julius Randle, Nerlens Noel and Solomon Hill all received techs. Atlanta will head to line to start third. @MSGNetworks

— Rebecca Haarlow (@RebeccaHaarlow) June 3, 2021

There were a couple of replay reviews and one flagrant foul on Taj Gibson in the first half. This game is an old-school, physical playoff game. Clint Capela’s pregame trash talk about sending the Knicks “on vacation” may have added some fuel to the fire.

The Knicks are playing like a team with nothing to lose, but they will need to start figuring out a way to score if they want to survive. Although Randle’s first-half numbers looked solid, he looks completely out of sync out there.

The Knicks are backed into a corner after dropping three of the first four games of this series. Crazier things have happened, like the Atlanta Falcons blowing a 28-3 lead in Super Bowl 51.