Three things the Hawks need to do to extend series against the Knicks

The Hawks trail the Knicks 3-2 in their first-round series of the Eastern Conference playoffs. But with a win in Game 6, set to take place Thursday at State Farm Arena, the Hawks could force a Game 7 back in New York on Saturday.

To do that, the Hawks would need to put together a near-perfect game after complete collapses in Games 4 and 5.

After showing the same resiliency that got them through the regular season in Games 2 and 3, the Hawks looked out of sorts against the Knicks. They failed to eclipse the century mark in points in back-to-back games.

But they still have a chance to keep their postseason alive.

Get back to running

The playoffs have slowed down the Hawks’ style of play pretty significantly. They averaged 17.7 fast-break points per game during the regular season, and that has dropped to 12.8 through five playoff games.

In their last two games, the Hawks have trailed the league in transition points. They’ve managed just 5.5 points per game as the Knicks’ defense has slowed them from running the floor.

“We want to play fast, but can’t play fast when we put them on the free throw line, and we’re not getting stops,” Hawks guard Dyson Daniels said.

“So we got to be better getting stops, keeping them off the free-throw line, and then we just gotta have the mindset to run.”

Getting physical on offense

The Hawks have tried to match the Knicks’ physicality on the defensive end. As Daniels mentioned, it put the likes of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns on the line.

But the Hawks didn’t match the Knicks’ physicality on the offensive end. They settled for 3s and did not give enough effort to compete on the offensive glass when they didn’t fall. Just 23% of the Hawks’ shot attempts came at the rim.

The Hawks have to find ways to attack the basket decisively and find the right mismatches by moving the ball and forcing the Knicks into unfavorable switches.

“I just think that it’s more about us, not really about what they’re doing,” Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu said. “Game 2 (and) 3, the ball is moving. But, since then, we’ve just been real stagnant on offense.”