NBA Playoffs | Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks: Game 6
Written by: Varun Sharma
Published: Thu Apr 30, 2026, 2:18 pm ET
Read Time: 6 minutes
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Tonight we've got Game 6 of the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks series. The Knicks lead 3 to 2 in this best-of-7 series and could close it out with a win tonight.
Let's jump right into this potential elimination game.
For additional information on picks, props, money lines and more on today's NBA slate, take a look at our NBA Picks Page or our NBA Odds Page.
Game Information
Matchup Information
- Location: State Farm Arena; Atlanta, Georgia
- Date: Thursday, April 30th, 2026
- Tipoff: 7:10 PM EST
Postseason Performers
- C.J. McCollum (ATL): 34.1 MPG | 20.8 PPG | 3.0 RPG | 2.4 APG
- Jalen Brunson (NYK): 36.4 MPG | 28.2 PPG | 2.6 RPG | 5.8 APG
Betting Odds
Odds via Lucky Rebel, an industry leader in the sports betting world.
Analysis & Breakdown
ATLiens
Has Magic City lost it's magic? After taking a 2-1 series lead in Game 3, the Hawks have now come out flat in back to back games. Game 5 was the ugliest of the bunch. The Hawks scored just 97 points, shot just 31% from three and 59% at the free throw line.
As the Hawks struggled to score, the Knicks ran up the score. New York scored 127 points, shot 42% from three and 57% from the field. Atlanta two wins in this series have both been by just one point, while all three of New York's wins have been by double digits.
Atlanta needs to be better and that starts with their two best players. Both Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker have been struggling with their shooting in this series and funny enough Game 5 happened to be their best shooting night of the series.
Johnson scored 18 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and shot just under 50%. Alexander-Walker scored 16 points, went 6/11 from the field and 4/9 from three. The team just couldn't get a stop on defense.
Mayhem in Manhattan
New York is one game from finishing this series and tonight they have a chance to do it on the road in Atlanta. The Knicks have looked significantly better in the back to back games and that's both on offense and defense. The Knicks have held Atlanta to under 100 points in back to back games and haven't allowed Atlanta to eclipse 109 points.
New York is 4th in defensive rating among playoff teams and 3rd in net rating. Atlanta ranked 5th in three point percentage this year and 6th in 3s made during the regular season. In the playoffs some regression is expected but the Knicks have held Atlanta to just 32.1% from three and just under 12 made threes per game.
Offensively for New York, it's been the Jalen Brunson show. Brunson's averaging just over 28 points per game so far in the postseason and taking 22.4 shot attempts per contest. The Knicks do have two more 20 point per game scorers in OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns, but Brunson's been the clear go to guy in terms of usage.
Thursday Night's Best Bets
Miles McBride o1.5 3s (-130) | Lucky Rebel
Yes, you read that correctly; we're betting Miles McBride…again. This price tag on his 3s feels mis-priced. `
McBride's playing 21.6 minutes per game so far in this series, averaging 6.4 points per game and shooting the ball terribly (32.4%). Despite poor shooting and a scoreless Game 5; McBride finishes near the top of his team in plus/minus.
McBride played 20 minutes in Game 5, went 0/4 from the field and still finished as a +19; second only to Jalen Brunson. In 98 minutes of gametime with McBride on the court in this series, the team's offensive rating jumps to 121.9 and their defensive rating drops to 97.4.
McBride has a +24.4 net rating in this series. To put that into perspective, Brunson's a +9.8, Towns' is a +18.1 and OG's +13.6.
In 36 minutes on the court together, the McBride/Towns pairing has an offensive rating of 133.3 and the team's defensive rating drops to 88.7. Even the trio of Brunson, McBride and Towns has been great.
The three have played 43 minutes together in this series, recorded an offensive rating of 126.9 and defensive rating of 89.3. McBride's minutes went up in back to back games but he played just 20 minutes in their blowout win.
McBride's performance in Game 5 was rough, but that's only going to make the bounce back that much sweeter.
Onyeka Okongwu o1.5 3s (-130) | Lucky Rebel
Like I said above, the Hawks were one of the best three point shooting teams in the league during the regular season. They'll need to find that if they hope to extend this series.
Onyeka Okongwu's been great in this series. He's averaging 2 threes per game and is shooting 50% from the perimeter in this series. The volume might be a little bit of a sweat, but with the Hawks struggling to score the ball, it feels like Okongwu's got to let it fly.
Okongwu's hit this line in three of the five games so far and nearly 75% of his attempts have been wide open. New York's big men don't get out on the perimeter and it should lead to some open looks for Onyeyka.
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