There’s no reason Hawks can’t win this playoff series

The third-seeded Knicks may be the better team, have more size and more playoff experience. But they don’t have the best player so far in the series — Hawks guard CJ McCollum — don’t have home-court advantage and got outplayed Thursday night by a Hawks team that clearly isn’t afraid of them or overwhelmed by the moment and still has room to play better.

With a fadeaway jumper by McCollum with 13 seconds left and then an overpowering defensive stop in which the Knicks didn’t even get a shot up, the sixth-seeded Hawks took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Here’s your stat of the night: In NBA history, the team that has won the third game of a seven-game series to take a 2-1 lead has gone on to win 78% of the time, according to Basketball Reference.

The Hawks controlled the game at the start and then came back from a three-point deficit with 1:03 left to take it from the Knicks, handing the savvy New Yorkers a second consecutive loss in which they had the ball in the final seconds with chances to win — and both times came up empty.

Two elements of the game that you would expect from the better team — to be in control of the game at the start and then make the game-winning plays at the end — were performed by the team that at the outset of the series was widely expected to be brushed aside.

The Hawks sprinted ahead out to a 12-point lead in the first quarter, finishing the period by making eight consecutive field goals. Four sailed in from three-point range.

Asked what he attributed the loss to, Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson responded, “Being down early. Them playing with a lead for most of the game.”

And then after the Knicks finally caught the Hawks in the final two minutes, taking a 108-105 lead with 1:03 remaining, the Hawks outmaneuvered the Knicks again.

All-Star forward Jalen Johnson had his shot blocked by Karl-Anthony Towns but recovered the ball to score and cut the lead to one. On the ensuing possession, the Knicks missed and gathered the rebound twice before Brunson airballed a jump shot as the shot clock expired.

That set the stage for McCollum’s high-arcing fadeaway to take the lead and the Knicks’ futile final possession to end the game, setting off a boisterous celebration.

“Missed opportunity, for sure,” said Brunson, whose Captain Clutch nickname may be facing a demotion, thanks in no small part to Hawks guard Dyson Daniels’ unrelenting defense.

What’s more, the Knicks know they’re in trouble. In the postgame locker room, their body language was subdued and downcast. There were no blithe proclamations of “We’re fine; the series is just starting.”

“It hurts when you give yourself a chance to win last game, this game,” Towns said. “Give credit where credit’s due; the Hawks found a way to win. But it hurts more that we put ourselves in position to win and we just didn’t close the show. So I think that’s why everyone’s emotional.”

Said Towns of Johnson’s basket after he blocked his shot at the rim, “That will keep me up tonight.”

Up 2-1, the Hawks are only halfway there. Disaster can always strike. Supporters of a franchise that has not made it to the NBA Finals in its first 57 seasons in this city and the Eastern Conference finals only twice don’t need reminding.

But it’s not like the Hawks should be looking at each other and wondering if they’re dreaming. They can still play better. Coach Quin Snyder shared his to-do list after the game.

Do a better job of keeping the Knicks off the offensive glass, win more 50/50 balls and take better care of the ball.

“It’s hard to overcome those things,” Snyder said.

And yet they did.

A season that has unfolded in a way no one could have predicted is one step closer to another most unlikely outcome.

The Hawks began the season intending to see what their franchise player (in case you’ve forgotten, Trae Young) could do when paired up with an elite big man (Kristaps Porzingis) only to lose both to injuries, trade both, be five games under .500 after 45 games, remake the roster and then finally go on a historic 20-6 tear after the All-Star break.

That group is well positioned to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals for just the second time in the past 10 seasons.

Who would have thought?

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