Knicks embarrass Hawks with biggest halftime lead in NBA Playoff history

The New York Knicks came into Game 6 against the Atlanta Hawks one game away from advancing, and they certainly played like they didn’t want to let this series continue.

New York produced a historic first half, outscoring the Hawks by 47 points over 24 minutes. That included 40- and 43-point quarters in the first and second, respectively, while holding Atlanta to 15 and 21 points in each frame.

At one point, the Knicks trailed 9-11, but they proceeded to go on a 74-25 run to close the half. New York had everything working on both ends of the court, while Atlanta struggled to both score and slow the Knicks down.

Here’s how the Knicks made history on Thursday night.

Biggest halftime leads in NBA Playoff history

The Knicks dominated the first half on Thursday night, outscoring the Hawks 83-36 in the first 24 minutes. That makes this the largest halftime lead in NBA playoff history, beating a record that the Cleveland Cavaliers set in 2017.

Knicks-Hawks first half box score

Knicks box score

Hawks box score

Biggest blowouts in NBA Playoff history

The biggest blowout in playoff history is 58 points, which has happened twice. First, the Minneapolis Lakers beat the St. Louis Hawks 133-75 in 1958 during a Western Division game. Then, in 2009, the Denver Nuggets beat the New Orleans Hornets 121-63 in Game 4 of the first round.