NEW YORK -- The road was paved for Jalen Brunson to add to his litany of exploits, perhaps posting his 10th 40-point playoff game on the fourth anniversary of his first such accomplishment.
But that possibility ended during his rough second half, when he went 0-for-7 from the floor. He still did enough to help the New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 113-102 in Game 1 of their first-round series.
Brunson scored 22 of his game-high 28 points in the first half and hit his first six shots in front of an energetic Madison Square Garden crowd.
But even though he struggled in the final 24 minutes, the Knicks' depth helped New York build a 19-point lead in the second half.
"It was a hard-fought win. It was physical," Brunson said. "It was a grind-it-out game."
Brunson was inadvertently kicked in the groin area by Hawks guard CJ McCollum on a jump shot in the third quarter, earning McCollum a technical foul.
Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half, was elbowed in the head by Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga while going for a rebound. Knicks backup center Mitchell Robinson was also hit in the groin area by Jalen Johnson on a drive.
Neither Brunson's shooting woes nor the physical play deterred his effectiveness in the second half, as he facilitated and competed on defense. Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, a candidate for the NBA's Most Improved Player, averaged nearly 21 points per game this season and shot around 40% from 3-point range. But the Knicks' relentless perimeter activity limited him to 6-for-17 shooting and 17 points.