Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Australian basketball star Dyson Daniels and his Atlanta Hawks have shown some fight, but it ended in ejections on a night the New York Knicks produced a record-breaking performance to advance into the second round of the NBA play-offs on Friday (AEST).
Frustrations boiled over with 4:39 minutes left in the second quarter of game six of their first-round play-off series at State Farm Arena when Daniels and Knicks centre Mitchell Robinson became entangled during a set of free throws.
With the Hawks trailing by an all-time play-offs record 47 points, Robinson took umbrage when Daniels appeared to elbow him, prompting Robinson to get into the face of the dogged guard. Players and officials rushed over to separate the pair.
The fight spilled over into the front row of fans, appearing to involve most of the on-court members of both teams.
After the referees reviewed footage, Daniels and Robinson were given technical fouls and ejected from the game. During the skirmish, one of the referees fell to the floor.
“It’s tough because when you’re up that big, stuff happens,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said after the win.
“If somebody feels like something that shouldn’t happen to them happened, it’s hard to keep your composure in that moment.”
Hawks coach Quin Snyder pulled Daniels away from Robinson.
“I couldn’t see the details of the situation, who did what to whom,” Snyder said.
“I know that both teams were competing, and they were having their way with us on many, many levels – as evidenced by the scoreboard.”
It was a dirty night for the Hawks, who trailed 3-2 in the series and were trying to keep their season alive.
The Knicks led 83–36 at halftime, the largest half-time deficit ever in an NBA play-off game, and went on to win 140-89. This was the largest score by the Knicks in play-off history.
Centre Karl Anthony-Towns had a triple double of 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, OG Anunoby had a team-high 29 points, while playmaker Jalen Brunson had 17 points and eight assists.
Daniels had three points in 15 minutes before his ejection. Guard Jalen Johnson led the Hawks with 21 points, while star shooter CJ McCollum, the hero of games two and three, was held to only 11 points on 4/13 shooting from the floor.
The Knicks play the winner of the series between Boston and Philadelphia, with that series tied at 3-3 after the 76ers rolled to a 106-93 win before their home fans.
Point guard Tyrese Maxey poured in 30 points, a rebuilt Paul George had 23 points while Joel Embiid had 19 as the 76ers forced a decisive game seven in Boston on Sunday (AEST).
Buoyed by Embiid’s return from an appendectomy, the Sixers have won the past two games, the Celtics again drying up from three-point range, shooting a poor 29 per cent (12 of 41).
Jaylen Brown, in foul trouble through the first half, paced the Celtics with 18 points, while Jayson Tatum had 17 but left the game in the third quarter with a reported calf injury.
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Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.
