The New York Knicks took down the Atlanta Hawks 114-98 at State Farm Arena on Saturday to tie up this first-round series at 2-2. The Knicks were in cruise control for much of this game, but there was one moment when tempers flared a bit.
Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson got into quite a heated exchange with his father and assistant coach Rick Brunson in the fourth quarter during a timeout.
Jalen Brunson & Rick Brunson exchange words.
(h/t @KnicksNation)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 26, 2026
It’s unclear what exactly Jalen and Rick were upset about at that moment, but we can take a guess. The younger Brunson had just pushed the Knicks to challenge an out-of-bounds call with 7:50 left in the fourth quarter. The officials thought the ball had touched him last, but it had actually come off of CJ McCollum.
The call was overturned following the challenge, but that was the second one of the night for the Knicks, which meant they had none left. While there would be no reason to argue over that, the issue was that there were only 4.2 seconds left on the shot clock.
The Knicks were going to have to scramble a bit to put up a shot, and so Rick could have thought they just wasted a challenge there. We’ll never know for sure, though.
The heated exchange was brought up during Jalen’s postgame press conference, and he was asked who won that father-son debate.
“There was no debate,” Jalen said, via SNY.
When it was pointed out that there usually is a debate when they go at it, Jalen said that was just their competitiveness coming out.
“That was two competitors,” Jalen stated.
Jalen ended up drawing a foul on that play we mentioned earlier and marched to the line, so it worked out in the end. You can say that about pretty much the whole night for the Knicks.
The Knicks were in must-win mode entering Game 4. They had just suffered brutal back-to-back one-point losses to fall down 2-1 in the series and couldn’t afford to lose again.
Game 4 was a tight affair at the start, but the Knicks gradually seized control. They would go on to lead by as many as 24 points and have now regained home-court advantage.
Jalen wasn’t at his sizzling best here, though. The three-time All-Star finished with 19 points (7-18 FG), three rebounds, and one steal.
Jalen also briefly gave Knicks fans an almighty scare when he went to the locker room early in the third quarter due to an ankle issue. The 29-year-old was able to return not too long after and was asked here whether he had gotten any treatment after the game.
“I’m right here,” Jalen said. “I’m all good.”
That should allay any fears. Jalen is good to go, and the Knicks will need him to be at his very best for the rest of this series if they are to advance. He has been a bit up and down so far.
Jalen is averaging 25.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.0 steals per game, but has shot just 41.6% from the field. He has also been targeted on defense.
All would be forgotten, though, if he can step up and deliver in these next couple of games. Game 5 tips off at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.
