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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 playoff 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.
Veteran commentator Mike Breen, calling the action on ESPN, quickly noted Robinson’s frustration.
“Oh, and Robinson and Dyson just being held up … Brett Barneke gets knocked down! Robinson wants to go after somebody,” he said.
“They’re trying to separate the two. Robinson really upset. The frustrations coming through for the Hawks right now.”
It was a dirty night for the Hawks, who trailed 3-2 in the series and had been trying to keep their season alive.
The Knicks led 83–36 at halftime, the largest half-time deficit ever in an NBA playoff 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. Game six is later on Friday (AEST).
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