Towns scores 30 points as hot-shooting Knicks overwhelm Hawks 121-105 and await Brunson's return

ATLANTA (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 30 points and 11 rebounds, and the hot-shooting New York Knicks took command with 40 points in the second period and beat the Atlanta Hawks 121-105 on Saturday.

OG Anunoby scored 24 points and Mikal Bridges added 20 for the Knicks, who solidified their hold on third place in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks made 15 of 29 3-pointers and overall were good on 53.6% of their shots from the field (45 of 84).

Trae Young scored 16 points for Atlanta while setting the team record for assists in a season. The Hawks are now locked into the play-in tournament, with the Milwaukee Bucks clinching a playoff spot after Atlanta's third straight loss and fifth in six games.

All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson, who practiced with the Knicks on Friday for the first time since spraining his right ankle on March 6, missed his 15th consecutive game. He participated in pregame warmups.

“He's very close,” coach Tom Thibodeau said before the game. “When he's ready, we'll know.”

The Knicks are 9-6 since Brunson was hurt in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Knicks: The Knicks outscored Atlanta 40-22 in the second quarter to lead 78-53 at halftime.

Hawks: Young had nine assists and passed Doc Rivers' team record of 823 assists in the 1986-87 season. Young leads the NBA with 11.6 assists per game. He began the game tied with Rivers' single-season record and claimed the mark with a first-quarter pass that set up a dunk by Mouhamed Gueye. Young also recorded his 500th career steal in the first half.

The Knicks led 51-41 before stretching the lead to 25 points with a 15-0 run. Anunoby's 3-pointer capped the run for a 66-41 lead.

The Knicks' 78 first-half points are the most allowed by Atlanta before halftime this season.

Each team plays again on Sunday. Atlanta hosts Utah while the Knicks host Phoenix.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

New York Knicks guard Cameron Payne (1) drives to the basket against Atlanta Hawks guard Caris LeVert (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, April 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik Rank)

New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) shoots over Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik Rank)

New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges (25) attempts to pass the ball over Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik Rank)

New York Knicks forward MarJon Beauchamp (14) defends against Atlanta Hawks guard Caris LeVert (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik Rank)

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) attempts a basket past Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17)during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik Rank)

New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) attempts a basket against Atlanta Hawks guard Terance Mann (14) and forward Dominick Barlow (0) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik Rank)

New York Knicks forward Precious Achiuwa, right, attempts a basket over Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik Rank)

New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges (25) dribbles the ball past Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik Rank)

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) handles the ball against Atlanta Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye (18) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik Rank)

HELSINKI (AP) — Finland's president and Norway's prime minister have spoken on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

THIS IS AN APNewsAlert. Check back for updates. AP's earlier story is below.

Russia and Ukraine began observing a localized ceasefire in a devastated southern Ukrainian city Tuesday, before a planned humanitarian mission brokered by U.S. first lady Melania Trump, but Moscow kept up its deadly missile attacks on other cities in the meantime.

The local pause in fighting started at 3 a.m. to allow an aid mission into the Russia-occupied city of Oleshky later this week. The situation in Oleshky is desperate, with food and medical supplies running perilously low for the up to 2,000 people still there, as drones and land mines restrict movement.

Deep mistrust between Russia and Ukraine, as Moscow's full-scale invasion nears the five-year mark in February, has undermined previous attempts at limited ceasefires, which quickly unraveled or never took hold.

The humanitarian truce was a high-stakes operation for both Moscow and Kyiv, with both sides keen to win U.S. President Donald Trump’s favor.

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators as well as the militaries of the two countries confirmed in separate statements that the Oleshky ceasefire had begun.

According to her office, Melania Trump led talks with civilian negotiators from Russia and Ukraine after meeting with U.N. officials who briefed the American first lady on the situation in Oleshky.

Up to 2,000 people are stranded in the city, unable to leave because of explosive mines and drone attacks in the area, according to the U.N. The partly occupied Kherson region of Ukraine where Oleshky is located is notorious for the dangers of Russian drone attacks on soldiers and civilians.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that “so far there have been no reports of violations.”

Pope Leo XIV spoke earlier this month with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging them to allow humanitarian aid into Oleshky and the safe evacuation of civilians, the Vatican said.

Negotiators involved in the aid mission said doctors, medicines, food supplies and water would be taken to Oleshky before evacuation corridors are opened.

The Kremlin said at the time that Putin voiced support for the Vatican’s plea, and an agreement was reached to coordinate efforts in this regard.

Moscow and Kyiv have blamed each other for the humanitarian crisis.

Russia, as the occupying power, must under international law ensure that civilians under its occupation live safely. Ukraine has repeatedly tried to negotiate a humanitarian corridor for evacuations and aid delivery with Moscow.

The aid mission is planned ahead of a new round of U.S.-brokered talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine expected next month that will seek to lay the groundwork for detailed peace negotiations later.

The local ceasefire is due to last through Saturday, or longer if needed. Its geographical scope was unclear, though it was centered on Oleshky and other nearby parts of the Kherson region.

Oleshky is about 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Kyiv, where the Dnipro River separates Russian and Ukrainian forces. Oleshky sits across the Dnipro River from the city of Kherson, the region’s administrative capital. Russian forces seized Kherson in the early stages of the 2022 full-scale invasion, but retreated across the river several months later.

The Ukrainian-held side of the Kherson region was quiet Tuesday. Only Russian reconnaissance drones were in the sky, local authorities said, though they cautioned it was too early to draw any conclusions and that they didn't trust Russia.

“It’s too early to say. Let’s wait and see, because you can’t trust the enemy, especially the Russians,” Yaroslav Shanko, head of the Kherson city administration, told The Associated Press.

“There have been previously announced ceasefires more than once, and they had no effect on Kherson … and, let’s say, a lull like this is sometimes even frightening.”

Shanko acknowledged the situation was unusual. He typically travels with a portable drone detector that constantly picks up drones overhead, but it had gone silent, though he said he still kept glancing at it, but it showed nothing.

The quiet stands in contrast to daily life in the city, where people are wounded or killed nearly every day, he said.

City services plan to use the pause to carry out utility work that is usually too dangerous because of constant drone activity.

Minutes after 3 a.m., multiple ballistic missile explosions shook Kyiv and air alerts sounded in multiple parts of the country.

Late Monday, the capital also came under attack, when Russian ballistic missiles damaged the grounds of a university in Kyiv, killing one person and leaving 10 injured, city officials said. In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, authorities said attacks late Monday killed two people and injured four.

“It is important that the world sees that Russia is showing nothing but a desire to kill and continue waging war,” Zelenskyy wrote in an online post shortly afterward.

Susie Blann and Derek Gatopoulos contributed to this report from Kyiv.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

A woman looks into her bag in front of a sign reading "I'm fine" during a local ceasefire linked to efforts to evacuate residents of Oleshky, in Kherson, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A woman looks out from a bus window during a local ceasefire linked to efforts to evacuate residents of Oleshky, in Kherson, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

An elderly woman walks beneath anti-drone nets stretched over a street during a local ceasefire related to evacuation efforts in Oleshky, in Kherson, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A woman walks on a sidewalk beneath anti-drone nets stretched over a street during a local ceasefire related to evacuation efforts in Oleshky, in Kherson, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Finnish President Alexander Stubb, left, meets with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Oslo, Norway, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026. (Cornelius Poppe/NTB Scanpix via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following Russian missile attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following Russian missile attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

FILE - First lady Melania Trump speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House, Oct. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Emergency workers clear debris and damaged road infrastructure near a destroyed car following a Russian overnight strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

Emergency workers clear debris and damaged road infrastructure near a destroyed car following a Russian overnight strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

In this undated image from video provided by the Ukrainian 34th Separate Marine Brigade "Borysfen" on Sept. 30, 2026, destroyed cars are seen on a highway from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in the Kherson region of Ukraine. (Ukrainian 34th Separate Marine Brigade "Borysfen" via AP)

In this undated image from video provided by the Ukrainian 34th Separate Marine Brigade "Borysfen" on Oct. 4, 2026, Ukrainian soldiers at an undisclosed location in the Kherson region of Ukraine attach a parcel of supplies to a drone before a flight to the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky. (Ukrainian 34th Separate Marine Brigade "Borysfen" via AP)

In this undated image from video provided by the Ukrainian 34th Separate Marine Brigade "Borysfen" on Sept. 22, 2026, smoke rises from a residential neighborhood in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in the Kherson region of Ukraine. (Ukrainian 34th Separate Marine Brigade "Borysfen" via AP)

President Donald Trump, left, and first lady Melania Trump listen to a question from a reporter after casting their early-voting ballots for the 2026 midterm elections at the Palm Beach County Library in West Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)