NEW YORK (AP) — CJ McCollum was headed for an early summer until the Washington Wizards sent him to the Hawks in January in the trade for Trae Young.
McCollum not only replaced Young in Atlanta, now he's replaced him in Madison Square Garden — as the villain who carried the Hawks past the New York Knicks in a playoff game.
“I ain't no villain,” McCollum said. “I'm a nice guy with two kids and a wife.”
The veteran guard scored 32 points Monday night to help the Hawks rally for a stunning 107-106 victory that tied the Eastern Conference first-round series at one game apiece.
He was profanely taunted by the Garden fans after he and Jose Alvarado went nose-to-nose and were each given technical fouls in the third quarter, just as Young was in a 2021 first-round series. And just like Young did in Game 1 of that series when New Yorkers picked him as their target, he made the big plays late that left them silent.
“I love it. I love it. That’s why we play the game,” McCollum said. “It’s fun being in opposing arenas and when the buzzer sounds and it’s quiet and you walk off the court, I think there’s a level of mutual respect.”
When the Hawks decided to move on from their longtime star guard, coach Quin Snyder knew McCollum could step in as a veteran leader on a young team. But he also knew the 34-year-old could replace some of the firepower Young had provided.
“Yeah, I felt like we needed both, you know?” Snyder said. “Being in the West for a while, I’ve watched him do that when he was in Portland.”
Then it was on to New Orleans, before the Pelicans dealt him in July to Washington. Then came the trade to Atlanta and what McCollum called his “light at the end of the tunnel.”
“I’m just thankful to be able to play in the playoffs on a good team in a good situation,” McCollum said. “I think you take the journey for what it is in stride and just hope for the best. And I think when you do things the right way you get rewarded at the end of the tunnel, and my reward is playing the Knicks in the Garden.”
He outplayed counterpart Jalen Brunson, seemingly looking for every opportunity to go 1-on-1 at the Knicks All-Star, and made the go-ahead basket, a jumper with 33 seconds to play.
He left the door open for the Knicks to win by missing two free throws with 5.6 seconds remaining, but Mikal Bridges missed a jumper. Now the Knicks have to win at least once at Atlanta — and figure out how to cool off McCollum.
“CJ hit a couple big buckets late. He hit his and we missed ours and you give a guy like CJ a lot of credit,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “That’s what those guys are supposed to do and he got it done.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) falls as he attempts to drive past Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum (3) during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series, Monday, April 20, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum, right, attempts to steal the ball from New York Knicks guard Jose Alvarado (5) during the second half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series, Monday, April 20, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum, left, argues with New York Knicks guard Jose Alvarado (5) during the second half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series, Monday, April 20, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jordan Martinook beat Linus Ullmark from the slot at 13:53 of the second overtime to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2 on Monday night and take a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.
Martinook — who was stopped on a penalty shot in the first OT — kept the winning play alive by chasing down a loose rebound toward the boards to keep the possession in the offensive zone. Moments later, Nikolaj Ehlers found Martinook between the circles to beat Ullmark, who was partially shielded by Carolina captain Jordan Staal at the top of the crease.
That set off a mob celebration by the Hurricanes around Martinook in a corner of the ice, ending a game that saw them hang on despite blowing a 2-0 lead and having an apparent winner by Mark Jankowski waved off in the first overtime due to an offside call on review.
The Hurricanes still had a chance to win it after the overturned goal, only for Ullmark to stop Martinook on the NHL's first OT postseason penalty-shot attempt since 2020.
“I didn't feel very good about myself after that penalty shot, and that intermission felt really long," Martinook said. “That was cool. I'm happy it worked out that way. It didn't matter who scored, but it was going to be a long night if that penalty shot came back to bite me.”
The Eastern Conference's top seed managed to protect home-ice advantage — barely — as the series moves to Canada’s capital for Game 3 on Thursday.
“That’s the toughest thing: You have it won, a hard-fought game, and then to have it turned over," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "You’ve got to give the guys tons of credit, because our game didn’t change. We actually got better, I think, in the second overtime.”
Logan Stankoven and Sebastian Aho also scored for Carolina, while Frederik Andersen shook off giving up two second-period goals to finish with 37 saves and multiple key stops late.
Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens scored for Ottawa, while Ullmark finished with 43 saves and was terrific all night. He had multiple big stops in the second period, one when he extended his glove to knock down a hammered one-timer from Taylor Hall as the puck shifted cross-ice to his left side. Another came in the final seconds of regulation when he got his left shoulder on Staal's shot from the top of the crease.
“A hell of an effort,” Senators coach Travis Green said. “Playoffs are hard sometimes. Some of the games you lose, they sting. This one's going to sting.”
The Hurricanes appeared to have pushed through late in the first OT, with Jankowski skating in to pounce on a loose rebound and beat Ullmark on the left side with 2:42 left to send the home crowd into a frenzy. But officials reviewed the sequence and determined that Staal didn’t have possession and control of the puck as he entered the zone, coming as Martinook skated through the middle across the blue line for a 1-on-1 chance on Ullmark.
That sequence ultimately led to a hooking penalty on Warren Foegele, with Carolina scrambling an extra attacker and getting Jankowski’s offside-overturned score and then Martinook's penalty shot.
“Hockey’s crazy, sports are crazy,” Martinook said. “Being able to score after that, I’ll tell my grandkids about that one, that’s for sure.”
The Senators played without defenseman Artem Zub, who left Game 1 with an undisclosed injury. He had been considered a game-time decision.
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) has the shot of Carolina Hurricanes' Nikolaj Ehlers (27) go wide of the net with Senators' Jake Sanderson (85) nearby during the second period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
Carolina Hurricanes' Jordan Martinook, second from right, celebrates after his winning overtime goal with Sean Walker (26), Taylor Hall (71) and K'andre Miller (19) following the second overtime of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Ottawa Senators in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
Carolina Hurricanes' Jordan Staal (11) wins a face-off against Ottawa Senators' Claude Giroux (28) during the first period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
Ottawa Senators' Claude Giroux (28) battles for the puck with Carolina Hurricanes' Jalen Chatfield, right, and Jaccob Slavin (74) during the first period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) blocks a shot by Ottawa Senators' Fabian Zetterlund (20) with Senators' Brady Tkachuk (7) looking on during the first period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
Ottawa Senators' Fabian Zetterlund (20) collides with Carolina Hurricanes' Seth Jarvis (24) and Alexander Nikishin (21) the first period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
