The New York Knicks will look to build on a dominant first-quarter performance in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks as they prepare for Game 5 on Tuesday in New York.

After suffering two consecutive one-point losses, the Knicks bounced back with a strong start in Game 4, taking a seven-point lead at the end of the first quarter. They extended their advantage to 14 points by halftime and pushed their lead to as much as 24 before closing out a 114-98 win on Saturday. The best-of-seven series is now tied at two games apiece.

"We can't be satisfied with this performance," said Josh Hart, after helping his team regain home-court advantage. "You can't go into Game 5 thinking we had a great game, and they're just going to lay down, because they're not. They're going to come out with a sense of urgency, a sense of physicality that they probably haven't shown yet. We've got to be ready to weather that storm and have our own physicality."

Hawks head coach Quin Snyder credited New York’s defensive intensity, particularly the play of Hart, for disrupting his team’s rhythm early in the game.

"More than anything, the start of the game, their physicality bothered us," Snyder said.

In addition to Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby made significant contributions, each playing a key role in the Knicks’ victory. Towns recorded his first postseason triple-double, finishing with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. He became just the fourth player in franchise history to achieve a triple-double in a playoff game, joining Hall of Famers Walt Frazier and Dick McGuire, as well as Hart.

"I thought we did a great job coming out with more tenacity. More desperation, I think, is the proper word," Towns said.

Anunoby also had a standout performance, scoring 22 points while shooting 9 of 16 from the field for the second consecutive game. He also grabbed 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, Jalen Brunson continued his strong play, adding 19 points as part of the Knicks' solid effort since the fourth quarter of Game 3.

"The way we've been able to play on both sides of the ball these past five quarters is how we’ve got to play," Brunson said.

New York capitalized on Atlanta’s mistakes, scoring 21 points off 19 turnovers in Game 4. Hawks guard CJ McCollum, who had averaged 27.0 points in the first three games of the series, was held to just 17 points.

"They played better than us. They played harder than us," McCollum admitted. "We would have liked to go up 3-1, but if you would have told us we'd be 2-2 going back to the Garden, life's not so bad."

Jalen Johnson, who averaged 21.3 points in the first three games, struggled in Game 4, finishing with just 14 points on 4 of 12 shooting. As a team, the Hawks shot just 41.0% from the field and a dismal 24.4% from beyond the arc.

Atlanta, known for their fastbreak offense, was unable to get out in transition until the fourth quarter of Game 4.

"There's no transition when you're turning the ball over and bringing it up out of the net," Snyder said.

The series now heads to New York, where both teams will look to assert control in what has become a highly competitive matchup. -Field Level Media/Reuters