BBNBA Playoffs: Towns' monster double-double not enough to beat Hawks

We’ve moved on to Game 3 of the first round of the NBA playoffs, where the series shift to the lower seed’s home court. On Thursday, all three lower seeds defended their own arenas, automatically making things a little spicy. Despite not having Immanuel Quickley, who is still out with a hamstring injury, the 5-seed Raptors blew out the 4-seed Cavaliers up north in Toronto. Cleveland is still up 2-1 in the series, but the Raptors aren’t going anywhere. As for games BBNBA actually played in:

Karl-Anthony Towns and the Knicks come up short in Atlanta

I (along with most people) assumed the 3-seed Knicks would squash the 6-seed Hawks, who seem to be in a bit of a reset mode after trading away Trae Young. However, after three games, Atlanta finds themselves up 2-1. On Thursday night, the Knicks coughed up a late three-point lead to the Hawks, who won 109-108. New York had the ball with 12 seconds to go and a chance to win it, but they couldn’t even get a shot up, and the Hawks prevailed.

Karl-Anthony Towns put up a monster double-double, posting 21 points and 17 rebounds in the loss. Even though Towns posted a remarkable +22 while he was on the court, the Knicks still managed to lose by a point. Instead, it was CJ McCollum for the Hawks who was the hero for Atlanta, hitting the ultimate game-winner in the closing seconds.

Timberwolves blow out Nuggets despite a modest game from Randle

The Knicks and the Hawks may have had a close game, but they were the exception on the night. The 6-seed Timberwolves took care of business and then some against the 3-seed Nuggets, coasting to a 113-96 victory. Julius Randle had a modest 15 points and six rebounds in the win, as the Wolves spread the scoring across the team, with five different players scoring at least 15 points.

Meanwhile, it was an off shooting night for Jamal Murray, who finished just 5-17 from the field and 0-5 from deep. He still finished with 16 points, but his struggles were emblematic of the Nuggets’ overall performance. He’ll look to rebound (literally and figuratively) in Game 4, down 2-1 in the series.

4/23/2026 Statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	P/M	MIN
Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK)	108-109 L vs ATL	21	7-12 (1-3)	17	4	2	2	3	+22	34
Jamal Murray (DEN)	96-113 L vs. MIN	16	5-17 (0-5)	3	4	0	0	1	-12	35
Julius Randle (MIN)	113-96 W vs. DEN	15	6-15 (0-3)	6	4	0	1	0	+8	33
Immanuel Quickley (TOR)	126-104 W vs. CLE	DNP – Hamstring

Tonight in the BBNBA Playoffs

TIME/TV	MATCHUP	SERIES
7:00 p.m. ET | Prime Video	(2) Celtics @ (7) 76ers (Maxey)	East Round 1: Series tied 1-1
8:00 p.m. ET | Prime Video	(4) Lakers (Vanderbilt) @ (5) Rockets (Sheppard)	West Round 1: LAL leads 2-0
9:30 p.m. ET | Prime Video	(2) Spurs (Fox, Johnson) @ (7) Trail Blazers (Sharpe)	West Round 1: Series tied 1-1