The Atlanta Hawks were not going down without a fight at State Farm Arena. But their fight occurred when the New York Knicks had already established a 50-point lead before the first half. This series already has been physical, but tonight in Game 6, it reached a new high as players, referees, and even the Knicks’ head coach fell to the ground while separating Dyson Daniels and Mitchell Robinson.

With 4:39 remaining in the first half and New York’s OG Annunoby at the line, Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels and New York’s Mitchell Robinson tangled up. Replays showed Daniels making contact near Robinson’s rib cage, and the Knicks star responded with a high elbow. Within seconds, players from both teams rushed into the altercation. NBA referee Kevin Scott inadvertently took the fall and was nearly trampled as stopping the two players became a huge headache. Apart from the official, even Mike Brown, in his attempts to hold back Robinson, tumbled on the ground, and even Annunoby lost his footing.

Robinson was pulled away several times, but he kept going back. The chaotic scene drew an audible reaction from the crowd before order was eventually restored. Call it fate or genius marketing, the advertisement board during the scuffle showed the WWE PPV ‘Backlash’ ad, which will air on ESPN Saturday, May 9. And the way Mitchell Robinson and Daniels were going at each other, they probably needed the squared circle to finish their fight. Robinson picked up a technical in Game 2 for stepping over Daniels. Focusing on Game 6, this is what the refs assessed after watching the replay.

“We have a loose ball foul on Mitchell Robinson after the missed free throw. Following that, we have an altercation that does not dissolve. We will take a look and find out if there’s any penalties that need to be assessed.” A $2,000 fine is imposed for violations in the NBA, particularly certain technical fouls and improper conduct. But the fine could be higher because their brawl continued for some time and even got dragged courtside. Both Robinson and Daniels were ejected. Fortunately for Robinson, Brown and Rick Brunson were constantly yelling at him and were in his face to stop him from throwing the punch.

The Knicks star walked off the floor to a huge ovation from the fans near the NYK tunnel. After the fight, the Knicks kept their foot on the gas and scored 83 points by the halfway mark and held the Hawks to just 36 points. That is the largest half-time margin in a playoff game in NBA history.

The Hawks had the momentum for a while before the Knicks took over

The Knicks in this series have lost two games by a combined two points. Meanwhile, they have dominated, and in their three wins before, they established a 59-point combined margin. So, they knew they were the better, and it showed tonight. The Hawks led 11-9 in the opening minutes before the Knicks went on a devastating run, outscoring Atlanta by 53 points over the next 18 minutes.

In the first half alone, the veteran playmaker was on absolute fire, scoring 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting. Even Mikal Bridges, who has struggled in the series, had his best production thus far with 16 points. Everyone was hot in Game 6, and that’s why New York soared to the largest halftime margin in a playoff game in NBA history. ESPN reported that the previous record for an NBA playoffs halftime lead was 41 points, set by the 2025 Indiana Pacers and 2017 Cleveland Cavaliers.

But the Knicks on Thursday had the 41-point lead at the 7:12 mark of the second quarter, the fastest any team has taken a 40-point lead in the play-by-play era. Now, the only chink in the armor for New York would be the result of Robinson’s ejection. We have already seen Nikola Jokic and Julius Randle fined $50,000 and $35,000, respectively, for their altercation in Game 4 of the Nuggets-Timberwolves series. Fortunately, none of them were suspended, and Robinson hopes the same.