Inside the NBA obliterates Hawks amid Game 6 beatdown

The first-round series between the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks has already brought plenty of memorable moments, with the Hawks claiming two clutch victories to take the series lead at one point, 2-1. Over the past two games of the series, the Knicks have locked in and kept the Hawks at bay, taking two consecutive victories with a combined margin of 45 points.

But with the series shifting to the Hawks’ homecourt, there was still a chance for Atlanta to extend the series to seven games. However, after a woeful performance in the first half of Game 6 at State Farm Arena that saw them go down by 47 points at the halftime interval, 83-36, the Hawks’ season is basically over.

The Inside the NBA crew on ESPN made fun of the Hawks for such an embarrassing performance in a closeout game, and in front of their own fans, no less. Shaquille O’Neal was resuscitating a plush of Harry the Hawk, to no avail. Kenny “The Jet” Smith was waving a huge white flag. And Charles Barkley brought out his signature humor by joking that Atlanta still had a chance to come back from the dead.

“America, I’m just gonna be the voice of reason here. These dudes are being silly. The Hawks can come back,” Barkley said, eliciting laughter from the entire crew.

The Inside crew is already calling it pic.twitter.com/UMJMweW7n5

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 1, 2026

There truly is no coming back from a 47-point deficit — literally. In NBA history, the largest deficit that’s been overturned in a single game is 36 points, back in 1996, when the Utah Jazz came back to steal one from the Denver Nuggets.

In the playoffs, the largest comeback is from 31 points down, when the Los Angeles Clippers pulled off a grand larceny to win Game 2 of their first-round matchup against the Golden State Warriors.

The Hawks, by and large, have had a successful season. But they went out with a huge whimper, which is quite disappointing considering the fight they showed in this series against the Knicks.

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