Mike Brown’s silver linings from Game 3 loss to Hawks will fall on deaf Knicks fan ears

The 2025-26 season was supposed to be the New York Knicks’ time to shine. Both their biggest competitors for Eastern Conference supremacy seemed to be headed for down years, and the Knicks had all the opportunity in the world to perhaps finally get over the hump. But they have been having trouble in their first-round matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, falling down 2-1 in the series after suffering another heartbreaking one-point defeat on Thursday, 109-108.

The Knicks had already been coming off a crushing loss at home on Monday, with the Hawks coming back from 12 down entering the fourth quarter to steal one at Madison Square Garden. This latest defeat, which came as a result of another CJ McCollum dagger, has got to be devastating, especially when they themselves came back from a double-digit deficit, only to fall short in the end.

Now, it’s still too early in the series to say that the Knicks are cooked. But with the fanbase in a state of both shock and panic, head coach Mike Brown’s silver linings are not going to land whatsoever.

“I liked the fight our guys showed, I liked the resiliency that our guys showed. We know we didn’t play our best basketball, that’s not taking anything away from the Hawks. We gave ourselves a chance down the stretch,” Brown said in his postgame presser, via SNY’s Knicks Videos on X (formerly Twitter).

"I liked the fight our guys showed, I liked the resiliency that our guys showed… we know we didn't play our best basketball, that's not taking anything away from the Hawks.. we gave ourselves a chance down the stretch"

Mike Browns' opening statement after the Knicks' loss: pic.twitter.com/ldecCIlfyB

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 24, 2026

At this point, Knicks fans want results from their team, not moral victories. Winning a title is the team’s goal, so falling short of that in the first round may cause a total overhaul, both on the coaching and roster levels.

Nonetheless, other title-winning teams have struggled in the first round in the past. All the Knicks can do is get it together and take it one game at a time, starting with Game 4 against the Hawks on Saturday at 6:00 AM E.T.

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