National Basketball Association

Trae Young's floater gives Atlanta Hawks a Game 1 win over the Knicks

Updated May. 24, 2021 12:59 a.m. ET

The energy in Madison Square Garden was on full blast for 47 minutes, 59 seconds on Sunday.

But Trae Young made sure to suck all of that energy out of Manhattan with a game-winning floater to put the Atlanta Hawks on the board with a 107-105 victory over the New York Knicks.

Here's how the Hawks secured a Game 1 victory in a hostile environment.

Key performer: Trae Young

This was Young's first career playoff game, but you wouldn't have known that from his performance.

Young scored 32 points and dished out 10 assists in his playoff debut, announcing his arrival on the main stage and showing that he is not merely an All-Star but a potential superstar as well.

While sharing the court with Knicks point guard Derrick Rose, Young put himself in the same conversation as the likely future Hall of Famer with a dominant performance.

He made sure to let the Garden know how he felt in his postgame interview.

Turning point: The fourth quarter

The Hawks entered the fourth quarter down two points, facing not just the Knicks, who had all the momentum, but also a charged-up Madison Square Garden crowd.

That proved to be no problem for Atlanta or Young, who rose to the occasion in a major way.

The Hawks outscored the Knicks 36-32 in the final frame, with Young recording 13 of his 32 points in the period.

Six of the Hawks' 10 players made their playoff debuts Sunday, with four of those players starting. Down the stretch, they proved this stage wasn't too big for them, as they stole home-court advantage in Game 1.

Wild card: Bogdan Bogdanovic

Young will get the majority of the headlines — rightfully so — but the Hawks do not win this game without Bogdanovic.

The 28-year-old shooting guard, who also made his playoff debut against the Knicks, made his presence felt with 18 points, including a nine-point fourth quarter in which he made three 3-pointers.

Bogdanovic came into his first NBA playoff game with plenty of big-game reps from his time in the Euroleague. His sneaky level of experience in big moments paid major dividends for a young Hawks team in the most crucial moments of Game 1.

Twitter's take:

Did you know?

This was just the Hawks' second playoff win against the Knicks. Coming into Sunday, they were 1-8 all time in postseason games vs. New York. The Hawks faced the Knicks in the 1971 Eastern Conference semifinals and the 1999 Eastern Conference semifinals.

What's next?

Game 2 will be at 7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, with the Knicks looking to avoid dropping both of the first two games at home in this series.

For more up-to-date news on all things NBA, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!