Kuminga's Defense Sparks Hawks' Series Lead

The Atlanta Hawks just grabbed a 2-1 series lead over the New York Knicks with a tight 109-108 win in Game 3 on Thursday.

Jonathan Kominga has been the spark flipping this matchup, dropping double-digit points while locking down key scorers on defense over the last two.

Games. In Game 3, Kominga scored 21 points on 9-14 shooting and stuck to Carl Anthony Towns like glue, holding him scoreless in the body.

Final 7 minutes and 45 seconds.

Game 2 saw him with 19 points on 7-12 plus sharp defensive instincts that kept the Knicks off balance.

Coming over from the Warriors in that trade for Christophe Sporzingus, folks didn't rate Kominga's defense highly before, he fouled a lot and missed.

Rotations. But now undercoach Quinn Snyder, he's transformed, often denying Towns the ball entirely and forcing Brunson to carry a heavy load while heart and bridges shoot cold.

Kominga's smart shine and the little things, like shoving teammate Nickle Alexander Walker into position late in Game 2, straight out of Dremon, greens playbook, he even shouted out his old warrior for it.

Then in Game 3's clutch final seconds, he jumped the pass for the game's ceiling steal after rotating perfectly.

This two-way surge fits Kominga right into the Hawks' system, making you question if Golden State underused him during his four and a half years.

There, with the series heating up, his play could carry Atlanta all the way.

That's the story for today. California News Today, driven by AI, I'm Corey with The Story.