Thursday belonged to the home teams — all three of them. McCollum did it again in Atlanta, hitting a fadeaway from 15 feet with 12.5 seconds left to give the Hawks a 2-1 series lead over the Knicks. Toronto erupted for 126 points and finally silenced the Cleveland postseason machine, with Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett combining for 66 points in the most complete Raptors performance of the series. And Minnesota crushed Denver at Target Center behind a 21-point bench eruption from Ayo Dosunmu and a dominant second and third quarter that sent the Nuggets to their worst loss of the series. The road teams are 0-for-Thursday. The lower seeds are doing the work.

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Atlanta Hawks 109, New York Knicks 108

Two games in Atlanta. Two CJ McCollum daggers. Two Knicks losses that felt like they were theirs to win. The Hawks led nearly the entire game Thursday, building an 18-point advantage in the first half before New York scraped back to take a 108-105 lead with just over a minute remaining on a Jalen Brunson three-point play. Then the Knicks missed a couple shots and turned it over before Jalen Johnson scored a putback layup, bringing the Hawks within one point. McCollum got the ball with 12.5 seconds left, isolated from 15 feet, and buried a step-back fadeaway over the outstretched hand of Brunson. Ball game.

Atlanta's attack was more balanced than it's been all series. Jalen Johnson was the engine — 24 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals — a complete two-way performance that had him in every important sequence. Jonathan Kuminga added 21 off the bench, attacking the paint repeatedly in the second half and keeping New York's defense occupied when McCollum was drawing attention. McCollum himself finished with 23 points, operating efficiently without the kind of heroic volume night he had in Game 2 — which made his clutch moment somehow even more credible. The Hawks also went on an 11-0 first-quarter run that put them firmly in control, capped by three consecutive threes from Mouhamed Gueye, Kuminga, and Kuminga again that had State Farm Arena in a frenzy before the first period was done.

New York had everything they needed to win. OG Anunoby delivered 29 points in one of his best offensive performances of the series. Brunson had 26 points and Towns added 21, giving the Knicks three players over 20 for the first time. But the Knicks' fourth-quarter collapse from Game 2 — when they went 5-of-22 — found a different form Thursday: they couldn't get stops when Atlanta needed them, they couldn't convert when the ball was in their hands in the final 90 seconds, and they had two costly turnovers in the final minute. Josh Hart missed a three that would have extended the lead. Then McCollum hit his.

Mike Brown's Knicks are now down 2-1 heading into Saturday's Game 4 in Atlanta. They need to win to avoid going down 3-1, a deficit from which very few teams recover.

Hawks lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Saturday in Atlanta.

ATL 109 · NYK 108

Toronto Raptors 126, Cleveland Cavaliers 104

The Cavaliers have won 12 consecutive playoff games against Toronto — a run that ties the NBA record for a postseason winning streak against one opponent. On Thursday night, the Raptors finally played like a team that had no intention of extending it. Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett erupted for 33 points apiece — Barrett setting a postseason career high with 6 threes — and Toronto dominated Cleveland wire to wire in their most complete game of the series.

Barnes was everything against a Cleveland defense that has held him in check for most of the first two games. He finished with 33 points and 11 assists, attacking the Cavaliers' switching actions off ball screens, creating in transition, and generating open looks for Barrett at every turn. Their synergy as a two-man game was the story of the night. Barrett's 33 points on 6-of-10 from three — many of them in the fourth quarter when he capped a 22-point period — gave Cleveland no margin for error in a game they were never quite in. Jamison Battle erupted for all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter, going 5-of-5 from the field with four threes that ended any remaining conversation about the final margin. Toronto shot 14-of-23 from three on the night — 60.9 percent.

Cleveland's night was defined by their own undoing. The Cavaliers committed 19 turnovers — continuing the pattern of self-inflicted damage that has cost them across their recent games — and those turnovers converted directly into Toronto transition points that the Raptors ran out to a 22-point lead before the fourth quarter was over. Donovan Mitchell was contained as he has rarely been this series, finishing below his two-game 31-point average. James Harden and Evan Mobley combined for quiet nights after their Game 2 brilliance. Immanuel Quickley remains out with the hamstring strain, and his absence continued to be a strain on the Raptors, but not enough to derail their night.

The Raptors pull the series to 2-1. Cleveland still leads, but the Cavaliers' turnovers are the most glaring unsolved problem of this first round, and Toronto's home crowd at Scotiabank Arena just showed exactly what they're capable of when they play without the weight of the deficit.

Cavaliers lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday in Toronto.

TOR 126 · CLE 104

Minnesota Timberwolves 113, Denver Nuggets 96

The Timberwolves took a 2-1 series lead with their most comprehensive performance of the series — leading by as many as 21 in the third quarter, holding Denver to one of their worst offensive performances of the playoffs, and getting dominant contributions from unexpected places. Ayo Dosunmu was the story: 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench, operating against Denver's rotations with a poise and efficiency that the Nuggets had no reliable counter for. He was the difference-maker in the second quarter and kept the lead from ever becoming precarious.

Anthony Edwards, who was listed as questionable due to right knee maintenance, played and contributed double figures as the nominal lead scorer. Julius Randle, after back-to-back strong games, was physical and decisive in the paint. But this was Minnesota's most collective performance — five players in double figures, bench depth overwhelming Denver's reserves, and Target Center at a volume that affected Denver's half-court execution all night. The Wolves pushed the pace relentlessly, running transition every time they had even a slight advantage, and Denver couldn't sustain the energy needed to match it for 48 minutes.

Nikola Jokić had 17 points and 12 rebounds on 5-of-20 shooting — his worst shooting performance of the playoffs by a significant margin. Aaron Gordon's calf tightness limited his availability, stripping Denver of one of their better defensive assignments against Edwards. Jamal Murray shot inefficiently and couldn't generate the creation needed to compensate for Jokić's off night. The Nuggets have now lost back-to-back games after winning Game 1, and they travel to Minnesota again for Game 4 on Saturday facing a real possibility of going down 3-1.

Timberwolves lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Saturday in Minnesota.

MIN 113 · DEN 96

Home courts ruled Thursday, and the picture that's emerging across the first round is one of lower seeds steadily gaining ground. Atlanta leads New York 2-1. Toronto pulled within one of Cleveland. Minnesota leads Denver 2-1. The teams that were supposed to win comfortably — Cleveland, New York, Denver — have each now dropped home-court games against opponents who won't stop competing.

The through-line of this first round isn't any single series. It's that the road to the second round is proving harder than the opening weekend suggested. The 16.875-point average margin of Game 1s is a distant memory. The first round now has more 2-1 leads than 2-0 leads. Clutch shots are deciding games. Coaching adjustments are mattering. Stars are having off nights. The format is working exactly as designed.

Game 4s in Atlanta and Minnesota on Saturday will either put two of the first round's most watchable series on the verge of upsets — or bring them back to even. Both are must-wins for the higher seeds.

Studs of the Day: Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett, Toronto Raptors — Sharing it this time, because 33 and 33 in the same playoff game demands it. Barnes orchestrated. Barrett finished. Toronto shot 14-of-23 from three. Cleveland's 12-game winning streak over the Raptors in the postseason survived Game 3 — but just barely, and only because the number says 2-1 rather than what the game itself said.

Dud of the Night: Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets — 17 points on 5-of-20 shooting. His worst shooting night of the playoffs in the most important game of the series so far. Jokić is still Jokić — the 12 rebounds and 3 assists didn't disappear — but Denver cannot absorb a Jokić off-night on the road in a must-win game. They didn't. Minnesota 2-1.