NEW YORK (AP) — It’s being hyped as the largest indoor event in New York since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with a crowd of 15,000 expected at Madison Square Garden. For a long time, like back when Tom Thibodeau was their assistant coach in the late 1990s, Knicks playoff games were a routine part of the city’s spring. Now, after seven silent seasons, Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night is shaping up as a Garden party. It’s the Knicks’ first playoff game since 2013. Atlanta is ending its own drought with its first appearance since 2017.
