The New York Knicks faced a crucial Game 5 the other night with history not on their side. Since 2021, New York was 0-3 in Game 5's at home in the first round. They had lost each of their last five at Madison Square Garden and hadn't won a pivotal game five at home since the 2000 Semifinals against Miami. The Knicks won convincingly 126-97. They’ve outscored Atlanta by 45 points during the last two games after coughing away Games 2 and 3, marking the first time in franchise history that they’ve won consecutive playoff games by more than 15 points. Teams that have won the fifth game in a series tied 2-2 have gone on to win the series 82.8% of the time. Meanwhile, history has also not been on the side of teams needing at least six games in the opening round. No team in the last 12 seasons has gone onto to win the championship if their first round series lasted more than five games. The last team to do it was the 2014 Spurs, who defeated Dallas in seven contests.…