Tonight at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks hosted the 76ers in Game One of their semifinal series. New York had benefited from extra rest by routing Atlanta on Friday, while Philly took the Celtics to seven games before closing their series on Saturday. The visitors played like they had just fought a long battle as the Knicks won the first quarter by eight and clobbered them in the second quarter for a 23-point halftime lead. With New York scoring at will, their advantage reached 34 in the third
quarter, and their reserves pushed the lead to 40 in the final frame. Final score: 137-98.
Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 35 points on 12-of-18 shooting (3-of-6 from three, 8-of-8 FT) in 31 minutes, chipping in three dimes and two steals with just one turnover. It was his most dominant performance of this postseason. As for the other starters, OG Anunoby scored 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting, plus a steal and a block. Karl-Anthony Towns put up 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-5 from deep, while contributing six rebounds, six assists, and two blocks in just 20 minutes. Josh Hart tallied eight points and rebounds, plus six assists in 26 minutes, while Mikal Bridges scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting (3-of-5 from three) in 27 minutes. Easily Bridges’ best game of the Playoffs, and he seemed to exorcise the ghosts of a rocky Atlanta series.
For Philly, Paul George led the way with 17 points. Joel Embiid scored 14 points and grabbed four rebounds in 25 minutes. Tyrese Maxey managed 13 points on 3-of-9 shooting in 27 minutes in Knicks jail.
Opening night jitters? Maybe. Game One began with a botched jump ball, a narrowly avoided shot clock violation by Philly, and an OG Anunoby foul while fighting through an Embiid screen. No one got into rhythm until Josh Hart picked off Maxey and hit Mikal Bridges for a dunk. Then Towns drilled a triple in Embiid’s grill to take a 7-2 lead.
Two misses and a turnover allowed the guests to creep ahead. Towns picked up his second foul (on Embiid) before the six-minute mark. That brought in Mitchell Robinson, whom Embiid baited into a foul, too. The fouls were piling up, and the teams kept trading baskets, with 10 lead changes in the period. Later in the quarter, Brunson and McBride hit back-to-back triples to restore their lead. After a Nick Nurse timeout, Paul George missed from close range, and Nurse had Justin Edwards hack-a-Mitch. After Grimes bricked, Edwards hacked again. Our favorite Cajun missed all four attempts. You can’t knock the strategy; Brown’s hands were tied with Towns in foul trouble, and Mitch’s misses made for two empty possessions.
Hukporti, who logged just 19 minutes in Round One, trotted onto the court at the 2:30 mark. Continuing the theme, Huk fouled Embiid, who attempted (and made) six freebies in the first frame. Aside from free throws, nothing much was going right for Philly, though. After another bad pass by Maxey, OG sank two freebies, and Deuce added a bucket to secure a 33-25 lead at the break.
Brunson had 14 points in the first quarter, while New York’s defense had made life miserable for Tyrese Maxey. He didn’t score his first basket until midway through the second quarter. Philly’s lead guard made a handful from the charity stripe, though, and New York was entering a worrisome foul situation. Mitch committed his third after playing just eight minutes, while Towns and Anunoby had two apiece with almost seven minutes remaining in the half.
The Knicks scored on all levels, with Towns and Anunoby cooking alongside Brunson, and Hart and Bridges chipping in with relative ease. Our heroes went up by 18 with 3:30 to go, while the visitors missed a number of one-and-dones. Brunson scored the last 11 points for New York and hit a Hail Mary trey with the clock expiring to put New York up 74-51 at intermission.
Through the half, the Knicks had shot 66% overall and 50% from downtown, dished 16 assists, turned the ball over just four times, and doubled Philly’s points in the paint (32-16). The only thing keeping the game from being a total blowout so far was Philadelphia’s perfect 14-for-14 from the line. Brunson led all scorers with 27, the most he’d scored in a half this season, doing so on 10-of-14 shooting. For Philly, Maxey had 13 points on 3-of-8 shooting, while Embiid had 12 on 3-of-10.
To start the third quarter, Brunson picked Oubre’s pocket, and Hart cashed in the fast break for a 25-point lead. Thanks to New York’s smothering defense, Philly continued to be plagued by turnovers. Embiid threw the ball directly to Brunson, resulting in an Anunoby dunk at the other end. Then Maxey coughed up the ball, and Anunoby swished from deep. With about nine minutes on the clock, the differential was 27 points, and Nurse was apoplectic.
Desperate for answers, Philly tried going zone. The Knicks kept scoring. Towns walked in a layup and then hit from deep to give our heroes a 30-point lead with seven minutes left in the frame. Soon after, Bridges drilled from downtown, making it 31. From there, Philly went on a 9-3 run but continued to look lost in the sauce. Nurse gave some extra burn to his reserves (Drummond, Grimes, Barlow, Bona), letting his stars rest in what seemed like a hopeless cause. The hosts closed out the period strong, taking a 109-78 lead into the final frame.
Tyler Kolek and Pacome Dadiet made unusually early appearances in the fourth quarter. The train kept rolling, with Kolek cashing multiple buckets from deep and Dadiet dunking. Mohamed Diawara got in on the action, too, as our heroes pushed the lead to 40. When the cutting was done, New York had won 137-98—meaning that they’d scored 277 points over the last two games. Unbelievable.
Up Next
Miranda’s coming in hot with a recap. Game Two will be played on Wednesday. Rest up, Knickerbockers.
