The chemistry by the Knicks' top four showed as they dominated the 76ers in every fashion to win Game 1 in the semifinals.
The New York Knicks were ready for the Philadelphia 76ers, to say the least. Fueled by a massive performance by Jalen Brunson, who had a 35-point night, the Knicks routed the Sixers 137-98 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. It was historic at that, as New York became the first team in NBA history to win three straight playoff games by 25 or more points.
In fact, since trailing the Atlanta Hawks 2-1 in the first-round series, they’ve ridden a wave of momentum that’s seen them win four straight by a combined 135 points. While Philly had to take the Boston Celtics to Game 7, the Knicks were able to handle business in six against Atlanta and that rest seemed to pay off. They shot 63 percent and were leading by as many as 40 points on Monday night. As a team, they shot 51 percent from the three.
To read about what went right for New York and how they managed to dominate so effectively, here’s the full story from Knicks Roundtable writer Jack Haslett.
Brunson led the way, setting the tone in the first half with 27 points, putting the game nearly out of reach before the second half. OG Anunoby is on his best stretch in the postseason for the franchise, scoring 18 points efficiently in just eight shots. Meanwhile, Mikal Bridges, who was on a rough stretch heading into the postseason, hit three threes en route to 17 points. They were all executing at a high level, completely shocking the 76ers.
After a draining Game 7 against the Celtics, Philly had just 48 hours to rest, and it showed. When they were trailing by 30-plus, coach Nick Nurse went and pulled his starters midway through the third. Joel Embiid had an uncharacteristically poor night missing 11 of 14 shots, while Tyrese Maxey didn’t connect on a field goal until the second quarter.
To read about what happened in Philly and the biggest points they need to fix to turn around in Game 2, here’s the full story from 76ers Roundtable writer Anthony Pasciolla.
There was a bit of a chemistry imbalance, as the Knicks’ top four logged more than double the minutes together this season than the top four for Philly. But as dominant as the win was for New York, Brunson was quick to caution against getting too high on the result after the 76ers came back in similar fashion from a Game 1 loss against Boston. The Knicks have the edge, but the series has only just begun.