Brunson Torches Philly With 35 Points
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Andrew Rosario
Bridges Peaking At The Right Time
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
The New York Knicks showed the Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers that what they did to the Atlanta Hawks in game 6 of the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs was no fluke. The Knicks set a franchise record when they outscored Atlanta 140-89 to close out the series in 6 games. They sailed to an 83-36 halftime lead, the largest in NBA postseason history going on a 67-14 run as center Karl-Anthony Towns recorded another post-season triple double. Teammate OG Anunoby led the team with 29 points while Mikal Bridges added 24.
Knicks Hold Maxey To 13 Points
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
So, the question was whether or not New York could continue that momentum when they faced a Sixers team who were riding high after taking out the Boston Celtics after trailing3 games to 1in their first round series. Philly stunned the Celtics winning game 7 on the road. It was the first time in Celtics history they lost a series after holding a 3-1 lead and thefirst time the Sixer beat Boston in the playoffs since 1982. It set up another playoff series against the Knicks this past Tuesday night in game 1 at Madison Square Garden.
Embiid Misses 8 of 11 Shots
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It was no contest as the Knicks dominated Philadelphia from the start coming away with a landslide 13-98 win. I doing so, New York came away with the largest home playoff win in franchise history. It was their 4th straight playoff win and gave the Sixers their 2nd largest playoff loss in franchise history. There is something about Philadelphia that brings out the best in Knicks guard Jalen Brunson. In exploding for a game high 35 points, Brunson scored 27 first half point that enabled the Knicks to take a 71-54 half time need as the team never looked back. What’s more amazing is that in his previous 4 playoff games, Brunson has scored 41, 40, 47 and 39 points. Said head coach Mike Brown of Brunson’s start, “our guys did a good job of setting screens for them and Jalen’s pace and his change of speed, all that stuff with the basketball was really good. They like to play in a drop and he was able to come off and get a couple of pocket 3’s because we had good screens and when he did that, he made them come up the floor a little bit and he was able to get by them.”
Aside from Brunson, New York had balance scoring as 4 of the 5 starters finished in double figures. OG Anunoby finished with 18 points, Karl-Anthony Towns 17 and the much recently maligned Mikal Bridges added 17. Said Brunson of Bridges’ performance, “it very important. He’s a huge factor for us. He’s been playing great. ” The defense kept the Sixers big three in check. Paul George led Philly with 17, Joel Embiid scored 14 and Tyrese Maxey was held to 13 points.
As a team, Philadelphia shot 41% from the floor connecting on only 11 of 30 3-pointers 37%. The Sixers manage to get to the free throw line 34 times, connecting on 27 attempts. New York meanwhile shot 63% from the floor connecting on 19 of 37 3-pointers 51%. “It’s a lot of fun when you have concepts on either end of the floor and the guys are trying to embrace those concepts at the highest level and when they do it doesn’t really matter what you call or who you initiates the action because guys are trying to play the right way and these guys are pros, and you’ll beat any team out on the floor if they’re trying to embrace what you’re throwing out there and you’re sacrificing and believing and they’re connecting and all that other stuff.
It could be a lot of fun to watch,” concluded Brown. Brunson’s damage was complete as he only scored 8 points in the second half. None of the starters played in the 4th quarter for the second straight game. The bench chipped 42 points as Miles McBride and Pacome Dadiet leading with 8 points each. Said Brunson of why the team is peaking at the right time, “our focus has been better. Our attention to detail has been better.” Towns said execution was a big part of the win. “We’re doing a good job of executing what we want to do,” he began. “We have a better understanding of the new system. We’re doing a great job of cutting and bringing energy into our cuts.”When the Knicks played game 2 Wednesday night, they were hoping to make sure they would not repeat their game 2 embarrassment against Atlanta in which they blew a 12-point fourth quarter lead at home. This Philadelphia team has more veterans than the Hawks and they would be looking to take the series back home tied at 1 with games 3 and 4 played on their floor. Meanwhile, the Knicks are looking to win their 5th straight playoff game.
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