Josh Hart’s shot had clanked off the rim – a rarity for the Knicks on Monday. But Mikal Bridges corralled the rebound and kicked it out to Jalen Brunson.
And Brunson drilled it, with hardly any time left on the clock. Of course he did. Did anyone expect otherwise? For pretty much the entirety of the first half, he was doing anything he wanted against the 76ers defense.
The shot gave the Knicks a 23-point lead heading into halftime. It brought Brunson to a whopping 27 points in that first half, including the Knicks’ last 11 heading into the break.
It got the fans inside Madison Square Garden to their feet and to full voice. MSG was rocking – in that special way it does this time of year and at a level that felt much more intense than at any point in the first round.
The Knicks were shooting a hair under 66 percent from the field. They were suffocating the 76ers on the other end.
They were making it look easy.
It didn’t take long for that lead to grow to 31 in the first few minutes of the second half. The 76ers tried to go to a zone. It laughably failed.
The 76ers had no counterpunch or fight. It was party time at MSG, and the Knicks refused to let it be spoiled. They cruised the rest of the way, obliterating the 76ers 137-98 Monday night to take an emphatic 1-0 series lead.
Want to know just how good it was going? Bridges received a standing ovation when he checked out near the end of the third quarter. It was just a few games ago he was getting repeatedly benched and getting massive heat from fans.
Now, though, the Knicks are the hottest team in the NBA. Their first-round surge showed no signs of slowing up.
Over the last four games – the final three games of the first round and Game 1 on Monday – the Knicks have outscored opponents by a combined 135 points. They became the first-ever team in the play-by-play era to lead by 30-plus points in three straight playoff games. They were one-point shy of being the first-ever to win back-to-back playoff games by 40-plus.
Just one team had ever ended a series by 30-plus points then opened a series by 30-plus points – the 1986 Celtics.
Now, it’s two.
The Knicks ended shooting at 63.1 percent from the field and 51.4 percent from 3-point range. Both teams emptied their benches for the entirety of the fourth quarter. It was the second straight game no Knicks starters played a single minute in the fourth quarter. Fans chanted for Tyler Kolek, like they did during regular season routs.
The Knicks tormented Joel Embiid in pick-and-rolls, which allowed Brunson to get to any spot he wanted. He finished with a game-high 35 points – on stellar 12-for-18 shooting from the field and 3-for-6 shooting from 3-point range – along with three assists and just one turnover. VJ Edgecombe primarily guarded him, but he was often made useless by the endless screens.
Brunson’s supporting cast followed his lead in the second quarter, and that’s where the Knicks took off. Karl-Anthony Towns and Bridges scored seven in the quarter while OG Anunoby added six. Before that, Anunoby scored seven of the Knicks’ final nine points of the first quarter and the Knicks took an eight-point lead into the second quarter.
Anunoby’s excellent postseason keeps getting better. He finished with 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the field while also drilling both threes he took. Bridges and Towns finished with 17 apiece. Hart was characteristically everywhere with eight points, eight rebounds and six assists. Miles McBride provided a nice punch off the bench.
Foul trouble was perhaps the only area of concern for the Knicks. Embiid drew a handful on Towns and Mitchell Robinson, forcing Ariel Hukporti to see some rare minutes.
But Embiid was a flailing, nightmarish mess otherwise, recording 14 points on 3-for-11 shooting from the field. Bridges did a terrific job on Tyrese Maxey, who had just 13 points on 3-for-9 shooting from the field.
He didn’t hit a field goal until midway through the second quarter, when the Knicks were padding their lead. It was his lowest point total since Jan. 26. Paul George was a footnote. It was an all-around bludgeoning.
Perhaps the 76ers didn’t have enough time to reset after an emotionally draining seven-game first round.
Or, perhaps, as has been the case for multiple games in a row, this is who the Knicks are.
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