Spurred by Deuce’s early 3s, Knicks return to East Finals
PHILADELPHIA—Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and the New York Knicks are back in the Eastern Conference finals, tying the NBA postseason record with 25 three-pointers in front of a raucous crowd rooting for the road team and rolling past the Philadelphia 76ers, 144-114, on Sunday to sweep the second-round series.
Deuce McBride started in place of the injured OG Anunoby and hit seven three-pointers, going 4 for 4 in the first quarter when the Knicks had another record with 11 and scored 25 points. Brunson had 22 points and Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns each scored 17 in the Knicks’ latest lopsided playoff victory.
The Knicks’ 19.4 point-per-game margin of victory is the largest through two rounds since the playoffs went to 16 teams in 1984.
“It’s just us being very locked in to the moment,” Towns said.
The Knicks advanced to the East finals for the second straight season and will play the winner of the Cleveland-Detroit series. The Pistons lead 2-1.
Last season, the Knicks reached the conference finals for the first time in 25 years before losing to Indiana. The Knicks then fired coach Tom Thibodeau and replaced him with Mike Brown, who has guided them to seven straight playoff wins, starting with the last three games against Atlanta.
“Our guys tried to take it to another level with their focus on the details and their energy and effort level,” Brown said. “That’s a lot of the reason why we’re playing pretty good basketball.”
Knicks fans made a habit of scooping up tickets by the thousands at the Sixers’ arena for playoff games over the years and in Game 4, they may have made the loudest statement yet. They raised brooms outside the arena and waved “Always Knicks” towels once inside, all while noisily neutering the few Sixers fans that didn’t make a few extra bucks on the secondary market and stuck around.
The 76ers’ franchise failed to stop Knicks fans from buying tickets.
A laugher
The 76ers were greater failures in trying to stop the Knicks on the floor.
Game 4 was a laugher from the tip, with the Knicks using the three-point arc as a starting point for their personal pop-a-shot game.
With Knicks fans on their feet and exclaiming “Deuuuce,” McBride hit four three-pointers in succession for a 20-6 lead and the Sixers were already on their heels. McBride became the first Knick (since play-by-play tracking began in 1997) to hit four triples in the first quarter of a playoff game.
New York’s three-point records were just heating up.
Brunson added two in the period (six total) to help make the Knicks 11 of 13, which tied the NBA mark for most makes in a quarter.
******
Get real-time news updates: inqnews.net/inqviber
