After finishing with a record of 50-32 this NBA season and securing the 2nd seed, the Knicks were set to play the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs. Fans were pretty split on who to pick to win this round of the playoffs, while most people were favoring with the Knicks to win, there were also some very loyal 76ers fans who thought otherwise.
While these teams are equal on paper, you have to put into account the injuries in this series. The Knicks were and still are going to be without Julius Randle for the rest of the playoffs after suffering an injury during the regular season, and the star center for the 76ers Joel Embiid revealed that he is suffering from Bell’s Palsy, a form of face paralysis which has been affecting his eyesight and giving him severe migraines.
Even though fans knew that the 76ers’ best player wasn’t going to be at his best, they were still favored to win the series, which I found absurd.
The New York Knicks are such a special team on paper and they have proven that they can beat good teams by getting the 2nd seed in the East. Even without Randle this team is scary which says a lot about their depth.
Superstar Jalen Brunson and key players like Josh Hart and Donte Divincenzo were huge players in this series, with Brunson doing the best and becoming the 4th player ever to score 40+ points in 4 consecutive playoff games, this guy is a machine.
The Knicks beat the 76ers in game 1 with a score of 111-104, Brunson and Hart both scored 22, and I guarantee that if Hart did not play as well as he did, then this game and maybe even the series would look a lot different.
76ers point guard Tyrese Maxey took control of this team this series due to the partially injured Joel Embiid not able to play as well as he usually does, he dropped 33 points in game 1.
Game 2 also went to the Knicks with a score of 104-101. Embiid and Harris both fought hard with 34 and 35 points in that order, but the Knicks outscored them. The Villanova trio Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson, and Donte Divincenso dropped 21 points, 24 points, and 19 points, in that order. These three took control of this game which is why the Knicks came out on top.
Game 3 went to the 76ers with a score of 125-114. Embiid dropped 50 points, the most points by a single player in this series. The Knicks fought hard with Brunson dropping 39 and Hart dropping 20. But when it’s all said and done, Embiid and the 76ers outplayed the Knicks in this game.
In Game 4 the Knicks took a 3-1 series lead with a 97-92 win over Philly. Brunson led the scoring with a monstrous 47 points scored, with Miles McBride coming off the bench dropping 15 and OG Anunoby dropping 16 points with 14 rebounds. Philly kept it close with Embiid and Maxey leading scoring with 27 and 23 points in that order, but New York came out on top.
Game 5 was an elimination game for Philly, they needed to win here or they would be sent home. They pulled it off.
The 76ers won this game 112-106 with the help of Tyrese Maxey having one of the best games I’ve seen in a while. He was hitting threes from everywhere while being heavily guarded. The Knicks had the lead for a while with Brunson dropping 40 points once again, and Josh Hart and OG Anunoby having amazing offensive and defensive games as well. But when it came to overtime, Philly was dead set on winning and never looked back.
In Game 6 the Knicks were in a must win situation, if they let Philly win and force a game 7, then Philly would have a pretty good chance of winning. Luckily that didn’t happen.
The New York Knicks won this game 118-115, Brunson dropped his 3rd 40+ point game in a row which helped lead the Knicks to victory. Everybody contributed to this win, which is a great sign for the future of this team.
Now the Knicks are set to face the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks have a very good chance of winning this series, but Indiana is tough, it will be a competitive series.
