Jalen Brunson scored 33 points as the visiting New York Knicks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 108-94 on Friday to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference second-round playoff series.
Mikal Bridges notched 23 points and Landry Shamet chipped in with 15 on 5-of-6 shooting for New York, which played without OG Anunoby (hamstring) but still made plenty of winning plays down the stretch.
“Obviously with OG out, we were down a big wing,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “So, Mikal had to take that part over.”
The third-seeded Knicks will aim to sweep the best-of-seven series when the teams reconvene for Game 4 on Sunday in Philadelphia.
“All you can do is try to get the next one and just see what happens.” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “… If you can get one, it turns to 3-1 pretty quick and you don’t have to think about it being 3-0 anymore. But we’re really going to have to dig in, regroup, make some adjustments and do things better.”
Kelly Oubre Jr. paced the seventh-seeded Sixers with 22 points, while Tyrese Maxey added 17 on 8-of-12 shooting. Paul George provided 15 points in the first quarter but went scoreless the rest of the way.
The Sixers welcomed Joel Embiid back to the lineup after their standout center missed Game 3 with hip and ankle injuries. Embiid scored 18 points and blocked three shots but grabbed only six rebounds as Philadelphia got trounced 49-33 on the boards.
“I thought he (Embiid) gave us everything he could,” Nurse said. “He tried to give us everything he could tonight – and that’s all he could do.”
New York led by 11 early in the fourth quarter before Quentin Grimes made a pair of 3-pointers to bring Philadelphia within 88-84.
However, the Knicks’ trio of Villanova alums each scored a basket to halt the momentum. Josh Hart converted a layup, Bridges sank a jumper and Brunson buried a 3-pointer to make it 95-86. Brunson added two more buckets before Bridges’ transition layup extended the margin to 105-89 with 3:46 left.
“That’s what great players do,” Brown said of Brunson. “They keep you poised. They make the game easier for everybody else. And they help you get through the stretch.”
George shot 6 of 9 in the opening quarter to help the Sixers lead 31-27 after 12 minutes.
The second quarter was a different story, as New York outscored Philadelphia 33-21. Brunson and Bridges each scored 10 points for the visitors, who shot 57.1% in the period and led 60-52 at the break.
After trailing by 11 early in the third quarter, Philadelphia chipped away and got within 78-76 on Embiid’s bucket with 2:28 left in the period. However, New York dominated the rest of the quarter to create some breathing room.
Mitchell Robinson, a poor foul shooter whom the Sixers fouled intentionally several times in the third quarter, made 2 of 2 from the line. Brunson followed with a pair of free throws and Shamet drained a 3-pointer to send New York into the fourth with an 85-76 lead.
–Field Level Media
