PHILADELPHIA (AP) — New York supporters brandished brooms outside the Philadelphia venue and created a thunderous atmosphere inside. Thousands of Knicks faithful flooded the arena and celebrated their team’s commanding playoff performance with repeated chants of “Knicks in four! Knicks in four!” during the final moments of another dominant victory.
Beyond that significant number of four games, the Knicks achieved something even more impressive: capturing playoff victories by an average margin of nearly 20 points per contest.
Led by Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, along with contributions from Deuce McBride and Landry Shamet, New York has continued their postseason dominance into the Eastern Conference finals for consecutive seasons.
Philadelphia proved to be merely a minor obstacle as the Knicks completed their series sweep and extended their overall playoff winning streak to seven games under head coach Mike Brown.
The lone concern following New York’s commanding 144-114 victory on Sunday may be the anticipated extended break before facing either Cleveland or Detroit in the conference finals. Detroit currently holds a 2-1 series advantage over Cleveland, with Game 4 scheduled for Monday.
“Yeah, you like the rhythm that you’re in,” Brown said. “But if we expect to be who we’re capable of being, we’ll find a way to stay consistent with what we’re doing, whether it’s the energy level, the effort level, or embracing-slash-focusing on the details that we have to be able to understand in order to get a win.”
New York completely grasped their mission and prevented Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and a confident Philadelphia squad—fresh off their remarkable comeback from a 3-1 series deficit against Boston in the opening round—from mounting any meaningful challenge for another stunning upset.
Regarding the upcoming break, New York could benefit from additional recovery time, particularly for injured forward OG Anunoby. Anunoby sat out Games 3 and 4 due to a strained right hamstring and his status remains uncertain daily. The 6-foot-7 defender, considered New York’s premier defensive player, has averaged 21.4 points during the postseason.
Such exceptional offensive output proves difficult to compensate for, and during an extended playoff run—which New York anticipates being part of this season—it could become problematic if Anunoby faces a prolonged absence. However, in this brief period, the Knicks flourished, particularly against a demoralized Philadelphia team facing elimination.
McBride, previously recognized primarily for his defensive abilities but now developed into a dependable perimeter shooter, filled in for Anunoby and essentially secured the series victory during the opening quarter. McBride connected on seven three-pointers, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 in the first quarter when New York made 11 of 13 attempts, finishing with 25 points. With Knicks supporters on their feet chanting “Deuuuce,” McBride sank four consecutive three-pointers for a 20-6 advantage, transforming the South Philadelphia venue into something resembling Madison Square Garden.
“I definitely knew the Knicks had crazy fans,” McBride said.
The excitement surrounding the Knicks supporters’ invasion of Philadelphia was genuine and reached its peak during Game 4.
Notable fans including Spike Lee and Timothée Chalamet secured tickets for Friday evening’s contest in Philadelphia. During Game 4, supporters circumvented the 76ers’ alleged ticket-purchasing restrictions as effortlessly as New York hit three-pointers, clearly comprising the vast majority of the 19,746 attendees at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Embiid’s pre-series appeals for Philadelphia fans to avoid selling their seats to New York supporters went unheeded, resulting in thunderous cheers for the visiting team. Knicks fans cleverly created printouts showing Embiid being dunked on by Mitch Robinson from Game 3. These supporters waved the images at the frequently injured Embiid during his free throw attempts while taunting him with “Mr. Glass,” referencing a fictional movie character afflicted with fragile bones.
“I used to think Philly was a sports town, I don’t know if it is anymore,” Knicks forward Josh Hart said.
Having a home-court atmosphere, even while playing away, only provides limited playoff advantages.
The true difference typically appears in the statistical summary.
New York recorded 33 assists on 49 made shots in Game 4 and continued their pattern of transforming elimination games into decisive victories. Following their 51-point victory over Atlanta to close their first-round series, they built leads as large as 44 points in Game 4 against Philadelphia, ultimately winning by 30.
New York’s 19.4 points-per-game victory margin represents the largest through two playoff rounds since the tournament expanded to 16 teams in 1984.
The Knicks haven’t appeared in the NBA Finals since 1999 and haven’t captured the championship since 1973. Nevertheless, they’ve transformed the postseason into their domain and are currently favored to emerge from the Eastern Conference, trailing only defending champion Oklahoma City and San Antonio in championship odds.
“We’re still writing out story,” Brunson said.
