OG Anunoby dominated the first half with 26 of his 29 total points, propelling the New York Knicks to a crushing 140-89 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night. The victory sealed the Knicks’ first-round Eastern Conference playoff series triumph at 4-2.
The performance marked several franchise milestones for New York. Their 140 points represented the highest-scoring playoff game in team history, while the 51-point blowout became their largest postseason victory margin ever. The Knicks’ only bigger win came during the regular season this year when they demolished Brooklyn 120-66 on January 21st.
Atlanta suffered through their second-worst playoff loss in franchise history. The most devastating defeat occurred when the St. Louis Hawks fell 133-75 to Minneapolis on March 19, 1956.
New York dominated early with a commanding 63-11 first-half surge and held leads as large as 61 points. They captured three consecutive victories against Atlanta to reach the conference semifinals for the fourth consecutive season. Karl-Anthony Towns achieved his second career playoff triple-double, recording 12 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and three steals. The starting players were benched by the middle of the third quarter due to the massive lead.
Timberwolves 110, Nuggets 98
Terrence Shannon Jr., thrust into the starting rotation due to multiple injuries, delivered a career playoff-best 24 points to help Minnesota eliminate Denver in Game 6 at home.
The sixth-seeded Timberwolves will now face the second-seeded Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals, beginning Monday night in San Antonio.
Minnesota played without several key contributors including All-NBA guard Anthony Edwards (knee injury), Donte DiVincenzo (Achilles), Game 4 standout Ayo Dosunmu (calf strain) and veteran Kyle Anderson (illness). Shannon, who sat out the series’ first three contests, responded brilliantly by shooting 9-of-20 from the field and delivering a critical three-point play that sparked a decisive 10-1 closing run.
Jaden McDaniels led all scorers with 32 points in the victory. Nikola Jokic kept Denver competitive throughout, posting team-leading totals of 28 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.
76ers 106, Celtics 93
Tyrese Maxey poured in 30 points as Philadelphia defeated visiting Boston once again, setting up a winner-take-all Game 7 in their opening-round matchup.
The second-seeded Celtics previously controlled the series 3-1 after demolishing Philadelphia by 32 points on Sunday. However, the seventh-seeded Sixers have responded with consecutive double-digit victories in Games 5 and 6. The deciding contest will take place Saturday in Boston, where Philadelphia hopes to complete their first-ever 3-1 series comeback.
Paul George contributed 23 points for the Sixers, while Joel Embiid added 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in just his third appearance since undergoing emergency appendix surgery. Jaylen Brown paced Boston with 18 points but struggled with ball security, committing five of the team’s 13 turnovers.
