Knicks rout 76ers by 39 in Game 1 at Madison Square Garden
- The Knicks opened the East semifinals by crushing the 76ers 137-98 at Madison Square Garden on May 4, with Jalen Brunson pouring in 35. - New York led by 23 at halftime, shot 63% overall, and became the first playoff team ever to win three straight games by 25-plus. - The rout extends a historic Knicks surge — and raises fresh questions about Philadelphia’s depth, health, and ability to survive New York’s pressure.
The Knicks didn’t just win Game 1. They flattened Philadelphia. New York beat the 76ers 137-98 on Monday, May 4, at Madison Square Garden, and the game was basically over by halftime. That matters because second-round series are supposed to tighten up — but this looked more like a team in full playoff rhythm running over one that had no answers. Brunson was brilliant again, the Knicks’ depth showed up, and the score kept drifting from statement win into warning sign. ### How bad was it? Pretty bad, fast. The Knicks led 33-25 after one quarter, then dropped 41 points in the second and took a 74-51 lead into halftime. Brunson drilled a 3 at the buzzer to cap the half, which felt like the exact moment the night tipped from “strong start” into “this is getting ugly.” New York eventually led by 40 and spent most of the fourth quarter just emptying the bench. ### What did Brunson actually do? He scored 35 points on 12-for-18 shooting and had 27 by halftime. The efficiency is the thing here. Philadelphia never made him uncomfortable for long, and once Brunson got downhill or found space in the midrange, the whole defense started bending around him. That opened everything else up — kickouts, cuts, transition chances, the whole Knicks offense. ### Was it just Brunson? No — and that’s why this is scarier for Philadelphia than one hot shooting night from a star. The Knicks shot 63% from the field, had 32 assists, and got scoring across the roster. NBA coverage of the game highlighted a wild detail: all 14 Knicks who played made at least one field goal. In a playoff game, that kind of everybody-eats box score usually means the defense lost the plot. ### Why does the streak matter? Because this wasn’t a one-off explosion. The Knicks are now the first team in NBA playoff history to win three straight games by at least 25 points, and ESPN noted their combined margin over the last three wins reached 119 points — the biggest three-game differential ever in the postseason. So this isn’t just “Game 1 at home energy.” It’s grounds. ### What happened to the 76ers? They never found a stable offensive shape. Philadelphia shot poorly, turned the ball over 19 times, and got very little control over pace or shot quality. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey were pulled with 6:03 left in the third and
