New York Knicks sweep 76ers, Anunoby expected

The New York Knicks reached the Eastern Conference finals on May 10 with a 144-114 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, completing a 4-0 second-round sweep, according to NBA.com. New York advanced to the conference finals for a second straight season after building a 20-point lead in the first quarter of Game 4 and pushing the margin as high as 44. (nba.com) Miles McBride scored 25 points in the clincher, while six Knicks finished in double figures. The sweep also gave New York extra recovery time before the next round. (nba.com) ### How decisive was the closeout game in Philadelphia? Philadelphia hosted Game 4 on May 10, but New York turned the game into a rout early. (usatoday.com) NBA.com said the Knicks followed the 76ers’ opening basket with a 20-4 run, led by 20 before the end of the first quarter and won by 30. The 144 points were part of what NBA.com described as, through three quarters, the most efficient offensive performance of the last 30 years across the regular season, play-in and playoffs. New York recorded its seventh double-digit victory of the postseason in the win. ### What is the latest on OG Anunoby’s hamstring? (nba.com) OG Anunoby suffered a right hamstring strain late in the Knicks’ 108-102 Game 2 win over Philadelphia, and the injury kept him out of Games 3 and 4, according to NBA.com and the Associated Press. The Knicks listed him as day-to-day on May 8. (nba.com) Anunoby averaged 21.4 points per game in the postseason through the injury while shooting 61.9% from the field and 53.8% from 3-point range, NBA.com said. ESPN’s postseason game log showed he totaled 171 points and 60 rebounds in eight playoff games, which works out to 21.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. (nba.com) Mike Brown said on May 13 that Anunoby participated in only parts of practice when the Knicks returned to work in Greenburgh, New York. Brown said Anunoby “looked fine with what he did,” but added that he did not know what the forward would be able to do for Game 1. (nba.com) ### Why does the extra layoff matter for New York? Greenburgh, New York, became the Knicks’ base for recovery work after the sweep, and the schedule gave them several days without a game. The Associated Press reported on May 13 that New York planned to take May 14 off and practice again on May 15 while monitoring Anunoby’s progress. (nba.com) Brown said the team was taking the situation “one game at a time” and did not want to get ahead of the medical updates. The Knicks entered the break on a seven-game winning streak after rallying from a 2-1 deficit against Atlanta in the first round, according to the same report. (nba.com) ### Who can the Knicks face in the conference finals? Detroit and Cleveland remain alive on the other side of the bracket. NBA.com’s playoff schedule page, updated May 16, said the Eastern Conference finals matchup was still listed as New York against a to-be-determined opponent. USA Today reported on May 15 that the Pistons and Cavaliers will play Game 7 on Sunday, May 17, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. (nba.com) The winner will move on to face the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals. ### What numbers best capture Anunoby’s role in this run? (nba.com) Anunoby scored 24 points in Game 2 against Philadelphia before leaving with the hamstring injury, and he had 18 points in Game 1 of that series, according to NBA.com and ESPN. In the first round against Atlanta, ESPN’s game log shows he scored 29 points twice and posted double-digit rebounds in three games. (nba.com) The Knicks’ next confirmed milestone is Game 7 between Detroit and Cleveland on May 17. After that result, the NBA will set the full Eastern Conference finals schedule for New York and its opponent. (nba.com) (usatoday.com)