Knicks complete 4-0 sweep of 76ers with 144-114 Game 4

The Knicks didn’t just close out the 76ers. They detonated the series. New York beat Philadelphia 144-114 in Game 4 on Sunday, finished the sweep, and turned what should have been a tense road clincher into a three-point avalanche by the end of the first quarter. The stakes are obvious — the Knicks are back in the Eastern Conference finals for a second straight year. But the more interesting thing is how they got there: by stretching the floor so hard that the Sixers basically spent the afternoon chasing smoke. (nbcnewyork.com) ### Why did this get out of hand so fast? Because New York came out bombing. The Knicks hit 11 threes in the first quarter — an NBA postseason record — and finished the game with 25, which tied the playoff record for a full game. Once that happened, the normal pressure of a closeout game disappeared. Philadelphia wasn’t trying to solve one hot shooter. Philadelphia was trying to survive a system-wide fire. ### Who actually carried the scoring? This wasn’t one of those nights where a single star drops 45 and drags everyone along. (nbcnewyork.com) Deuce McBride led the Knicks with 25 points, and Jalen Brunson added 22. That matters because it shows how balanced the attack was. New York’s offense kept moving, the ball kept finding the next open man, and the Sixers never got to load up on Brunson as the one obvious pressure point. ### Why does the shooting matter beyond one game? (bostonglobe.com) Because this is the version of the Knicks that changes a playoff bracket. A team that can generate that many clean threes forces every defense into ugly choices — help on Brunson and give up kick-outs, stay home on shooters and let the guards get downhill, or switch everything and hope the size holds up. The catch is that hot shooting can come and go. But when it comes from spacing, depth, and quick decisions instead of one guy freelancing, it gets a lot more repeatable. (skysports.com) ### What happened to Philadelphia? The Sixers got overwhelmed early and never really reset the game. That’s the simplest version. Once New York built separation, the building turned strange, the shot quality gap widened, and the series ended with Philadelphia looking smaller and slower than the matchup had promised. That’s brutal in any playoff loss, but especially in a sweep at home. ### Did injuries shape this? Yes — at least on the margins. OG Anunoby remained out for New York with a strained right hamstring, which makes the offensive explosion even more striking because the Knicks did this without one of their key two-way wings. (nbcnewyork.com) That doesn’t erase Philadelphia’s problems, but it does underline how much shot creation and bench scoring New York still had available. ### So who’s next? The Knicks move on to face the winner of Cleveland-Detroit in the Eastern Conference finals. (cbsnews.com) That means the scouting report shifts now. Opponents already knew Brunson was the engine. What Game 4 screamed is that New York’s perimeter attack can end a series before the defense even settles in. ### What’s the bottom line? This wasn’t just advancement. It was a warning shot. The Knicks left Philadelphia with a sweep, a record-setting shooting night, and a much bigger claim than “still alive” — they look like a team that can bend an entire series around its spacing. (nbcnewyork.com) (abc7ny.com)