Knicks rout 76ers 137‑98; Jalen Brunson scores 35 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 27 at halftime, got 27 first-half points from Brunson, and pushed its three-game playoff point differential to 119. - Philadelphia came in off a seven-game Boston series, while Nick Nurse briefly left for his brother’s funeral before Game 2.
The story here is playoff basketball turning into a track meet — and only one team showed up with fresh legs. New York didn’t just beat Philadelphia in Game 1 on Monday, May 4. The Knicks ran the 76ers off the floor, won 137-98, and made the second round look weirdly easy for a team that was supposed to be in a real fight. Brunson had 35, the Garden was loud early, and the game was basically over by halftime. ### Why did this feel over so fast? Because the Knicks hit first and never let go. Brunson scored 27 in the first half, New York built a 27-point halftime lead, and Philadelphia never found a way to slow the ball or the crowd. Once the Knicks were getting clean looks in transition and early offense, the whole thing tilted.? Not really — that’s what makes it more serious for Philly. Brunson was the headliner, but the Knicks’ offense looked organized, deep, and comfortable. NBA.com’s takeaway from the game was that New York opened this series exactly the way it closed the first round — with another blowout driven by sharp shot-making and control on both ends. ### How historic was the margin? Pretty historic. ESPN noted the Knicks’ last three playoff wins have come by a combined 119 points, which it tagged as the biggest point differential over any three-game span in NBA playoff history. That matters because this isn’t one hot night. It suggests New York is in one of those stretches where everything is clicking at once — pace, spacing, defense, confidence. ### So what happened to the 76ers? Fatigue is the obvious place to start. Philadelphia had just come out of a seven-game first-round series against Boston, while the Knicks had been waiting since finishing off Atlanta in six. Freshness isn’t a full explanation for losing by 39, but it helps explain why the Sixers' rout lines up with how the game looked and how the playoff paths lined up. ### Did Nick Nurse’s absence matter? It mattered around the edges, but it wasn’t the reason for Game 1. Nurse coached Monday’s loss, then left the team Tuesday to attend the funeral of his brother, Steve Nurse, who died unexpectedly at 62. He was expected back before Game 2 on Wednesday night. So the real basketball problem for Philadelphia is still on the floor — not on the sideline. ### What does Philly need to fix first? The first fix is pace control. When New York gets to play downhill, Brunson can probe, the secondary scorers get rhythm touches, and the crowd turns every run into a wave. Philadelphia needs to make this ugl
