Jalen Brunson’s 35 lifts Knicks to 115–104 Game 1 win over 76ers

The basic correction here is important — this game was not a 115-104 Knicks win, and Jalen Brunson did not score 35. Game 1 of Knicks-Sixers on April 20, 2024 ended 111-104, and Brunson finished with 22. The bigger story was how New York survived a shaky start, then buried Philadelphia with depth, defense, and a huge bench lift. ### So what actually happened? Philadelphia came out hotter and led by 13 in the first half. Joel Embiid looked aggressive early, and the Sixers had New York scrambling. But the Knicks flipped the game in the second quarter, won that period 33-12, and turned Madison Square Garden into the kind of noise machine that makes every loose ball feel like a season-defining play. ### If Brunson didn’t have 35, who swung it? Brunson mattered — he still had 22 points and steadied the offense late — but the surprise punch came from the bench. Deuce McBride scored 21, and that was the jolt New York needed when the offense got clunky. Josh Hart also had 22 and did the usual Hart thing — rebounding, pushing pace, and showing up in every messy possession. ### Why did the game feel bigger than seven points? Because it never really felt clean. The Knicks were down big, then in control, then under pressure again. Philadelphia cut into the lead in the second half, but New York kept answering. That made the finish feel less like one hot shooting stretch and more like a test of which team could keep functioning when the game got ugly. ### What went wrong for Philadelphia? The Sixers got strong scoring from Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, but they didn’t get enough stability around them. The second quarter crater was the killer. You can survive a cold stretch on the road — but not a 12-point quarter against a team that already wants every game to become a rock fight. Once New York dragged the game into that mode, Philadelphia spent the rest of the night trying to climb back out. ### Why did New York’s bench matter so much? Because playoff games usually tighten into seven-man, star-driven basketball. When a reserve guard like McBride comes in and changes the energy, that bends the whole script. It lets Brunson play without having to create every good possession himself. It also means the Knicks can keep pressure on defensively without sacrificing enough offense to lose control. ### Was Brunson still the center of it? Yes — just not in the way the mistaken version of the story suggests. Brunson wasn’t the overwhelming solo scorer here. He was more like the organizer. He absorbed attention, got New York settled after the rough opening, and made the right plays once the game slowed down. That’s less flashy than 35 points, but in a playoff opener it can be just as important. ### Why did this matter for the series? Game 1 set the tone. The Knicks showed they could take Philadelphia’s first punch and still dictate the texture of the game. That matters in a matchup where every possession felt physical and every run felt emotional. Winning the opener at home meant New York kept control of the series script instead of letting the Sixers steal it immediately. ### What’s the real takeaway? The takeaway is not “Brunson dropped 35 and carried them.” It’s that New York won the kind of playoff game contenders have to win — uneven, tense, and deeply annoying. Brunson was good. Hart was huge. McBride changed the night. And the Knicks left Game 1 looking like a team with more answers when the game stops being pretty.