Knicks to host Game 1 vs 76ers Monday at Madison Square Garden

The second-round matchup is set, and the timing is the first thing that jumps out. Philadelphia finished off Boston 109-100 in Game 7 on Saturday, May 2, which means the 76ers now have to turn around and open against the Knicks on Monday, May 4 at Madison Square Garden. New York already handled Atlanta in six, so the Knicks have been waiting while Philly was still surviving. That’s the story here — not just who plays whom, but who gets to start fresher. ### How did this matchup get locked in? Philadelphia earned it the hard way. The 76ers went into Boston for Game 7 and won 109-100, completing a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit. That flipped the East bracket immediately — Boston was out, Philadelphia moved on, and New York’s next opponent stopped being hypothetical. ### When is Game 1, exactly? Game 1 is scheduled for Monday, May 4, 2026, at Madison Square Garden, with New York hosting because the Knicks are the No. 3 seed and Philadelphia is the No. 7 seed. The official playoff schedule page and live bracket both show the opener in New York on Monday night, and ESPN’s bracket lists the game at 5:00 p.m. PT, which is 8:00 p.m. ET. ### Why do the Knicks have home court? Seeding. New York finished higher in the East bracket, so the Knicks get Games 1, 2, 5, and 7 at home if the series goes that far. That matters more than usual because Madison Square Garden is one of the loudest playoff buildings in the league, and because Philadelphia is arriving with almost no recovery window after a seven-game series, but it’s the obvious one. ### Why is the rest gap such a big deal? Because playoff basketball stops being about talent alone once the calendar gets tight. The Knicks wrapped their first-round series before Saturday, while the 76ers had to empty the tank in Boston just to get here. One day between a road Game 7 and a road Game 1 is brutal — especially for a team that just spent a week playing elimination games. ### What makes this series interesting beyond the schedule? It’s a weird mix of momentum versus recovery. Philadelphia comes in hot after knocking out a higher seed and becoming the first NBA team since 2020 to erase a 3-1 deficit in a playoff series. New York comes in steadier, with more prep time and the cleaner path into Round 2. So the opener is basically a test of which edge matters more right away — rhythm or rest. ### What does Monday actually decide? Not the series, obviously — but it will tell you whether Philly’s Game 7 surge carries over or whether the turnaround cost shows up immediately. If the 76ers steal Game 1, the bracket pressure flips fast and home court gets shaky. If the Knicks win, then the rest advantage starts looking less like a talking point and more like the shape of the series. ### Is there a bigger East picture here? Yes. Boston is gone, which opens the conference in a way that did not look likely a week ago. Philadelphia changed the bracket by surviving, and New York now gets a real chance to turn a favorable seed line into a conference-finals push. That’s why this opener matters — it’s not just another second-round game, but the first move in a reshaped East. ### Bottom line The headline is simple: Knicks-76ers starts Monday at the Garden. But the real angle is the turnaround. New York gets home court and rest. Philadelphia gets confidence and almost no time. By Monday night, one of those advantages is going to look a lot more real.