Knicks sweep 76ers, 144-114 in Philly

The Knicks didn’t just beat Philadelphia. They flattened the series, took over the building, and ended it with a 30-point blowout that felt over almost immediately. New York won 144-114 on Sunday, May 10, to complete a 4-0 second-round sweep and reach the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year. The loudest thing about it wasn’t only the score — it was how easy the Knicks made a supposed contender look. ### Why did this one feel finished so fast? Because New York detonated the game from 3. The Knicks hit an NBA playoff-record 11 threes in the first quarter, scored 43 points in the period, and never let Philadelphia believe this was turning into a tense closeout game. By halftime it was 81-57, which is the kind of margin that turns a playoff crowd from nervous into numb. (nba.com) ### Who drove the avalanche? It was a full-team shooting spree, but Deuce McBride was the jolt. Starting for the injured OG Anunoby, he scored 25 points and hit seven threes. Jalen Brunson added 35 points, with 27 in the first half, and the usual Knicks engine kept humming around him. This wasn’t one superstar bailing them out late — it was wave after wave. (abcnews.com) ### How absurd was the Knicks shooting? Absurd enough to tie the NBA postseason record with 25 made threes. New York also set a franchise playoff record with 144 points. When a team does both in a road elimination game, the strategy talk gets pretty simple — the other side couldn’t survive the math. Every Sixers mistake got punished with another clean look, another run, another stretch where the game tilted harder. (nbcnewyork.com) ### What happened to the 76ers? The defense cracked, and the game got away from them before their stars could settle it down. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey never got the kind of control Philadelphia needed, and the home floor barely mattered by the second quarter. The weirdest part was the atmosphere — multiple game stories described a building full of loud Knicks support, which made the closeout feel even more humiliating for Philadelphia. (msn.com) ### Why does the sweep matter so much? Because a sweep removes the usual excuses. No “we almost had them.” No long war that could have swung on one possession. New York was simply better, every game, and finished the job on the road. The Knicks are the first team this postseason to reach the conference finals, and they did it without needing a Game 5, 6, or 7. (aol.com) ### What does this say about the Knicks? Basically, they look deeper and more coherent than a lot of people expected. Brunson is still the center of everything, but this version of New York can bury you with role players, bench shooting, and defensive pressure that turns into instant offense. A team that can lose Anunoby for a night and still hang 144 on the road is not sneaking anywhere. (nba.com) ### What does this mean for Philadelphia now? It means another summer of hard questions around Embiid, roster construction, and whether this core can still produce a real breakthrough. The problem isn’t just that the 76ers lost. It’s that they were run off their own floor in the biggest game of their season. That kind of ending changes the tone of everything that comes next. (nbcnewyork.com) ### Bottom line The Knicks didn’t survive the second round — they owned it. A 144-114 closeout, 25 made threes, and a road sweep of Philadelphia turned a playoff matchup into a statement. Now New York moves on looking dangerous, and the 76ers head home looking stuck. (abcnews.com) (aol.com)