Knicks complete 4–0 sweep of 76ers with 144–114 rout

The story here is simple — New York didn’t just beat Philadelphia, it detonated the series. The Knicks won Game 4, 144-114, on May 10 in Philadelphia and finished a 4-0 second-round sweep. That sends them to the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year, and it does it with the kind of performance that changes how a team is talked about. This stopped looking like a competitive matchup and started looking like a warning. (nba.com) ### How lopsided was this? Very. New York scored 144 points — a team playoff record — and tied the NBA postseason record with 25 made 3-pointers. (nba.com) The game was basically bent out of shape in the opening minutes, when the Knicks hit 11 threes in the first quarter and then got to 18 by halftime. Philadelphia never really recovered from that avalanche. ### Who drove it? Jalen Brunson was the headliner, but this was one of those nights where the supporting cast made the whole machine feel unfair. (nba.com) Brunson scored 22, and Miles McBride exploded for 25 points while making 7 of 9 from deep. Josh Hart was part of the push too, and the overall effect was that every defensive choice Philadelphia made turned into the wrong one. ### Why do the 3s matter so much? Because they tell you this wasn’t a grind-it-out road win. It was a full-system overload. (nba.com) Twenty-five made threes means New York wasn’t surviving possessions — it was ending them instantly. And when a team can do that in a closeout game, on the road, the pressure flips hard onto the next opponent. The Knicks didn’t just advance; they showed a version of themselves with a much higher ceiling. ### Was this building all series? Yes. Game 1 was already a blowout — 137-98 — and it set the tone for the matchup. (nba.com) New York had the better shot creation, the better rhythm, and way more control over the shape of each game. By the time the series reached Game 4, the question wasn’t whether the Knicks could finish it. It was whether Philadelphia had one clean punch left. Turns out it didn’t. ### What does this say about the Knicks? That they’re not sneaking anywhere. This is their first playoff sweep since 1999, and they’ve now won seven straight playoff games. (nba.com) Those are the markers of a team that has moved past the “nice run” phase. New York looks organized, deep, and confident — and it’s getting there at exactly the right time in May. ### What about the layoff? That’s the one mild complication. Because the series ended so fast, the Knicks are now staring at a long break before the Eastern Conference finals start on May 17 or May 19. (espn.com) Rest is good, obviously, but rhythm matters too. The upside is that New York gets time to heal and reset. The catch is that a team this hot usually wants to keep playing. ### And what does this mean for Philadelphia? It means the ending was brutal. Losing at home is one thing. (nba.com) Getting run off your own floor by 30 in an elimination game is another. A sweep closes off all the “if only” arguments and forces a harsher read — the Sixers weren’t just a little worse. In this series, they were nowhere near New York’s level. ### Bottom line? The Knicks didn’t just move on. They arrived. A 4-0 sweep, a 144-point closeout, and a record-tying shooting night turned this from a playoff result into a statement. (nba.com) Now the question is no longer whether New York belongs this deep in the bracket. It’s who can actually slow it down. (nba.com)