Knicks complete 4-0 sweep of 76ers with 144-point Game 4 rout

The Knicks didn’t just close out the 76ers. They detonated the series. New York beat Philadelphia 144-114 on Sunday, May 10, to finish a 4-0 sweep in the Eastern Conference semifinals and head back to the conference finals for a second straight year. The score was huge, but the real story was how it happened — a three-point avalanche so extreme it tied an NBA playoff record and turned a road closeout game into a party for Knicks fans in Philadelphia. ### Why did this game feel over so fast? Because New York came out bombing. The Knicks made 11 threes in the first quarter, scored 43 points in the opening 12 minutes, and never let the 76ers settle into anything that looked like a normal playoff game. By halftime they had already made 18 threes, which is the kind of number that usually belongs to a full game, not two quarters. Philadelphia was chasing almost immediately. (nba.com) ### Who drove the blowout? It wasn’t just one guy, which is part of why this was so crushing. Miles McBride led New York with 25 points and hit 7 of 9 from deep in a start created by OG Anunoby’s injury absence. Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart kept the offense humming, and the ball kept finding open shooters. When a team gets that kind of spread-out production, the defense can’t really load up on one star and hope the math works out. (sports.yahoo.com) ### Why do the 25 threes matter so much? Because 25 made threes in a playoff game ties the NBA postseason record. That’s not just “they shot well.” That’s one of those nights that changes the geometry of the floor completely. Every rotation is late, every mistake costs 3 instead of 2, and the lead grows in chunks too big to manage. New York also set a franchise playoff record with 144 points, so this wasn’t empty gunning — it was full-system destruction. (usatoday.com) ### Was Philadelphia just cold? Partly, but the bigger issue was structural. The 76ers never got the game onto terms they wanted. Once New York started hitting from everywhere, Philadelphia had to stretch its defense, scramble harder, and play from behind. That’s exhausting against a team already moving the ball this well. Joel Embiid played, but the game kept tilting away from any half-court, grind-it-out script that might have helped the Sixers survive. (cbssports.com) ### What does the sweep say about the Knicks? Basically, that this run looks real. New York didn’t sneak through in six or seven games. The Knicks won four straight and closed with one of the wildest shooting nights the playoffs have seen. The NBA’s own takeaway package framed it as New York finding its best form at exactly the right time, and that feels right — this looked like a team getting sharper, not luckier. (nba.com) ### Why is McBride such a big subplot? Because playoff depth usually decides whether a contender is dangerous or just top-heavy. McBride stepping in and dropping 25 with seven threes changes the pressure on everyone else. It means New York can absorb an injury absence, keep spacing the floor, and still punish help defense. That’s a nasty trait this late in May. (nba.com) ### Who’s next? The Knicks are waiting on the winner of Cavaliers-Pistons. That matters because New York now gets extra rest after a sweep, while the other side keeps spending energy. In the playoffs, that’s not a footnote — it’s leverage. ### Bottom line? This wasn’t just advancement. It was a warning shot. New York reached the Eastern Conference finals by tying a playoff record for made threes, setting a team playoff scoring record, and making a second-round opponent look completely outgunned. (usatoday.com) That’s what a contender looks like when everything clicks at once. (cbssports.com) (nba.com)