Knicks complete four-game sweep of 76ers, advance to Eastern Conference finals

The Knicks did not just finish off the 76ers. They steamrolled them. New York beat Philadelphia 144-114 on Sunday, May 10, to complete a 4-0 second-round sweep and become the first team into the 2026 Eastern Conference finals. (6abc.com) That matters because this was supposed to be a real test. Instead, the series ended as a four-game proof of concept for what this Knicks group looks like when the spacing opens up and the role players start bombing away. (6abc.com) ### Why was Game 4 such a statement? Because the score was absurd and the style was even louder. New York tied the NBA playoff record with 25 made three-pointers in the clincher, and the game was basically over long before the fourth quarter became bookkeeping. (6abc.com) Miles McBride hit seven threes and scored 25 points, while Jalen Brunson finished with 22 and kept the whole thing organized. ### Why do the 25 threes matter? Because that number tells you this was not a grind-it-out Knicks win. (6abc.com) This was a modern playoff demolition. New York did not just lean on Brunson isolations or half-court toughness. The Knicks spread Philadelphia out, kept generating clean looks, and turned a road closeout game into a shooting exhibition. ### Was this only about Brunson? Not really — and that is the scary part for the next opponent. Brunson remains the engine, but the clincher showed how much more dangerous New York becomes when the supporting cast tilts the math. McBride’s shot-making jumped off the page, and Josh Hart plus Karl-Anthony Towns both added 17 points. That is how you get to 144 in a playoff game. (6abc.com) ### What went wrong for Philadelphia? The simple version is that Philadelphia never got control of the series. By Game 4, the 76ers were chasing shooters, giving up huge runs, and watching their season end at home by 30. A sweep in the second round is not just a loss — it says the matchup got away from them fast and never came back. (6abc.com) ### Why is the sweep a bigger deal than one win? Because four straight wins buy two things at once — credibility and rest. New York is back in the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year, which means this is no longer a cute run or a one-off bracket break. The Knicks have turned themselves into a repeat late-round team. (6abc.com) ### What does this say about the Knicks now? Basically, they look deeper and less fragile than the version people worried about earlier in the postseason. When a team can win a series with star power and then close it by detonating from three, that team becomes harder to scheme against. The catch is that hotter shooting nights do not always travel round to round — but the margin New York created here suggests the foundation is sturdier than one hot game. (6abc.com) ### So what changes next? The Knicks get time. They are already through to the East finals while the rest of the bracket keeps moving, and that gives them extra recovery and prep. In May, that is not a side benefit — that is part of the advantage. (6abc.com) ### Bottom line New York did not sneak through this round. The Knicks flattened Philadelphia, tied a playoff three-point record in the clincher, and reached the conference finals looking more explosive than methodical. That is a very different kind of threat. (nba.com) (6abc.com)