May 10, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) reacts against the New York Knicks in the first quarter during game four of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
PHILADELPHIA — When asked about his team's fast start in Game 3 when they bolted out to a 9-0 lead, Sixers coach Nick Nurse joked that it may not be in the team's best interest to do it again, as they lost that game on Friday to the New York Knicks by 14 points.
He didn't have to worry about that even a little bit in Sunday's Game 4, as the Knicks hit 15 of their first 20 shots, and more incredibly 11 of their first 12 threes in opening up a 20 point first quarter lead. They rode that hot start to a series-clinching 144-114 win to eliminate the Sixers in the 4-0 sweep.
Miles McBride — starting in place of OG Anunoby, who is sidelined with a right hamstring strain — made his first five threes, Jalen Brunson did what he always does in keeping a defense on its heels, and everyone else contributed as New York got the lead up to 27 points in the first half in front of a crowd that seemed to be about two-thirds Knicks fans.
Joel Embiid was the lone bright spot for the Sixers as he made all eight of his field goal attempts en route to 24 points. Tyrese Maxey added 17 and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 10. Maxey and VJ Edgecombe combined to shoot 1-for-13 from three-point range.
McBride led the Knicks with 25 points and Brunson added 22. They combined to make 13 of 19 threes. Karl-Anthony Towns collected 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Josh Hart had 17 and nine. Mikal Bridges scored 12, as all five starters hit double figures for New York.
The Knicks reversed the ball so well that it would have made a youth soccer coach envious. When they found a good shot, they made a pass or two to make it even better. And if they were contested, they still made them. And all the while, Brunson orchestrated it the way only he can.
"The biggest thing is just his skill and attention to detail," said Nurse of Brunson. "A lot of it is the footwork, things that he does in just reading however you play the screen he makes it a very quick read, he hardly ever makes mistakes on his own footwork to where he wants to go, no matter what you throw at him. He continues to make adjustments on that stuff as you go along the series, too. Shot making has been good, his assists have been good, too. His physicality has been good, too. When it's one-on-one he bumps and pushes off and creates space and he's hit most of those."
His signature plays of the series may have come midway through the third quarter. Dominick Barlow was assigned to Brunson, who used front and back, stop and go dribbles to render Barlow useless and then hit a reverse layup. After New York stole the inbounds pass, Brunson hit a three from the right corner for New York's biggest of the game at the time at 99-70.
Brunson did pretty much whatever he wanted to in the series, and that's really no knock on how hard the Sixers tried to defend him. He is just that good right now and so are the Knicks, who may be viable contenders for a title if they keep playing the way they did against the Sixers. Consider this: The Knicks had that incredible shooting first quarter and built a 43-24 lead. They got pedestrian in the second quarter, made just 13-of-31 from the floor, including 7-for-16 from three, and expanded their lead to 81-57 at the break.
"Deuce is not afraid," said Knicks coach Mike Brown of McBride. "He gives us an ability to make shots from range and the ability to get a shot and gives us another ball handler. He's a really good defender and he's versatile. When he's on the floor with Jalen, analytically, they're pretty good together. He just brings a lot to the table for us on both ends of the floor."
He, and the rest of the Knicks, surely brought it on Sunday, and now await the winner of Cleveland and Detroit for the Eastern Conference finals opponent.
"They're a veteran group and I'm a firm believer in giving ownership to those guys because they've earned that right," said Brown of his team. "They've done a fantastic job so far on our playoff run of taking the bull by the horn and going to get what needs to be done, done. I've got to continue giving them credit for it. Close out games are the hardest games because your opponent's level of desperation is up, especially on the road because the crowd's level of desperation is up, too. I trust this group."
And now starts an offseason for the Sixers with a ton of questions but perhaps very little wiggle room in what they can do to improve the team. Time will tell. And with Sunday's blowout, that time starts now.
