PHILADELPHIA – Fresh off setting multiple New York Knicks playoff records and propelling his team to a thrilling 97-92 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 4 of their first-round series behind a scintillating 47-point performance points and 10 assists, Jalen Brunson He was asked if his accomplishments were something he would enjoy now or save for later.
“I’ll look back when I retire,” Brunson said. “Seriously. It’s great right now, it helped us win.
“But that won’t do us any good in the future.”
Knicks fans, however, will be lounging a lot, especially the thousands of them who took Interstate 95 to invade the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday afternoon. They watched as Brunson delivered his latest incredible performance in a busy season to give New York a 3-1 advantage in this best-of-seven affair.
Game 5 is Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, where New York will try to advance to the second round and face either the Milwaukee Bucks or Indiana Pacers.
“One at a time,” said Joel Embiid, who had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists but shot 7 of 19 overall and missed all five of his shots in the fourth quarter, when asked ‘asked about his state of mind as a team. faces elimination. “We know we’re pretty good. Tonight we didn’t make any shots, so we just have to continue to trust ourselves.
“We don’t have any pressure. We’re ranked 7, down 3-1, a lot of guys are hurt…I don’t know why we would feel pressure. So we should just go out there and go out and play our best basketball and one at a time. Win one, come home, win another, then Game 7 there. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to that.
Embiid’s comments aside, the 76ers were under pressure from Brunson every second the Knicks star was on the court Sunday. He tore through the defense with a truly historic performance, shooting 18 of 34, grabbing four rebounds and committing just one turnover in over 43 minutes.
The Star Guard’s 47 points broke the franchise’s playoff scoring record, and he became the Knick to ever have at least 40 points and 10 assists in a playoff game. He became the third player, according to ESPN Stats & Information, to have at least 45 points, 10 assists and 1 or zero turnovers in a playoff game, joining Damian Lillard and Kevin Johnson. Brunson joined Trae Young as the only players in NBA history to create at least 70 points in consecutive playoff games.
It was all a remarkable turnaround from the first two games of the series, when Brunson combined to shoot 16 of 55 from the field.
“Jalen is a great player,” said OG Anunoby, who played stellar defense against Embiid down the stretch with starting center Isaiah Hartenstein on the bench struggling. “You expect it. You expect him to make every shot. He’s a great player. Even when he was cold in the first two games, you knew he was going to turn things around. Just because that we see it every day.
“It would eventually reverse itself.”
And every time Brunson missed a shot, it felt like the Knicks were there to recover the missed shot, as New York — who had already won Game 1 of this series by dominating the offensive glass — did again in this one, grabbing 15 offensive rebounds that led to a 21-8 advantage for second-chance points in a game Philadelphia lost by 5.
That advantage was especially telling in the fourth quarter, when New York grabbed 7 of 15 offensive rebounds, had an 11-2 advantage on second-chance points and forced Philadelphia into 11 consecutive misses over the final five minutes. of Sunday’s match to close. victory.
“I think we’ve learned that throughout the season,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said when asked what allows his team to be successful late in games. “Jalen has played at an incredibly high level throughout the season, and we can build on that.
“We have a little bit of everything. And the rebounding has been great. Everyone has questioned the rebounding with Josh at power forward. We have been the best rebounding team all year. Everyone has questioned questioning whether Jalen is a leader.
“We have a lot to prove. It takes four to win a series, that’s what we need to focus on.”
