Knicks Advance To Second Straight Eastern Conference Finals By Destroying 76ers To Finish Sweep

PHILADELPHIA — It felt over before it even started.

Joel Embiid was booed — loudly — in his own building when he was shown on the jumbotron during warmups. The 76ers PA announcer was being drowned out by all the Knicks fans in attendance, which felt like a majority of the crowd. Before tipoff, Xfinity Mobile Arena had already become Knixfinity Arena.

Then the historic party truly got started. This bludgeoning felt inevitable.

There was no suspense, no hint of this ever being competitive. The Knicks’ breathtaking 3-point shooting — their 25 made 3s tied the NBA record for most in a playoff game — wouldn’t allow for any of that. They put the 76ers out of their misery in emphatic fashion.

They completed a dominant sweep with a 144-114 rout Sunday afternoon, securing their spot in the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight season. They’ll have to wait for the Pistons-Cavaliers series to finish before learning their opponent.

Sunday marked seven straight postseason wins, for the first time in franchise history, beginning when they trailed 2-1 in the first round. That feels like ages ago.

In total, they outscored the 76ers by 89 points in the series. In the seven-game winning streak, they outscored opponents by 185 points. For the whole postseason, their average margin of victory of 19.4 points per game is the largest through two rounds since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1984, according to the NBA.

“Our guys, they’ve tried to take it to another level with the focus on the details and their energy and effort level,” coach Mike Brown said. “And that’s a lot of the reason why we’re playing pretty good basketball.

“When you talk about the elite or the great in any business, I don’t care what business you’re in, there’s one word that stands out — it’s consistency.”

The Knicks played it cautiously and were again without OG Anunoby due to his right hamstring strain. It didn’t slow them down one bit. Miles McBride, starting in his place for the second straight game, erupted for 25 points — his most since Jan. 15 — on red-hot 7-for-9 shooting from 3-point range.

“They left me open,” McBride said. “… My guys found me. I just wanted to set the tone early.”

It was part of an incredible all-around 3-point shooting performance for the Knicks.

They shot 11-for-13 from 3-point range in that first quarter — tying the NBA record for most made 3s in a quarter in playoff history. And one of those two misses was Landry Shamet’s heave as time expired.

McBride hit four in a row. Jalen Brunson drilled three. Shamet made two. Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart added one apiece. The 76ers, meanwhile, went 2-for-10 from deep in the first quarter.

In total, the Knicks scored 43 points in the first quarter and led by 19 going into the second.

By the first timeout in the second quarter, the Knicks’ lead was up to 27. The 76ers had already let go of the rope.

The Knicks drilled seven more 3s in that second quarter. Their 18 made 3s in the first half tied the NBA record for most in any half in playoff history. They had 81 points in the first half and led by 24 at the break.

“Twenty-five 3s on 44 attempts is unbelievable,” Brown said. “That’s great basketball. But with the group that I have in that locker room, they’re more than capable of doing something like that.”

The rest was strictly procedural.

Brunson embarrassed Dominick Barlow with a crossover before finishing with a layup. McBride stole Embiid’s inbounds pass and kicked it to Brunson, who made a 3-pointer. It was five points in five seconds for Brunson and gave the Knicks a 29-point lead with 7:19 left in the third quarter.

That’s when the “Knicks in four” chants began. It wouldn’t be long until the “Tyler Kolek” chants cropped up. There was not much left for the 76ers to do other than go through the motions — and be taunted on their home court in the process.

“I will always think it is one of the coolest things in the world,” Brunson said, “when you hear Knicks fans in opposing arenas. It’s a really cool feeling, I can’t lie.”

The Knicks emptied their bench with just under three minutes left in the third quarter. They led by 39 heading into the fourth. It was around then that Franklin the Dog, the 76ers mascot, was being tormented by Knicks fans as he worked his way through the crowd.

Brunson finished with 22 points and six assists. Towns added 17 points, 10 assists and four rebounds. Hart had 17 points and nine rebounds. Shamet chipped in 12 points. As a team, the Knicks had 33 assists.

“I think,” Hart said, “we’re in a good little flow state right now.”

The rally towels the 76ers gave away in the arena said “Fight for Philly. Fight for each other.”

This was no fight. The 76ers went down with a whimper.

How sweep it is.