Knicks Run Away Late in 4th, Take Game 1 over 76ers

The Sixers fell to the Knicks in Game 1 of the 1st Round in an infuriating game for Sixers fans. New York came out on top with a 111-104 final score and takes a 1-0 lead in the series.

The Sixers had a mediocre first half at best. They were unstoppable in the 1st quarter but threw it all away in the 2nd after being outscored 33-12. Joel Embiid went down with about 5 minutes remaining in the 2nd after a monstrous dunk, tweaking what looked to be his left knee in the process. New York took advantage and went up double-digits at the half.

While Embiid did return later in the game, he never got back to full speed. Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein were getting rebound after rebound on top of Philadelphia and it cost the Sixers the game. Rebounding is a key factor that needs to go Philly’s way in order to win games against New York in this series.

The Knicks shot an impressive 46% from three, making 4 more threes than Philadelphia did while shooting the same amount. Jalen Brunson had an off night, but Josh Hart and Miles McBride made up for that, drilling 9 of New York’s 16 threes. If Brunson can play mediocre but the Knicks can still win, then Philadelphia has a much bigger problem on their hands.

The Knicks also out-rebounded the Sixers 55-33, 23-9 on the offensive glass.

The main thing that Philly wants to do is split the series before coming home for Game 3 and Game 4. This is just the first game. If the Sixers win Game 2, everything is okay. The focus from Nick Nurse and the 76ers needs to now shift to making sure that Tuesday’s game ends in a win for Philadelphia.

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