Knicks Shoot the Lights Out as 76ers Defeated in Game 1 of Eastern Conference Semifinals
Philadelphia 76ers' VJ Edgecombe, right, fouls New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson during the first half of Game 1 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Monday, May 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
It was not a great shooting night for the 76ers, and it was a great shooting night for the Knicks. Pretty easy to guess who won based on that logic.
Following three gutsy wins in a row in their first-round series against the Boston Celtics, the 76ers were defeated by the New York Knicks 137-98, falling to a 1-0 deficit in the series.
Knicks shot an impressive 53-for-84 (63%) from the field and 19-for-37(51%) from three, but the field goal percentage at one point reached 70%, well within the third quarter. Jalen Brunson was the leading man for New York, scoring 35 points in just 31 minutes, shooting 12-for-18 from the field. Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges both added 17 points, while OG Anunoby added 18.
The 76ers starters just didn’t have the same touch on shots as the Knicks, with not one starter scoring over 17 points. Paul George led the way with 17 points, while Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey added 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Things started out slowly for both teams, as nobody could score in the first two minutes of action, but that changed when Mikal Bridges slammed a dunk home to open the scoring. VJ Edgecombe answered right away on the other end with a mid-range bucket, but he was answered with the same shot from Brunson.
Following a three from Towns, George and Edgecombe responded with triples of their own, and George hit another three two possessions later to give the 76ers the lead. However, following an alley-oop dunk from Brunson to Mitchell Robinson, Brunson went nuclear, hitting his next four shots from nine straight points. Despite Embiid getting a few free throws from Embiid, a long three from Deuce McBride gave the Knicks a five-point lead with three minutes left in the first quarter.
Needing points and stops, the 76ers elected to play Hack-A-Mitchell with Mitchell Robsinosn, fouling him on back-to-back possessions, forcing four missed free throws. Despite the misses, the 76ers were unable to capitalize, missing all of their shots and just getting four free throws, and they were quickly answered back thanks to seven straight points from OG Anunoby, putting the Knicks in front 33-25 after 12 minutes.
Quarter two started differently from the first, with Anunoby, Towns, and Jose Alvarado all hitting layups to start the frame, but a long three from George and five straight points from Oubre kept the 76ers still down just eight heading into a Knicks timeout.
Out of the timeout, Josh Hart drilled a long three for his first bucket of the game, and after four straight points from Maxey, Towns drilled another three, extending New York’s lead. The scoring didn’t stop there for the Knicks as they went on a 15-6 run to close out the first half.
Towns, Anunoby, and Hart continued to dominate the lane, but back-to-back and-one buckets from Oubre and Maxey kept the 76ers close. However, after a three-pointer from Bridges, Brunson went nuclear once again, not missing a single shot in the final two minutes. Whether it was mid-ranges, threes, or free throws, he was hitting it all. A final three just before the final second ticked off made it 11 straight points for Brunson to close out the half, giving the Knicks a 74-51 lead heading into the break.
In the second half, the Knicks kept their foot on the gas. While George and Edgecombe tried their best with early buckets, the Knicks’ offense could be stopped. Whether it was five points from Anunoby, six from Towns, or a couple of threes from Bridges, New York extended its lead, pushing it as high as 31 points with nearly 18 minutes to play. Around this time in the game, the Knicks were shooting 70% from the field and 57% from three.
With the game essentially out of reach, Nick Nurse pulled George, Embiid, and Maxey, giving them some rest time, hoping to see if the bench could get a run going and make it worthwhile to put the starters back in the game. Unfortunately, the Knicks just saw a chance to keep adding onto their lead.
Edgecombe and Justin Edwards drilled threes, but Brunson, for the third straight quarter, kept adding to his total with a late scoring run. Brunson scored eight of the Knicks’ final 13 points of the third quarter, with a Jordan Clarkson layup and a McBride three-pointer the only other buckets. Despite a three from Quentin Grimes just before the horn, the 76ers still trailed a whopping 109-78 heading into the fourth quarter.
With 12 minutes to play, both teams emptied their benches, already attempting to rest their starters for the final frame. With Tyler Kolek and Dalen Terry hitting threes, both teams played essentially rec league basketball to end the game.
While it was the Knicks ‘ bench players, the elite field goal shooting continued with Mohamed Diawara, Kolek, and Landry Shamet all hitting long three-pointers, while Pacome Dadiet and Ariel Hukporti hit inside buckets. Trendon Watford and Dominick Barlow did their best to answer back with multiple buckets each, but it wasn’t enough. When it was all said and done, the Knicks ended the game with a 39-point lead, beating the 76ers 137-98 to take a 1-0 lead on the series.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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