The Knicks didn’t get to celebrate in front of their home crowd after finishing off a sweep of the Sixers on Sunday afternoon, but it kind of felt that way, writes Vincent Goodwill of ESPN. Plenty of New York fans made the trip to Xfinity Mobile Arena to enjoy their team’s latest dominant performance, a 144-114 win that ran the Knicks’ winning streak to seven games and put them in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Guard Josh Hart, who played at Villanova, couldn’t resist taking a playful swipe at his former home city.
“I used to think Philly was a sports town. I don’t know if it is anymore,” he said. “Everybody was begging for Philly [fans] not to sell their tickets. It never felt like a road game.”
In fairness to Philadelphia fans, they were probably dispirited by the one-sided nature of the matchup. New York controlled the series right from the start and had Sunday’s game virtually wrapped up by halftime. The Knicks tied an NBA record by making 18 three-pointers in the first half and held a 24-point lead at intermission.
Goodwill notes that New York has outscored its opponents by 19.4 points per game through the first two rounds, which is the largest differential for any team entering the conference finals since the playoffs were expanded 42 years ago. The Knicks have been looking unbeatable lately, but players aren’t taking anything for granted.
“Our team, the first year with each other, beating Boston last year we were very excited,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “This year, we’re locked into the moment, and there’s a lot more work to do. So, it’s great to see our guys kind of hungry for the next challenge.”
There’s more on the Knicks:
- Towns continued to flash his play-making skills with nine assists in 16 minutes during the first half on Sunday, observes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. He finished with 10, but only had to play four minutes in the second half because the game was out of reach. The Knicks’ offense has been energized since Brown decided to turn Towns into more of a passer midway through the first-round series. “Shout out to our team,” Towns said. “We found a way to, in a way, stabilize our season and do what was needed to adjust to Atlanta. And [we] found ourselves in a better position. It’s a shout-out to the coaching staff for realizing adjustments that needed to be made and also [a] shout-out to me personally that they trusted me.”
- Miles McBride, who hit seven three-pointers on Sunday while starting in place of the injured OG Anunoby, said the Knicks adopted a more aggressive attitude after falling behind Atlanta in Round 1, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv. “I feel like our mindset shifted,” McBride said. “We know we’re the better team (but) we can’t just come out there and expect to win, because they’re talented too. So I feel like our mindset just shifted totally to ‘take the game’ instead of (waiting for) them to give us the game.”
- The organization spent years chasing stars before landing Jalen Brunson in the summer of 2022, notes James L. Edwards of The Athletic. The undersized guard didn’t look like a franchise player when he was signed away from Dallas, but he has affected the team as much as anyone else could have. “What’s the dude’s name on Snoopy? Linus? He’s got a blanket,” coach Mike Brown said. “I’m Linus, and Jalen is my blanket. He helps me relax throughout the course of a game. That’s what great players do. They keep you poised, they make the game easier for everybody else and they help you get through a stretch.”
Good for the Knicks. Keep this momentum rolling. I don’t see a lot of resistance on the way to the finals either.
I’m disappointed that Tom Thibodeau couldn’t be there for the coming expected finals experience and that perhaps folks will take a sideway glance at his legacy because of it.
Mike Brown was able to get them there, but not Tom? That’s unfortunate in my opinion.
GM Gary,
The Knicks are peaking at the right time, but have played two VERY weak teams so far. If you look at how the Pistons have destroyed them in the reg season, it’s hard to think that a road series vs Detroit would be easy.
Great point.
I think the experience of the Knicks will shine through here as the Pistons are still very young outside of Tobias Harris. He’s been huge for them, but it’s not enough.
The Pistons are growing and look out next year. There’s probably nothing going to be in the way of the Pistons Eastern run in ‘27.
@ NBA… Knicks have beaten two PLAYOFF teams, right?
And, thru my limited basketball experience, you’re supposed to be playing your best ball of the season in April… then May… to get you to June.
If you’re a championship team, maybe you make a good team look weak.
The Pistons kinda owned NY in the regular season but were almost dead in the water against Orlando. Are THEY peaking at the right time – or regressing? Are they the same team today that “destroyed” NY in the regular season?
I think the Knicks were trying to figure out their team when they played Detroit – heck, they were trying to figure it out all season.
Bickerstaff had already been with his team and knew what he was doing with them.
Don’t read too much into their regular season matchups.
***And the way the Knicks are shooting the ball – not particularly a strength of Detroit…
@NBA is OK: “If you look at how the Pistons have destroyed them in the reg season”
Regular season does not matter one bit. Celtics were 4-0 in the regular season last year against the Knicks by an average victory margin of 16 points per game. Pistons were 3-1 against the Knicks last year in the regular season. Knicks handled both in the playoffs.
I’m not saying it will be easy but I would put the Knicks as solid favorites. That’s if the Pistons even get there. Cavs could beat them.
This isn’t the West… Don’t get too excited…
This is just expected for an eastern team with a chance at the finals…
Thibs will go down as a great asssistant coach… Great defensive mind… But too stubborn to adapt as a head coach…
I doubt the NYK planned to celebrate, home or away. Beating a 45-37 PHI team is only what they were supposed to do, nothing to celebrate.
No doubt, the NYK didn’t just win, but also looked very impressive in doing so. Encouraging for the fans, particularly in that the same included not taking games off (a staple of their season). Their play may be something the fans celebrate, but not really something the team should needing 8 more wins to make it meaningful.
@Gary – Thibs will be a HOF’er, without much debate. That will his legacy, along with the respect he has universally throughout the coaching community. What won’t matter to his legacy is what 2k’ers think, or that a few of them with the owner’s ear succeeded in running him out of NY. Thankfully, the team is back on course, although they kind of flipped a switch to get there. Something I’ve never believed in, although I’m open to it.
Knick fans take over Philly lols …….. funny
link to x.com
Knicks are playing their best ball now. We have seen this during their 53 wins. Just hasn’t been as consistent as Thunder or Pistons. During season. And we can all argue on the reasons why. Fact is they have shown they are contenders. And you hope they show up like that for playoffs. The Hawks woke them up imo. Now it’s just about maintaining that focus and commitment to winning as a team. Any top team looks good when their shots are falling. Its what you do when the shots aren’t falling. That will get you to championship level. Only going to get tougher next round. We need OG healthy and the bench ready to go. Next rd will be fun. Imo Knicks are more physical than either Cavs or Pistons. And that will go a long way in that series. Peaking at right time lols.
“Let’s go Knickerbockers”