Game Recap: 2026 NBA Playoffs Round 2, Game 4 – NYK at PHI; W; NYK: 144, PHI: 114
I know this phrase is cliché, but “How sweep it is!”
The Knicks didn’t just sweep the Philadelphia 76ers. They embarrassed them in their building as an orange-and-blue crowd looked on. On a Mother’s Day afternoon in Philadelphia, the Knicks nailed an NBA playoffs record-tying 25 three-pointers in a 144-114 brick-by-brick demolition of the Sixers. The Knicks have now won seven straight postseason contests.
Image Courtesy: New York Knicks
The Knicks took a double-digit lead 4.5 minutes into the opening quarter, and they never looked back. They tied the playoff record for first-quarter triples with 11 and first-half treys with 18. Miles McBride, starting in OG Anunoby’s place, led the way with seven threes, including an independent 9-0 run that connected to a 12-2 run in the first quarter, giving the Knicks a 20-6 lead. He finished the game with a team-high 25 points.
“Deuce, he was unbelievable,” said head coach Mike Brown. “His ability to stretch the floor and create space for others is second to none. He’s got a confidence about him that just makes us take another level on both ends of the floor.”
Behind McBride, Jalen Brunson hit six three-point shots, including a five-point sequence in five seconds, midway through the third quarter, extending his team’s lead to 29 points. Despite his hand injury, Josh Hart added four threes, and Landry Shamet hit four off the bench. Karl-Anthony Towns secured a pair as well.
“25 threes on 44 attempts, if I’m seeing that right,” Brown said. “It’s unbelievable, and it’s great basketball. But the group that I have in the locker room, they’re more than capable of doing something like that.”
The Knicks, who led the Sixers by as many as 44 points yesterday, outscored them 43-24 in the first quarter and 41-26 in the third. Whenever the Sixers tried to get back into the game, the Knicks instantly shut them down with exquisite three-point shooting.
“Our sprays were tremendous, but the spacing part is what made them really good,” Brown said. The Knicks also earned a 33-24 advantage in assists and held the Sixers to seven fastbreak points and eight made threes.
“We spaced the floor very well, and when they committed to the ball and/or we touched the paint and their defense collapsed, we did a great job of finding the open man and making one more pass without panicking.”
This is a Sixers team that was booed from the opening buzzer. A team whose fans sold their tickets to Knicks fans who, even on Mother’s Day, had no problem driving two hours down I95. A team whose star, Joel Embiid, warned fans not to sell their tickets because he knew Knicks fans would take over his building.
Whenever McBride hit a three-pointer, the crowd screamed “Deuce!” The fans went wild with 2:47 left in the second quarter, when Mitchell Robinson overcame “Hack-A-Mitch” with a pair of made free throws. “Knicks in four” chants filled the arena’s lobby after the win.
Remember how Robinson embarrassed Embiid on Friday by dunking over his head? One Knicks fan passed out printed copies of the photo of that dunk to Knicks fans at Xfinity Mobile Arena, and during the game, the ABC broadcast captured a group of fans holding them up.
“I used to think Philly was a sports town,” Hart said. “I don’t know if it is anymore.”
Hart, Brunson, and Mikal Bridges won championships with Villanova in the same building in which they swept the Sixers. They are familiar with the Philadelphia fanbase, the facilities in that building, and everything the city has to offer, especially Bridges, who is from Philly. So, for those players, Knicks fans taking over Philadelphia carried extra meaning.
“I will always think it is one of the coolest things in the world when you hear Knicks fans in opposing arenas,” Brunson said. “It’s a really cool feeling, I can’t lie.”
During their seven-game win streak, the Knicks have averaged 124 points per game while holding opponents to 99, a testament to their phenomenal defense. Even without Anunoby, their defensive star, the Knicks clogged the wings against the Sixers while averaging a 19.4-point margin of victory through their first two playoff series.
“It’s great when you see a team having that kind of focus, discipline, and execution,” said Towns, whose BPM is the eighth best in any NBA postseason. He had a double-double yesterday with 17 points and 10 assists.
“I’ve always said that the toughest games are to end someone’s season, and to see us taking that to a series, it’s great,” he added. “It’s great for us to see, but now, we’ve got to reset. We’ve got to readjust. Get our minds back right and enjoy this time with our family, and get back to business.”
The Eastern Conference Finals, to which the Knicks have advanced for the second straight season, will not begin until May 17 or 19, depending on the length of the series between Detroit and Cleveland. That gives the Knicks at least a week to recover. However, more rest means more time for momentum to expire. The Knicks are rolling right now. They can’t lose track of the prize that lies eight wins away.
“Our guys, they’ve tried to take it to another level with the focus on the details and their energy and effort level,” 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: consistency.”
These Knicks have been nothing short of consistent in their last seven games, and they have earned the right to rest. As long as they retain their steady, competitive mindset, they will be ready for the conference finals.
