The New York Knicks are not just winning. They are doing things that have never been done before.
Jalen Brunson scored 35 points—27 of them in the first half—as the Knicks crushed the Philadelphia 76ers, 137-98, on Tuesday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at Madison Square Garden. The victory made New York the first team in NBA history to win three straight postseason games by at least 25 points. They have now won four consecutive playoff games by a combined 135 points. They are the first team since detailed play-by-play tracking began in 1996–97 to lead three straight playoff games by at least 30 points.
The records keep coming. So do the wins.
A Knicks Statement From the Opening Tip
The 76ers had one full day of rest after completing a historic 3-1 comeback against the Boston Celtics on Sunday They looked like it. Philadelphia showed up to Madison Square Garden looking like the team that lost twice by 32 points during the first four games of that first-round series—not the one that clawed its way back.
Brunson had 27 points before halftime, including 11 straight to close the second quarter, capped by a three-pointer with 0.3 seconds remaining to make it 74-51 at the break. New York shot 63% from the field. By the time Karl-Anthony Towns hit a three-pointer to make it 90-60 five minutes into the second half, the game was over in every meaningful sense. Brunson played only 31 minutes—perhaps the only reason he did not reach 40 points for the fourth straight playoff game against this opponent.
He averaged 35.5 points against Philadelphia in a 2024 first-round series and closed it with three consecutive 40-point performances, including a franchise playoff-record 47 in Game 4. The 76ers have not figured out a way to stop him. They did not come close on Monday.
OG Anunoby added 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting. Towns posted 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in just 20 minutes. Mikal Bridges also scored 17. New York had their starters sitting comfortably in the fourth quarter while the game was long decided.
Philadelphia Had No Answers
Joel Embiid shot 3-for-11 for 14 points. Tyrese Maxey finished with 13 and did not make his first basket until five minutes into the second quarter. Paul George led the 76ers with 17 points—numbers that look decent until you consider the context. Philadelphia’s best players were non-factors in a game they needed to set a tone in, visiting a building where the atmosphere was ready to consume them.
Embiid had already made headlines before tip-off by pleading with 76ers fans not to sell their tickets to Knicks fans when the series shifts to Philadelphia. After Monday night’s performance, he may need to make that plea more loudly. The 76ers did not give their own crowd much reason to hold on to those tickets.
What This Knicks Team Is Becoming
The historical context of what New York is doing in this postseason is genuinely remarkable. After trailing 2-1 against the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, the Knicks won four straight games by margins that add up to 135 points. Their Game 6 win over Atlanta—a 140-89 demolition that featured a 47-point halftime lead—set a postseason record.
Game 1 against Philadelphia was not quite at that level. There were long stretches that looked exactly like it.
Game 2 is on Thursday, also at Madison Square Garden before the series moves to Philadelphia. The Knicks are playing some of the most dominant basketball of anyone in the postseason right now—and Brunson has Philadelphia’s number in a way that has not changed in two years.
The 76ers still have not found a solution. They have 48 hours to figure one out.
