There were nervy moments late on but Jalen Brunson relished the responsibility, reeling off a new career playoff-high 47 points alongside 10 assists to power the Knicks into a hard-fought road win over Philadelphia, taking a commanding series lead in their first-round matchup with the 76ers.
Sixers stifled late as postseason pressure mounts
FIND a way to win, any means necessary. Philadelphia had opportunities to prevail but now face a win-or-go-home scenario early next week after their over-reliance on returning superstar center Joel Embiid was laid bare once again on their own floor.
“It was ugly but we stuck together, I expect two hard teams fighting [on Tuesday] and wouldn’t have it any other way,” Brunson told ESPN postgame after his tireless scoring efforts helped pull New York away with a gritty road victory.
Having played the full second-half after his teammates capitulated on both sides of the ball once he sat in the first, Embiid predictably ran out of steam as some of his crunch-time decisions were baffling and Tom Thibodeau’s side could breathe a sigh of relief again after clawing back from a 10-point deficit midway through the third.
Embiid rested on the bench at 27-17 PHI, to start Q2
The team collectively went 0-of-7 on their shot attempts, had a turnover and the score read 29-25 when 2022-23 MVP big man returned at 7:58 to play in the quarter
Philly were 90-89 down with 5:04 left after Tyrese Maxey assisted Kelly Oubre Jr for a dunk. Embiid stole the ball from Brunson on the next possession, before Precious Achiuwa blocked Oubre in the paint, Maxey missing a triple attempt on the rebound.
Achiuwa, another shrewd midseason acquisition that arrived in their OG Anunoby trade, blocked two more shots – both on Embiid – over the final three minutes as their reserve big man slotted seamlessly into the void left by Mitchell Robinson (ankle) and Isaiah Hartenstein, the latter finding himself in early foul trouble.
Anunoby was an invaluable asset as advertised when they made the move post-Christmas, especially given the travelling Knicks were short-handed here and that injury luck worsened a minute into proceedings after reserve guard/forward Bojan Bogdanovic (ankle) couldn’t continue following a collision with Nicolas Batum.
He played a game-high 47 minutes, logging a timely double-double (16 points, 14 rebounds) alongside three blocks as he and Achiuwa took turns defensively guarding Embiid down the stretch as the weary big man couldn’t dominate as he likes.
Knicks guard Josh Hart, who lit up the start of this series with a trio of 20-point performances, finally saw his shot crash back down to earth. That didn’t stop him from being a nuisance though, chasing after loose balls and posting a 17-rebound statline with five assists and three blocks is commendable all things considered.
They collectively snatched 21 second-chance points on a day where their supplementary players took a while to get going – Donte DiVincenzo missed his first seven shots – yet the Sixers similarly struggled with more volume by comparison.
Miles McBride (13 pts, 4 rebs) made three triples off the bench, equalling a team-high for Philadelphia – Maxey and Oubre each had that number – while Nick Nurse didn’t really get much production off the bench either on a day he needed a spark.
Tobias Harris (10 pts, 8 rebs on 4-of-10 shooting) wasn’t aggressive enough to rival Oubre (7-of-15) for shots while 2018-19 NBA champion Kyle Lowry was getting plaudits for nous rather than scoring touch: drawing fouls, playmaking et al.
Brunson was struggling early, having had more shot attempts than made buckets (16-of-55) in their two-game home slate but has stepped it up, posting a 39-point, 13-assist showing during their Game 3 defeat before going even bigger here. While not a finalist this term, those MVP chants – at Wells Fargo, no less – speak for themselves.
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via ESPN
Mo and Sports 