NEW YORK Knicks stormed into NBA Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year after crushing the Philadelphia 76ers, 144-114, to complete a four-game sweep of their conference semis series on Sunday (Monday in the Philippines) in Philadelphia.
New York came out blazing from beyond the arc and never looked back, knocking down 11 three-pointers in the opening quarter to establish a new NBA postseason record for most triples in a period.
Miles McBride spearheaded the shooting barrage, draining seven three-pointers and finishing with 25 points. Jalen Brunson contributed 22 points, while Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in 17 apiece.
The Knicks quickly seized control behind a blistering start from long range. McBride buried four straight triples early in the first quarter to help ignite a 20-6 run that silenced the home crowd.
The Knicks continued their offensive explosion in the second quarter, ending the first half with 18 triples and an overwhelming 81-57 advantage. New York eventually tied an NBA postseason record with 25 made three-pointers in the game.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, saw its season end despite another strong effort from Joel Embiid, who scored 24 points. Tyrese Maxey added 17 markers for the 76ers, who again failed to advance past the second round for the 25th straight year.
Meanwhile, Minnesota Timberwolves took advantage of the ejection of San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama to score a 114-109 Game 4 win and tie their Western Conference semis at 2-2.
Wembanyama was thrown out of the contest after being slapped with a flagrant foul penalty two early in the second quarter for swinging his elbow on Timberwolves’ Naz Reid.
Anthony Edwards spearheaded the Timberwolves offense with 36 points, 16 coming in the fourth quarter. Reid added 15 markers, while Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, and Ayo Dosunmu had 14, 12, 11 and 10, respectively.
Filipino-American rookie Dylan Harper and DeAarox Fox paced the Spurs with 24 points apiece, while Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell had 20 and 14 markers, respectively./PN
