The New York Knicks overpowered the Philadelphia 76ers with a 144-114 victory, completing a 4-0 series sweep and securing a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Sixers entered the series with momentum after a hard-fought 4-3 win over the No. 2 seed Celtics, but they couldn’t match the Knicks’ intensity. New York’s average margin of victory across the first two rounds—19.4 points per game—stands as the largest since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1984.
In the first half, the Knicks connected on 18 three-pointers, generating 54 points from beyond the arc—just three fewer than the 76ers’ entire game total. That blistering shooting helped them build an 81-57 halftime lead, and they never looked back. The sweep marked New York’s first best-of-seven series sweep since the 1999 Eastern Conference semifinals against Atlanta.
Image: New York Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns, right, goes up for a dunk against Philadelphia 76ers’ Andre Drummond
The Knicks now advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight season. They will face the winner of the Cleveland Cavaliers-Detroit Pistons series, with the Pistons currently leading 2-1.
Image: New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson plays during game four in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Image: New York Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns, right, goes up for a dunk against Philadelphia 76ers’ Andre Drummond
Deuce McBride stepped in for the injured OG Anunoby and delivered a standout performance, sinking seven three-pointers—including a perfect 4-for-4 in the first quarter when the Knicks set a franchise playoff record with 11 threes in the period. He finished with 25 points. Star point guard Jalen Brunson added 22, while Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns each chipped in 17.
Knicks fans once again flooded the Sixers’ arena, a trend that has become a playoff tradition. In Game 4, they brought brooms and waved “Always Knicks” towels, drowning out the few remaining Sixers supporters.
Image: Philadelphia 76ers’ Nick Nurse reacts during the second half of Game 4
“Our guys tried to take it to another level with their focus on the details and their energy and effort level,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said. “That’s a lot of the reason why we’re playing pretty good basketball.”
Joel Embiid closed another injury-plagued season with 24 points, Tyrese Maxey added 17, but the 76ers once again fell short of advancing past the second round—a hurdle they haven’t cleared since 2001.
Image: Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid has struggled against the Knicks since recovering from appendicitis earlier in the Playoffs
“I came into this year not knowing where I was going to be [with health], how long I was going to play, if I was even going to play based on how the knee was the last few years,” Embiid said. “I came in just hoping for the best and I feel like we’re in a position where we figured out the knee. It hasn’t been an issue.”