Knicks-Sixers: 5 takeaways from dramatic Game 4
Jalen Brunson stood out with a personal playoff record of 47 points, helping the Knicks secure a 3-1 series lead over the 76ers.
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When Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby have both been in the lineup, the New York Knicks have a record of 22-3.
They were two of the five players who played more than 43 minutes of Game 4 of the Knicks’ first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday afternoon, and they had their fingerprints all over New York’s 97-92 victory.
Brunson set a new Knicks playoff record by scoring 47 points, surpassing Bernard King’s two 46-point performances from 1984. In addition, he distributed 10 assists and only had one turnover.
Anunoby contributed 16 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks, while also delivering some crucial defense against Joel Embiid.
Here are a few numbers, observations, and film analysis as the Knicks secured a 3-1 lead in the series…
1. Knicks, Brunson target Embiid
Second Spectrum’s tracking data reveals that the Knicks established 52 ball screens for Brunson, with Embiid’s mark setting 35 of these screens. Therefore, even though the two MVPs were not directly defending each other, the game essentially turned into a match-up between Brunson and Embiid on the Knicks’ side of the court.
It began with Embiid providing rim protection in drop coverage. If Brunson’s defender got tangled up in the screen, this permitted Brunson to easily step into jump shots.
At times, Embiid was at a higher position and Brunson could unbalance him…
That “at the level” coverage can sometimes provide a runway for the roll man, but Embiid was twice able to recover and contest or block a layup attempt by the Knicks’ bigs.
Ultimately, Brunson outperformed Embiid, scoring an impressive 47 points. The highlight of these 47 points was a remarkable, fading runner across his body as the shot clock buzzer sounded, following a forced switch by Embiid.
A few minutes later, Embiid was well beyond the 3-point line and got caught on the wrong side of the screen as Brunson drove for a layup to put the Knicks up three with a little more than five minutes left.
Clearly, Philly needs to improve in taking the ball from Brunson, and making Embiid guard pick-and-rolls more forcefully is not the answer. The responsibility falls on the other Sixers to better maneuver those screens and be prepared to assist off Brunson’s team members.
2. Knicks continue to dominate the glass
Those New York teammates were just 5-for-19 from 3-point range on Sunday, but are still 40-for-98 (41%) from beyond the arc on the series.
Assisting the ball also puts the defense at risk on the glass, and once again, the Knicks capitalized on this by punishing the Sixers with offensive rebounds…
- In Game 1, the Knicks had 23 offensive boards and 26 second-chance points.
- In Game 2, the Knicks had just 12 and 12, but it was Isaiah Hartenstein’s offensive rebound that led to Donte DiVincenzo’s game-winning 3-pointer.
- In Game 4, the Knicks capitalized on 15 offensive rebounds and other second-chance opportunities, like loose-ball fouls or rebounds that went out of bounds, to score 21 second-chance points.
More than half (11) of those second-chance points came in the fourth quarter. And those 11 second-chance points accounted for more than half of the Knicks’ 20 points in the period. It was a one-point game after the third quarter and it was an ugly fourth, with the two teams combining to shoot 12-for-45 (27%).
Rebounding becomes nearly twice as vital when the field goal percentage is slightly above half the league’s average. The team that outperformed in rebounding emerged as the victor on Sunday.
In the first round against the Cleveland Cavaliers last year, the Knicks retained 39.4% of available offensive boards, the highest rate for any team in any series in 10 years. Their offensive rebounding percentage in this series (38.9%) is only a tick lower than that.
3. Defending Embiid is not a one-man job
Mitchell Robinson was absent from the Knicks due to an ankle re-injury during Game 3. Hartenstein, who hadn’t committed any fouls in the first half, accumulated five in the third quarter. This resulted in Precious Achiuwa being on the court for the last 13:25.
Over that stretch, he didn’t guard Embiid. Instead, the 6-foot-8 Anunoby took on the job, with considerable assistance.
“Embiid is a formidable player,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau after the game. “You can’t defend against him one-on-one. It requires a team effort to guard him.”
The Sixers’ execution against double-teams was a mixed bag. There were possessions in the third quarter where Tyrese Maxey shot too quickly or Kelly Oubre Jr. stopped the ball instead of swinging it to a wide-open teammate.
A couple of impressive shots were made midway through the fourth quarter. Trailing by three, Kyle Lowry passed the ball to Maxey. Maxey seized the opportunity to exploit a gap in the Knicks’ defense, setting up Oubre for a dunk under the basket.
Maxey then missed a wide-open 3 on the next possession when the Knicks’ first rotation was late (and coming from too far away).
4. Knicks force Sixers to play late in the clock
The Sixers’ final field goal was Oubre’s dunk with 5:04 remaining. The Knicks did permit an open Maxey 3 in the subsequent possession, however, their defense significantly improved thereafter.
The initiative began by preventing the Sixers from executing their offense. As the Knicks held a slight lead of three points and roughly three minutes on the clock, Philly attempted to create a switch, positioning Brunson against Maxey. However, Brunson and Miles McBride, with some assistance from Achiuwa, successfully thwarted this attempt.
When the Sixers managed to switch at last, only five seconds remained on the shot clock. Brunson successfully held back Maxey’s first drive, followed by McBride’s double-team. Then, Anunoby’s rotation frightened Lowry from a 3-pointer, and Achiuwa rotated to block Embiid’s 3-pointer just as the shot clock ran out.
On the next possession, there were eight seconds left on the clock before the Sixers got what they wanted (an Embiid post catch), because Anunoby initially kept the big man from using an Oubre screen. The Knicks doubled Embiid, Achiuwa rotated up to Maxey, kept him out of the paint (as the other Knicks stayed home on shooters), and forced him into a tough, step-back jumper that came up way short.
5. Knicks double, scramble and contest
Lowry rebounded an Oubre miss when the Sixers were still trailing by only four. He quickly passed the ball to Embiid on the left side of the floor, with only 11 seconds remaining on the shot clock. The Knicks responded by once again deploying a double-team.
New York’s rotations were once again outstanding, as Josh Hart made an excellent challenge on Tobias Harris’ attempt at a corner 3-point shot…
At that stage of the game, Anunoby had clocked over 45 minutes, Hart over 44, and Brunson over 42. Yet, the Knicks’ defensive vigor remained unparalleled.
After scoring 125 points on just 91 possessions (137 per 100) in Game 3, the Sixers had just 92 on 91 in Game 4, including just 16 on 21 (76 per 100) in the fourth quarter.
That 22-3 record that the Knicks have with both Brunson and Anunoby includes a 13-0 mark at Madison Square Garden, where they can end this series in Game 5 on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, TNT).
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John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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