Knicks-Sixers: 5 takeaways from dramatic Game 4
Jalen Brunson sparkled, scoring a playoff career-best 47 points, helping the Knicks secure a 3-1 series lead over the 76ers.
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When both Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby have 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 in 1984. In addition to this, he also contributed 10 assists with just one turnover.
Anunoby contributed 16 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks, and also played a crucial defensive role against Joel Embiid.
Here are a few numbers, observations, and movie clips as the Knicks advanced to a 3-1 lead in the series…
1. Knicks, Brunson target Embiid
Second Spectrum tracking revealed that the Knicks set 52 ball screens for Brunson, 35 of which were set by the player Embiid was guarding. Therefore, even though the two MVPs were not directly opposing each other, the game essentially became Brunson versus Embiid from the Knicks’ perspective.
The sequence began with Embiid in drop coverage, safeguarding the rim and letting Brunson take comfortable jump shots if Brunson’s defender got stuck in the screen.
At times, Embiid was at a higher position, allowing Brunson to put him on the back foot…
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. He did, after all, score 47 points. The most extraordinary of these points came from a wild, 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.
It’s clear that Philly must improve on taking the ball from Brunson. However, assigning Embiid to guard pick-and-rolls more assertively is not the answer. The responsibility will fall on the other Sixers to handle those screens more efficiently and be prepared to assist off Brunson’s teammates.
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 exposes a defense 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 the fourth game, the Knicks converted 15 offensive rebounds and other second-chance opportunities, such as loose-ball fouls or rebounds that went out of bounds, into 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 crucial when the field goal percentage slightly exceeds half the league average. The team that excelled 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 injury he sustained in Game 3. Hartenstein, who had no fouls in the first half, accrued five in the third quarter. This resulted in Precious Achiuwa being on the court for the last 13:25.
However, he was not the one guarding Embiid during that time. That responsibility fell to the 6-foot-8 Anunoby, who was aided significantly.
“Embiid is a handful,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau after the game. “You can’t defend him one-on-one. You need the whole team 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 good shots were achieved midway through the fourth. While down by three, Kyle Lowry passed the ball to Maxey, who exploited a gap in the Knicks’ defense and assisted Oubre in scoring 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’ last field goal was a dunk by Oubre with 5:04 remaining. Although the Knicks let Maxey get an open 3 on the proceeding possession, their defense significantly improved afterwards.
The initial strategy involved preventing the Sixers from launching their offense. With a little over three minutes remaining and the Knicks maintaining a three-point lead, Philly attempted to get Brunson to switch onto Maxey. However, Brunson and Miles McBride, aided slightly by Achiuwa, successfully thwarted this move.
As the Sixers eventually accomplished the switch, only five seconds remained on the shot clock. Brunson managed to control Maxey’s initial drive while McBride countered with a double-team. Anunoby’s rotation frightened Lowry enough to prevent 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 just four. Without hesitation, he passed the ball to Embiid who was on the left side of the court with only 11 seconds remaining on the shot clock. The Knicks responded by applying a double-team once more.
New York’s rotations were once again outstanding, with Josh Hart effectively challenging Tobias Harris’ corner three-point attempt…
At that stage of the game, Anunoby had clocked over 45 minutes, Hart over 44, and Brunson over 42. Yet, the Knicks’ defensive intensity remained at top-notch.
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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