Knicks-Sixers: 5 takeaways from dramatic Game 4

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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, he distributed 10 assists and only committed one turnover.

Anunoby contributed 16 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks, in addition to playing crucial defense against Joel Embiid.

Here are a few numbers, observations, and movie clips as the Knicks pulled ahead with a 3-1 series lead…

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1. Knicks, Brunson target Embiid

Second Spectrum tracking indicates that the Knicks set up 52 ball screens for Brunson, with 35 of these screens put in place by the player Embiid was defending. Therefore, even though the two MVPs were not directly guarding each other, the game essentially became a Brunson vs. Embiid match from the Knicks’ perspective.

The sequence began with Embiid in drop coverage, guarding the rim and letting Brunson move into comfortable jump shots if Brunson’s defender got tangled up in the screen.

At times, Embiid was at a higher position and Brunson could make him stagger…

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 triumphed over Embiid. After all, he did notch up 47 points. The most remarkable among those 47 was a wild, fading runner shot across his body at the buzzer of the shot clock, 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 needs to improve on taking the ball away from Brunson. Having Embiid play a more aggressive role in guarding pick-and-rolls isn’t the answer. Instead, the responsibility will fall on the rest of the Sixers to handle those screens more efficiently and prepare to assist off Brunson’s teammates.

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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 at the ball also exposes a defense’s weakness on the glass, and the Knicks, once more, exploited 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, along with other second-chance opportunities due to loose-ball fouls or rebounds going 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 outperformed in rebounding emerged as the winner 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.

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3. Defending Embiid is not a one-man job

Mitchell Robinson, of the Knicks, was absent due to re-injuring his ankle in Game 3. Hartenstein, who had no fouls in the first half, accumulated five in the third quarter. This resulted in Precious Achiuwa taking the court for the final 13:25.

However, he wasn’t the one guarding Embiid during that period. This responsibility was given to the 6-foot-8 Anunoby, who received ample support.

“Embiid is a heavy responsibility,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau after the game. “He can’t be defended individually. 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 good shots were made midway through the fourth. With a three point deficit, Kyle Lowry passed the ball to Maxey. Maxey then exploited a gap in the Knicks’ defense and successfully passed the ball to Oubre under the basket, who scored with a dunk.

Maxey then missed a wide-open 3 on the next possession when the Knicks’ first rotation was late (and coming from too far away).

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4. Knicks force Sixers to play late in the clock

The Sixers’ last field goal was that dunk by Oubre with 5:04 remaining. On the following possession, the Knicks permitted Maxey’s open 3, but their defense significantly improved thereafter.

The initial strategy was to prevent the Sixers from launching their offense. With a little over three minutes remaining and the Knicks leading by three, Philly attempted to switch Brunson onto Maxey. However, Brunson and Miles McBride, with some assistance from Achiuwa, successfully thwarted this attempt…

When the Sixers managed to switch, only five seconds remained on the shot clock. Brunson successfully held off Maxey’s initial drive, McBride retaliated with a double-team, Anunoby’s rotation deterred Lowry from a 3-pointer, and Achiuwa’s rotation blocked Embiid’s 3-pointer 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.

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5. Knicks double, scramble and contest

The Sixers were only trailing by four points when Lowry retrieved a missed shot by Oubre. He promptly passed the ball to Embiid who was positioned on the left side of the court, with 11 seconds remaining on the shot clock. The Knicks responded by once more employing a double-team strategy.

New York’s rotations were impressive once again, as Josh Hart notably put up a great challenge against Tobias Harris’ attempt at a corner 3-point shot…

At that stage of the game, Anunoby had clocked in over 45 minutes, Hart over 44 and Brunson over 42. Despite this, the defensive vitality of the Knicks remained 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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