Knicks CRUSH 76’ers in Game 1. NY 137 Philadelphia 98

May 5, 2026 LouV 2025-26 0
Josh Hart was everywhere on defense and leading the fast break on offense. Photo courtesy NY Knicks.

The Knicks started to pull away at the end of the 1st quarter and absolutely crushed the 76ers 137-98 in Game 1 of the Best-of-7 series at Madison Square Garden on a Monday night. NY led by 23 at the half, were up by 31 after 3 quarters, and were up by 40+ points in the 4th.

NY played phenomenal defense and orchestrated a phenomenal offense, all night.

Jalen Brunson led the charge with 35 pts on 12-18 shooting (3-6 from 3). Karl-Anthony Towns dominated with 17 pts on 7-11 shooting (3-5 from 3), 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and a block in only 20 minutes.

Josh Hart was everywhere on defense and leading the break on offense. He defended the quick Philly guards — Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecomb — well, and had 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 8 pts in 26 minutes.

Mikal Bridges also defended the Philly guards well, and was at the top of his game, splashing 17 pts on 7-10 shooting (3-5 from 3) in 27 minutes. OG Anunoby was phenomenal too — 7-8 from the floor (2-2 from 3) for 18 pts in 30 minutes.

Joel Embiid got 2 quick fouls on KAT, causing Mitchell Robinson to come in early. Philly then went to a hack-a-Mitch strategy, and after Mitch missed 4 free throws, the Knicks brought in Ariel Hukporti late in the 1st quarter. And Hukporti did a great job all night against Embiid — playing 17 minutes and grabbing 9 rebounds. By early in the 2nd quarter KAT was back and on the attack. And Mitch dominated in the 12 minutes he played.

The 3-man tandem limited Embiid to 14 pts on 3-11 shooting (8-9 in free throws) with 4 rebounds in 25 minutes. Maxey was limited to 13 pts on 3-9 shooting (0-3 from 3), and Edgecombe was limited to 12 pts on 5-11 shooting in 28 minutes.

Coach Mike Brown began the postgame interview by sending well wishes to Nick Nurse and his family following the passing of Nurse’s brother Steve.

1. Knicks Take Command Late in 1st

Jalen Brunson came out on a mission — hitting bucket after bucket in the first quarter — at one point scoring 14 of the Knicks first 21 pts.

Philly came out with a strategy to go to Joel Embiid inside and try to get Karl-Anthony Towns in early foul trouble. And it worked — Embiid pushing into KAT on drives and drawing 2 quick fouls which sent KAT to the bench 5 minutes into the game.

Hukporti Makes 1st Entrance as ‘3rd Center’

Mitchell Robinson replaced KAT and immediately scored an alley-oop slam inside and started defending Embiid well, but Philly countered with hack-a-Mitch — Robinson ‘just’ missing 4 consecutive free throws — so NY countered by bringing in 7’0 Ariel Hukporti with 2:30 left in the 1st quarter in a 24-21 game, Knick lead.

Homerun.

Hukporti would play an important role all night — defending Embiid and the paint well, and ripping down 9 rebounds and playing to a +22 in 17 minutes.

Mitch Returns for Final 2 Minutes

But not at first — Hukporti played 30 seconds — and Embiid drew a foul on him — before being replaced by Mitch with 2 minutes left. Teams get hit with a double penalty if they intentionally foul a player in the last 2 minutes of a quarter.

With Mitch in, the Knicks made a run in the last 2 minutes — with OG scoring on a drive and then hitting free throws on another drive, Mitch defending Embiid into a miss inside, and Miles McBride hitting a deuce to give NY a 33-25 lead after 1 quarter.

3. Knicks Push Lead to 23 by the Half

KAT was back in to start the 2nd quarter, and he and the Knicks started to rock and roll.

OG hit a drive inside off a Beautiful KAT assist, then KAT grabbed his own offensive rebound on a drive and scored, and NY was up 12 at 37-25.

Next time down KAT found Jose Alvarado underneath for a bucket. KAT was a scoring/passing/defending machine.

Alvarado pushed the pace, and Mitchell Robinson came back in — playing alongside KAT.

  • Josh Hart stole the ball and feeding Mikal Bridges on the break for a slam.
  • Next time down Bridges hit Hart for a 3.

OG came in for Mitch and NY continued to apply the frenetic defense.

  • KAT popped a 3 for a 49-37 Knick lead. Philly time out.
  • Out of the timeout, KAT was back attacking the rim for a 51-39 Knick lead.

“You love this from Karl Anthony Towns,” noted NBA Analyst Ross Kreines. “Quick, decisive and no thought of settling here .As soon as he catches he knows he has Embiid, baseline is wide open, no wasted dribbles and then he punishes the rim . Put your defender at your mercy.”

Josh Hart and the Knicks increased the defensive pressure — Hart was everywhere — and finding Bridges who was on his game — splashing 3’s and scoring on drives.

And in between all of that, Jalen Brunson was hitting every shot he took — scoring at will on drives to the basket, as Embiid seemed to slow to cover — and then popping 3’s. Brunson scored the last 11 Knick points before the half as NY went up by 23, at 74-51.

4. Knicks Tear into Philly in 3rd — Go Up by 31

The Knicks did not take their foot off the pedal in the 3rd — in fact they put the pedal to the metal. More intense defense; more Philly turnovers; NY just kept coming on both ends of the court.

5. Knicks’ 3rd Team Plays the 4th — and Increases the Lead

The Knicks put their 3rd team in for the 4th quarter, and they rolled too — led by Tyler Kolek who was orchestrating, penetrating, hitting teammates with spiffy passes, defending, and hitting 3’s.

Ariel Hukporti manned the middle, Mohammed Diawara was at the power forward, Landry Shamet got burn at the shooting guard, and Pacome Dadiet came in for small forwards. And NY took it to the Philly reserves — pushing the Knick lead to over 40 points in the blowout.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401871159

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