The Knicks are the hottest team in the NBA.
Their first-round surge is showing no signs of slowing up.
It’s only growing stronger.
They keep setting new records.
Capturing new accolades.
Providing more and more reason to believe, as they obliterated the 76ers 137-98 Monday night at Madison Square Garden to take an emphatic 1-0 series lead.
Over the past four games — including the last three games of the first round, following back-to-back losses — the Knicks have outscored opponents by a combined 135 points.
Monday was the largest home playoff win in franchise history.
They became the first team in the play-by-play era to lead by 30-plus points in three straight playoff games.
They became the first to win three straight playoff games by at least 25 points.
They were one point shy of being the first to win back-to-back playoff games by 40 or more.
Just one team had ever ended a series winning by 30 or more points, then opened a series winning by 30 or more points — the 1986 Celtics.
Now, it’s two.
“I just feel like our focus has been better,” Jalen Brunson said. “Our attention to detail has been better. Honestly, I think those two are very important for us. We gotta continue to do so.
“Yes, it’s turned into big wins. But that attention to detail will help us in the close wins as well.”
As the first half wound down, Josh Hart’s shot had clanked off the rim — a rarity for the Knicks on Monday.
But Mikal Bridges corralled the rebound and kicked it out to Brunson.
And Brunson drilled it, with hardly any time left on the clock.
Of course he did.
Did anyone expect otherwise?
He was doing anything he wanted against the 76ers defense.
The shot gave the Knicks a 23-point lead heading into halftime.
It brought Brunson to a whopping 27 points in that first half, including the Knicks’ last 11 heading into the break.
It got the fans inside Madison Square Garden to their feet and to full voice.
MSG was rocking — in that special way it does this time of year and at a level that felt much more intense than at any point in the first round.
The Knicks were making shots for fun.
They were suffocating the 76ers on the other end.
They were making it look easy.
It didn’t take long for that lead to grow to 31 in the first few minutes of the second half.
The 76ers tried to go to a zone.
It laughably failed.
The 76ers had no counterpunch or fight.
It was party time at MSG.
“I think right now,” Karl-Anthony Towns said, “we’re seeing the culmination of the trials and tribulations that we went through in the regular season.”
The Knicks ended at 63.1 percent from the field and 51.4 percent from 3-point range. Both teams emptied their benches for the entirety of the fourth quarter.
It was the second straight game no Knicks starters played a single minute in the fourth quarter.
Fans chanted for Tyler Kolek, like they did during regular-season routs.
The Knicks tormented Joel Embiid in the pick-and-roll, which allowed Brunson to get to any spot he wanted.
He finished with a game-high 35 points — on stellar 12-for-18 shooting from the field and 3-for-6 shooting from 3-point range — along with three assists and just one turnover.
VJ Edgecombe primarily guarded him, but he was often made useless by the endless screens.
“They were obviously,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said, “picking us apart.”
Brunson’s supporting cast followed his lead in the second quarter, and that’s where the Knicks took off.
OG Anunoby’s excellent postseason keeps getting better.
He finished with 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the field while also drilling both 3s he took.
Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 17 apiece.
Hart was characteristically everywhere with eight points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Miles McBride provided a nice punch off the bench.
Foul trouble was perhaps the only area of concern for the Knicks.
Embiid drew a handful on Towns and Mitchell Robinson, forcing Ariel Hukporti to see some rare minutes.
But Embiid was a flailing, nightmarish mess otherwise, recording 14 points on 3-for-11 shooting from the field.
Bridges did a terrific job on Tyrese Maxey, who had just 13 points on 3-for-9 shooting from the field.
He didn’t hit a field goal until midway through the second quarter, when the Knicks were padding their lead.
It was his lowest point total since Jan. 26.
Paul George was a footnote.
It was an all-around bludgeoning.
“Honestly, you gotta take this game with a grain of salt and move forward,” Brunson said. “I don’t think we’re gonna see that team that we saw in Game 1 in Game 2. They’re gonna be ready to go.”
Perhaps the 76ers didn’t have enough time to reset after an emotionally draining seven-game first round.
Or, perhaps, as has been the case for multiple games in a row, this is who the Knicks are.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
