The New York Knicks arrived in the 2026 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals looking like a team that had found its rhythm, then turned Game 1 into a blowout. New York beat the Philadelphia 76ers 137-98 on Monday, making 53 of its 84 shots in a playoff performance that left little doubt about which team controlled the series opener.
OG Anunoby scored 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting, and Jalen Brunson added 35 points on 12-of-18 shooting as the Knicks kept coming from everywhere. For readers searching where to watch Knicks vs 76ers, Game 2 had live coverage on The Athletic, with the series now carrying the weight of what New York did in the opener.
The numbers explain why the Knicks have become such a difficult team to slow down. Dating back to Game 4 against the Hawks in the first round, New York had outscored its opponents by 135 points and scored more than 125 points in three of its four games. That run has come after early-season trial and error gave way to a more comfortable offensive system in the playoffs, one that has the Knicks playing with a kind of flow state that has been hard to break.
That flow was on display against a Philadelphia defense with Joel Embiid anchoring the back line. The 76ers had the size and the presence to make the floor feel crowded, but the Knicks kept finding clean looks and making them, no matter who initiated the action or what call started the possession. Mike Brown described that kind of basketball as fun when players buy into the concepts on both ends and sacrifice for them, because once they do, it matters less what the play is than whether everyone is committed to it.
The tension for Philadelphia is simple: New York has not just won, it has overwhelmed teams since the end of the first round, and Game 1 suggested that pace of scoring can travel even against a defense built around Embiid. The Knicks have already shown they can turn a playoff series into a track meet. Game 2 will show whether the 76ers can force them to slow down.
