On Sunday afternoon, a historic performance from Jalen Brunson pushed the Philadelphia 76ers to the brink of elimination. Entering the pivotal Game 4, the first three games of the series had been won by the home team — resulting in the New York Knicks holding a 2-1 advantage.
Brunson made sure that the trend wasn’t going to continue. The All-Star guard scored 47 points in a 97-92 win over the Sixers. Not only did he score the most points in a playoff game of his career, but Brunson set a franchise record in the win. In addition to scoring nearly half of New York’s points, Brunson registered 10 assists.
The shorthanded Knicks also received big contributions from OG Anunoby (16 points and 14 rebounds), Josh Hart (17 rebounds), and the crowd. Yes, the crowd. Despite playing in Philadelphia, New York’s fan base made its voice heard throughout the game.
“The Philadelphia fanbase is, I said this before, they’re very relentless and very passionate. I mean, I’m an Eagles fan, I would know,” said Brunson. “But seeing the Knicks here and hearing the Knicks here, it was pretty cool and it’s awesome.”
Reigning MVP Joel Embiid was not thrilled with the crowd and said as much following the critical loss.
“Disappointing,” Embiid said. “I love our fans. Think it’s unfortunate, and I’m not calling them out, but it is disappointing. Obviously, you got a lot of Knicks fans, and they’re down the road. I’ve never seen it, and I’ve been here for 10 years. Yeah, it kind of pisses me off, especially because Philly is considered a sports town. They’ve always shown up, and I don’t think that should happen. Yeah, it’s not OK.”
Now, the Knicks will have three opportunities to close out the series and advance to take on the winner of Milwaukee-Indiana — a series that the Pacers currently lead 3-1.
