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The New York Knicks are blowing away the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their seven-game, Eastern Conference semifinal series at Madison Square Garden tonight.
New York led by 23 points at the half, punctuated by Jalen Brunson’s 3 at the buzzer for 27 points on 10-for-14 shooting from the field.
That lead blew out to 31 points in the third quarter, as the 76ers’ exploits in Boston appear to have caught up with them. Paul George leads Philadelphia with 17 points — but you have to go back to 3:21 in the first quarter for the last time the 76ers led.
Game 2 is back at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. In the meantime, follow below for second-half latest from our NBA experts.
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Probably shouldn't see the the Knicks starters again if they're up around 30 still after the third quarter. Nurse has seemingly waved the white flag already.
Q3 2:40 – Knicks 96, Sixers 71
The Sixers have cut the lead to 25 points without Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Paul George on the floor after a VJ Edgecombe 3.
The 76ers are reaching a place in this game where they have to consider sitting Joel Embiid for the rest of the night. It's a huge deficit and time is running out, so when does the risk of Embiid getting injured (and putting more wear on him) outweigh the slim chances of a comeback?
Mikal Bridges has gotten a lot of criticism, but he's been awesome tonight. Forceful defensively and blending in nicely on offense with his spot-up shooting and ballhandling responsibilities.
Gotta admit it, if the Knicks win every game by 30, I think they can win the title.
Q3 6:03 – Knicks 93, Sixers 65
Mikal Bridges hits a corner triple but Paul George get a hoop to go on the other end plus a foul.
That's four fouls on KAT.
Q3 7:03 – Knicks 90, Sixers 60
VJ Edgecombe gets a couple tough buckets going straight at Jalen Brunson but New York is now up 30 after KAT knocks down a triple.
If this outcome keeps, the story of the game will probably be about Jalen Brunson and his offensive prowess but it should be about the Knicks defense. They have done an incredible job so far not only stopping Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey but just shutting Philly down in general. This has been a top-notch defensive performance. Props to the Knicks and Mike Brown on that. They are stifling Embiid and he's making passes like Jalen Hurts over the middle of the field. They're forcing turnovers and getting out on the break. I haven't watched all the Knicks games this season but this has to be one of their best.
The 76ers are trying to turn OG Anunoby into a shooter and he doesn't miss so it's not working. Joel Embiid is guarding him and still dropping in the pick-and-roll. OG just drilled a 3. Knicks up 27.
Q3 8:51 – Knicks 83, Sixers 56
OG Anunoby is still rolling for New York, up to five points in the quarter already after a dunk in transition minutes ago and now a wide-open triple.
Timeout Sixers.
I feel like the speed and athleticism of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe are two of the Sixers' strengths, especially in transition, and it feels like Philly has gotten little use of that so far. The Knicks are forcing turnovers and getting transition buckets (like right there with a dunk by OG) but Philly is playing in baked over mud.
Q3 12:00 – Knicks 74, Sixers 51
New York leads by 23 to start the second half and begins the quarter with the ball.
Robbie Hummel said it best: Knicks are getting everything they want on offense in the first half. Everyone's eating.
It’s simple. The Philadelphia 76ers need more from Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey if they are going to win this game.
Maxey leads the Sixers in scoring but only has 13 points. His shooting numbers aren’t the best though, only 3-of-8 from the floor and 0-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Not ideal.
Meanwhile, Embiid has 12 points. Like Maxey, his shooting is inefficient at the moment; Embiid is 3-of-10 from the field.
Maxey and Embiid are feasting at the free throw line, however, if you want to find a silver lining.
The Sixers will need their shooting efficiencies to increase if they want to win this game.
Karl-Anthony Towns is off to a solid start in the second round.
He is showing his physicality inside. Towns is also knocking down shots, contributing to the Knicks on offense.
Towns has 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor. He also has four rebounds and five assists.
KAT, along with Jalen Brunson’s play, is a large reason why the Knicks have a double-digit lead.
NBC's slow-motion replay of Brunson’s 3 just before halftime captured one reaction that caught my eye — Rick Brunson, mean-mugging and pumping his fist on the Knicks sideline while starting right at his son.
Jalen Brunson is playing with so much confidence on the offensive end.
His hot shooting continues from the first round where he averaged 26.3 points per game on 46.8 percent shooting from the floor.
Tonight, Brunson has 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor. He also is 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, with his biggest 3 coming at the buzzer to end the half from 25 feet.
Those numbers will do for the Knicks, looking to take a 1-0 lead in this series on their home court.
Vince Carter makes a good point on the halftime show — the 76ers playing through Joel Embiid on offense means that Jalen Brunson can conserve his energy on defense, then go to work on the other end of the floor.
Below are the first half scoring leaders in Game 1 between the 76ers and Knicks.
