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Game one of the conference semies between the Sixers and Knicks. It's a 20-point game with six seconds left in the half. Off the miss, Mikuel Burgess to Jaylen Brunson for the deep three. I don't think I'm fully painting this picture of Jaylen Brunson. He nails it. He scored the final 11 points of the first half. He had 27 points through two quarters. That's the biggest first half of the season for the Allstar, finishing his night with 35 points. The story though, the Knicks dominating this one, taking game one in dominating fashion, 13798. Didn't really give the 76ers much of a chance just offensively. Defensively, it was a full game for the Knicks as they take game one in the East semis.
We now bring in former NBA champ Avery Johnson alongside CBS Sports NBA analyst John Gonzalez. Guys, New York came in off that closeout win over Atlanta and the offense just looked like it never cooled off. They had 73 points in the first half on Thursday against the Hawks. You turn around, you put up 74 in the first half on Monday. Coach, when you consider those numbers, and then you hear 63% shooting, 51% from three, 58 points in the paint, and then a lead that ballooned to the 30s. What stood out most? By the way, New York just overwhelmed Philly in game one. Yeah, this game was over in the first half. Uh let's let's face it, at the end of the day, uh New York was clicking on
all cylinders. And when they pull up 41 points in the second quarter, this game was over. And then we understand that bad news travel fast, especially about Mikuel Bridges. He was terrific tonight defensively. uh you know when he was on Maxi when he switched on Edgecomb whatever we all want to get on him about not being aggressive offensively he had 17 points but his defense was extraordinary tonight and when you look at uh Philadelphia's bench I don't even know if they scored a point in the first half off the bench they were terrible so Embiid was fooling around early with the three point shot Anthony Towns with attacking him on close outs. So when you look at uh the Knicks, they were just really clicking. You know, Jaylen
Brunson, best player on the floor tonight. Tyres Max Maxi struggled. So when you look at this New York Knicks team, we're not going to get overly excited about one game, but this dominant win is an uphill climb for the Philadelphia 76ers. Yeah, that was a beating. I mean, that's the largest home playoff win in Knicks history. They're just the second team in NBA history to end a series with a 30-point win and then start the next one with a 30-point win. They were just all over the Sixers everywhere. Kiana, you mentioned the shooting. 63% from the floor, 51% from three, dominated in the paint, dominated on the break. And then Jaylen Brunson, I mean, what can you say about this guy? 35 points. So efficient.
And the Sixers had no answer for him. I mean, they started out with VJ Edgecomb on him. That didn't work. They tried Kelly Obé, that didn't work. Uh, and then they went to PG and hey, surprise, that also did not work. So, they've got some work to do there. I mean, the only place that the Sixers look like they could even get into the fight a little bit was Embiid and Maxi both got to the line. Coach mentioned Maxi. He didn't have a bucket until midway through the second quarter. So, that's a non-starter. You got to get him going. I mean, you can only rely on getting to the free throw line so much. So, yes, that was an absolute beating.
Maybe a little bit of a hangover from game seven against the rivals Boston. and then you come in for another rivalry game. You haven't been home, you're on the road. Uh we'll see how they respond in game two, but game one was over before it even started. And another quick thing, when you have these victories like this in game seven, you're down 3-1 as the 76ers were to Boston. You come back, you win the series, everybody's telling you how great you are. Joel Embiid is telling the Sixers fans, don't sell tickets to the home games. Well, what about the first two games in New York before you even hit back home for game three? What about the first two games in New York? So, you can have a little bit of a
hangover. Everybody's telling you how great you are. This Sixers team didn't look like the same Sixers team that beat uh Boston in the last two games. Saying you get a little too ahead of yourself, too much dip on your chip because you're looking too far ahead when you need to take care of game one on the road. But for also what it's worth and John, you mentioning it as well. you're coming off this momentum and this maybe hangover, but also less rest than the Knicks have had since you did take that game to the limit there in game seven. But Philly did enter this series like you both have mentioned, they had that momentum because you're
coming back 3-1 to beat Boston. But game one, they look like a team that couldn't match New York's production. John, was this a game one let down in your eyes after to the emotional high of beating Boston, or did the Knicks maybe expose real matchup problems? Yeah, I think it's a one of those games where for sure it's a letown, right? I mean, you can't get you can't have the Knicks have their biggest playoff win at home in their franchise history and not call it a disappointing result for the Sixers, right? But yeah, I do think that there's a little bit of a residual hangover from game seven because that was an emotional series as Avery noted. You're down 3-1. Embiid comes back. All of a sudden, the series
shifts. You haven't beaten the Celtics since 1982. Everybody was talking about it. You know, it was such a momentous shift and so surprising that you had uh Jaylen Brown like on streaming right on Twitch talking about he was in his feelings. So, everybody was kind of still on that series and it's only two days later where the Knicks have been rested. They handled the Hawks really well. They the two games that they lost in that series were by one point. They were ready for this thing. And the Sixers, I think, still a little bit in Boston, not really uh fully present in New York. So, that's something that they got to change. Just see how they come out in game two. Uh, you obviously need
Embiid to be better. He was super inefficient tonight. Again, Maxi not getting a bucket until midway through the second quarter. That's a non-starter. If Maxi isn't gang busters in this series, they've got absolutely no shot. So, uh, the Knicks, full credit to them, man. They were ready. They answered the bell. They were ready for this thing from the opening tip off, and the Sixers simply were not. And when you look at Philadelphia, Quinton Grimes in that game five win against Boston, you know, he had 18 points coming off the bench. He only had what, five points tonight. Philadelphia needs to find somebody off the bench that can contribute. We know when you're looking at Alvarado, you know, when you look when you're looking
at Mitchell Robinson from the uh Knicks, we know what they're going to do coming off the bench. Landry Shamid, his minutes will be sporadic. Um, Tyler Goalie got in tonight, but I think the Knicks are the deeper team. So, that's going to put a lot of pressure on Quinton Grimes to really come through for Philadelphia. He's got to figure out how to get his game uh get into the game early in the game when he comes off the bench. Because if he's just going to average five points off the bench for Philadelphia, they're probably going to be in trouble unless, you know, Joel Embiid goes, you know, nuclear on us and has like 40 points. Uh they need some bench help and their bench was there were nine they were they
didn't even show up tonight. Their bench independent of how they finished the game because it was such a blowout. Their bench wasn't a factor tonight. The bench was still in Boston clearly is what coach is telling us right now. But guys, I don't know if you've heard this stat already, but if not, let me say it again. The team that's won game one in a playoff series in the postseason between the Sixers and the Knicks has gone on to win the series. Coach, you said it yourself. You said you're not going to get overly excited about one game. Yes, this is a small sample size, but coach, do you believe the Knicks are the most
equipped team to keep that trend going, finish this series, and punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals? I'm not 100% sold because the Knicks has been a Jacko and High team this year. this team just when you're John I know John will agree with me just when you get all excited about the Knicks then call Anthony Towns he's a no-show uh then you don't know Mikuel Bridges had 17 tonight he could go scoreless in the next game so until I see a level of consistency with this Knicks team in this series I'm pumping the brakes because I think Joel Embiid and Tyreek Maxi Paul George, if they can all stay healthy, they're going to find it and motivate the rest of those role players
to take that next step. You're dealing with a championship level coach on the other side, too. Nick Nur, he's won a championship. And oh, by the way, his old boss, old boss, Messiah Najiri just got hired by the Dallas Mavericks today. So, he knows what he's doing. But those top players, they have to stay healthy. And the Knicks, we know they'll lay an egg for a game or two. So, I'm not just, you know, I'm pumping the brakes on that right now. Yeah, Kiana, you mentioned that the team that wins game one between these two teams in their history goes on to win the series. And normally, if I was the Sixers, I'd be worried about that, but they just made their own
history by finally getting over uh their curse against the Celtics and winning since for the first time since 1982. So, they have showed a little bit of life and some resiliency. But, I will say, I'll kind of go the other way on this. the Knicks are playing such good basketball and Avery is absolutely right that they were uneven this year. They won the NBA Cup and then all of a sudden they went into that little dip and then they rebounded, right? And my question about the Knicks coming into the postseason was the defense real and it certainly looked real against the Hawks and boy did it look real against the Sixers in game one. They are playing their best basketball when it matters
most. So advantage to the Knicks and when Jaylen Brunson when the Sixers have absolutely no answer for him in game one. We'll see whether or not they do in game two, but that doesn't augur well for the Sixers. And then Carl Anthony Towns as Avery said going right at Joel Embiid much quicker than Joel Embiid. They had to switch off take out Embiid off of him and throw PG at him for a second. They threw Uber at him for a second where Uber was measuring his hair against Carl Anthony Towns. I don't think that's going to work. probably uh the Knicks right now, if you're the Knicks, you're feeling great about yourselves and yes, sometimes they have a little stumble, sometimes they'll step on a rake, but between these two
teams, I mean, the Knicks looked really, really good tonight when it mattered most. All right. Well, you're saying that the Knicks, John, are playing their best basketball when it matters most. But coach is saying, don't forget who's on the other side of that sideline. You got a championship level head coach. We'll see how the rest of this series takes place. But nonetheless, we'll see if that trend continues. Coach John, thank you both so much. Take a look at back-to-back playoff games. One pie at least 30 points. The Knicks, the third and most recent team to be able to do this in NBA history. The Cavs did this last season. Before that, it was the 1986 Knicks. Well, we know that I mean
Cavs didn't win the chip last year, but Knicks, they got it in them this year.
