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By Megan Armstrong
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The New York Knicks have behaved extremely disrespectfully in their past two games.
First, the Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks by 51 points in Game 6 of their first-round NBA playoff series last Thursday.
After eliminating the Hawks, the Knicks hosted the Philadelphia 76ers for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday night. They picked up right where they left off in Atlanta — demolishing the Sixers by the casual score of 137-98.
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Knicks All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson led the way with 35 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the floor (3-of-6 from three) against the 76ers. According to OptaSTATS, Brunson inched one step closer to matching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on a rarified list.
"Jalen Brunson has scored at least 15 points in all 49 playoff games of his Knicks career," OptaSTATS posted on X after the Knicks' demolition of the 76ers. "Only 2 players have had longer 15-point streaks to begin their playoff career with a single team: Michael Jordan (179 straight with Bulls) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (57 straight with Bucks)."
Pretty good.
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The Knicks go as Brunson goes, though All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns was more involved offensively than he had been in the Hawks series. Towns tallied 11 total shots across Games 5 and 6 against Atlanta, and he went 7-of-11 for 17 points against Philadelphia. If Towns starts clicking like Brunson, the Knicks should reach the Eastern Conference Finals for a second straight year.
But one win does not a series win make against these 76ers. Just ask the Boston Celtics, who held a commanding 3-1 series lead over Philadelphia last round, only to be eliminated by Joel Embiid and company in Game 7 on Saturday.
We'll see whether Philly's no-show in Game 1 was more due to an emotional letdown after finally slaying their Celtics demons or a true omen that the 76ers are overmatched against the Knicks. Game 2 will tip off at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.
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