![Jalen Brunson Knicks beat 76ers in Game 1 of NBA Playoffs](https://sports.inquirer.net/files/2024/04/AP24111848104100-scaled.jpg)
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) faces Philadelphia 76ers guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (bottom center) and guard Kyle during the first half of Game 1 of the first round of the NBA basketball playoff series. – Drive against Lowry (left fullback). Saturday in April. 20, 2024 at Madison Square Garden, New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altafer)
NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart each scored 22 points, Deuce McBride led New York's reserves with 21 points, and the Knicks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 111-1 in Game 1 on Saturday night. I broke it with 104. NBA First round of the Eastern Conference series.
McBride single-handedly outscored the 76ers with 13 points in the second quarter when Joel Embiid was forced out after apparently reinjuring his surgically repaired left knee on a dunk. He returned in the second half and gave the 76ers the lead, but Josh Hart hit a couple of big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help the Knicks come back.
Hart also grabbed 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who had lost Game 1 of their previous three home series openers. They will host Game 2 on Monday.
We won the game.
Branson 22 PTS | 7 AST | 7 Revs
Heart 22 PTS | 13 Lev
Deuce 21 PTS | 4 AST | 3 Revs
Bogey 13 PTS | 7 Rev
OG 11 points | 4 revs pic.twitter.com/kNhfWoNeU0— New York Knicks (@nyknicks) April 21, 2024
Embiid had 29 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 33 points.
Bojan Bogdanovic came off the bench with 13 points, and Mitchell Robinson, a former Knicks starter who was a backup after returning from ankle surgery, played 30 minutes against Embiid and led the team with eight points and 12 rebounds.
Embiid was limited to 39 games this season and was sidelined for about two months after undergoing surgery on his left meniscus on February 6th. He still looks limited — certainly not the dominant player who scored a franchise-record 70 points just before his injury — but he helped the team. The 76ers defeated Miami in the play-in game to earn the No. 7 seed.
The 76ers have listed Embiid as questionable, and manager Nick Nurse said before the game that Embiid would warm up before the team decides whether to play.
He was good when he started, but the Knicks were the first team to win 50 games since they went 54-28 in 2012-13 with a much more balanced roster.
Read: Jalen Brunson lifts Knicks to second place in East
The biggest reason for that is Brunson, who was selected as an All-Star for the first time and ranks fourth in the league in scoring. He only made 8 of 26 shots and was rated „MVP!“ MVP! ” During a raucous pregame at Madison Square Garden, crowd chants gave way to calls of “Deuce!” In the second quarter, the former second-round pick (real name Miles) helped the Knicks defeat the 76ers 33-12.
Embiid cut the lead to 49-46 with a dunk and went down with 2:49 left. The Knicks scored the final nine points of the quarter and led 58-46 at halftime.
However, Embiid returned to start the second half and the 76ers quickly turned the game around. His 3-point shot capped a 23-11 surge from the locker room to tie the score at 69, and Philadelphia ultimately beat the Knicks 32-14 to take the lead in the third, making it 78-72. I won.
The Knicks regained the lead with Bogdanovic, Robinson and McBride making the first three baskets of the fourth, and Hart helped keep the team going.