Jalen Brunson strapped on his cape and vanquished the Sixers.
The Knicks point guard dropped 47 points — setting the franchise playoff record — to carry New York to a 97-92 victory and a 3-1 series advantage.
By the end of the game, the crowd, split throughout, was decidedly in New York’s corner with Brunson “MVP” chants reverberating inside Wells Fargo Center.
He toppled the previous Knicks playoff record set by Bernard King (twice) in 1984.
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Brunson, who also became the first Knick with 40-plus points and 10-plus assists in a playoff game, was helped by OG Anunoby, who was not only the team’s second-leading scorer but the main reason Joel Embiid was held in check in the second half.
With Mitchell Robinson injured and Isaiah Hartenstein in foul trouble, Tom Thibodeau went with Anunoby on Embiid and — assisted by a trap every time the Sixers center touched the ball — it worked wonders.
The Sixers finished with just 16 points in the fourth quarter and scored just three points in the final five minutes. Embiid, who dropped 50 points in Friday’s Sixers win, managed just 27 Monday on 7-for-19 shooting.
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The Knicks can clinch the series Wednesday at MSG.
But Monday certainly wasn’t easy. The visitors trailed by as many as 12, and their offence was inefficient outside of Brunson’s heroics.
Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart combined to shoot just 3-for-18. Another normal offensive weapon — Bojan Bogdanovic — was hurt in the first half and did not return.
There was a lot of tough talk from both sides during the series about playing hard and winning the physical battle and dirty plays from the Sixers.
On Monday, Embiid hit Brunson with an unnecessary forearm in the third quarter, around the same time Hart connected on Kyle Lowry’s face with an inadvertent elbow.
But there were no flagrants. Not even a tech. It was largely tame and controlled by the referees.
Brunson was fantastic in the first half, rediscovering the form that made him a late entrant into the MVP conversation. He had 23 points at the break with seven assists, shooting 10-for-15.
Bogdanovic lasted just one minute before limping off the court. He was chasing after a loose ball alongside Nic Batum, who dove and landed on Bogdanovic’s leg.
Bogdanovic then limped to the locker room and was diagnosed with a left ankle contusion, according to the Knicks.
The Knicks were already down an important piece without Robinson, the biggest body to compete with Embiid.
Robinson re-injured his surgically-repaired ankle in Friday’s Game 3, a setback exacerbated by some questionable tactics from Embiid — including a Flagrant 1 takedown.
Robinson warmed up but was ruled out about 30 minutes before tipoff.
Without the backup center, Hartenstein got the bulk of the time but predictably fell into foul trouble — committing five fouls in the third quarter — prompting Precious Achiuwa into action and the important move for Anunoby to defend Embiid.
EMBIID SOUNDS OFF AT SIXERS FANS
Wells Fargo Center, supposedly home to one of the nation’s hardcore sports fanbases, was overrun by Knicks chants and Embiid wasn’t happy about it.
“I’ve never seen it, and I’ve been here for 10 years,” the Sixers center said.
“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.”
Among the loudest Knicks supporters was team employee and former player John Starks, who was animated in the front row and, at one point, exchanged words with Embiid and Sixers fans.
And after a fairly even split in the support noise, the Knicks fans, anticipating a victory not long before the buzzer of the 97-92 win, erupted in an “MVP” chant for Brunson that couldn’t be drowned out no matter how much the Sixers fans and arena noise operators tried.
“Not gonna lie, this Philadelphia fan base, I’ve said this before, they’re very relentless, very passionate. I mean, I’m an Eagles fan, I would know,” said Brunson.
“But seeing the Knicks, hearing the Knicks here is pretty cool. It’s awesome.
“It means that they’re for real. They’re for real. No matter where we are, they’re gonna be there. So I’m appreciative and a lot of situations wouldn’t be done without them.”
CLIPPER SURVIVE BIG SCARE AFTER MAVERICKS COMEBACK
Elsewhere, James Harden and Paul George combined for 66 points as the Los Angeles Clippers survived a 31-point Dallas comeback bid, leveling their NBA playoff series.
The Clippers squared their best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series at 2-2 with a 116-111 triumph in Dallas, but not before the Mavs erased a 31-point deficit.
George scored 26 of his 33 points in the first half to help the Clippers build their big lead despite the injury absence of Kawhi Leonard.
Harden scored 15 of his 33 in the fourth quarter, when Dallas — led by the star duo of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic — threatened to match the biggest comeback win in NBA playoff history.
Irving scored 40 points for Dallas, including a driving layup through traffic with 2:14 to play that gave the Mavs their first lead since the first quarter at 104-103.
Doncic delivered a triple-double of 29 points plus 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but in the waning minutes it was George, Harden and the Clippers who came through.
George made his first basket of the second half, a three-pointer, to put the Clippers back up 107-105 with 1:55 to play.
Harden converted a three-point play and the Clippers held on.
“Our back’s against the wall, we can’t go home down 3-1,” Harden said of the Clippers’ resolve in the face of the Mavs’ bid to become the second team to rally from 31 points down to win a playoff game.
The other was the Clippers themselves, who did it against Golden State in 2019.
UNDERMANNED BUCKS ON BRINK OF ELIMINATION
In Indianapolis, the Indiana Pacers drilled 22 three-pointers in a 126-113 victory over the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks to take a 3-1 series lead.
Myles Turner hit a playoff career high of seven three-pointers on the way to 29 points and Tyrese Haliburton added 24 points for the Pacers, who had six players in double figures.
The Pacers were brutally efficient from beyond the arc, connecting on better than 51% of their attempts.
The Bucks, with superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo still sidelined by a calf injury, were also without injured Damian Lillard and saw Bobby Portis ejected in the first quarter after a scuffle with Andrew Nembhard after the two tangled under the basket.
Brook Lopez scored 27 points and Khris Middleton, who tweaked an ankle in the third quarter but stayed in the game, had 25 for the Bucks, who will try to stay alive when they host game five on Wednesday.