3 keys to Knicks’ Game 4 victory over 76ers

When your best player plays great, it usually creates good outcomes. And Brunson played great in game four. He scored 47 points and tallied 10 assists in 44 minutes. He shot just 2-of-8 on three-point attempts but made pretty much everything else (16-of-26). 

Brunson willed the Knicks to a victory in which he practically scored half his team’s points — and no one else scored more than 16 points. The Knicks have clearly figured out a way around Philadelphia’s defensive schemes, which kept Brunson in check for the first two games of the series. He made incredibly difficult shots and kept applying pressure to a 76ers defense that looked tired and had no answers for him all afternoon. 

OG Anunoby on Joel Embiid

OG Anunoby was incredible on Embiid in game four. Coach Tom Thibodeau turned to Anunoby out of necessity. Robinson couldn’t play due to injury, and starting center Isaiah Hartenstein was limited due to foul trouble — he picked up all five of his fouls in the third quarter and didn’t play at all in the fourth. 

Sure, Precious Achiuwa lent a hand, too, but it was Anunoby who saved the day defensively. He defended Embiid incredibly well — although Embiid playing 44 minutes helped, too. In fact, Embiid was held scoreless in the fourth quarter, much to the credit of Anunoby. 

Further, the fact that New York did not have a true center on the floor in the fourth quarter meant Embiid couldn’t just guard the rim. Even Achiuwa is a bigger three-point threat than Hartenstein and Robinson. That opened the floor up immensely, resulting in a more free-flowing offense — even if both teams combined to score only 36 points in the decisive quarter. 

The Knicks’ offensive rebounds 

New York won the offensive rebound battle fifteen to nine. That might not jump off the page, but it’s technically a big difference. How so? It means the Knicks generated six additional possessions than the 76ers from offensive rebounds alone — and those possessions mattered. New York scored 21 second-chance points in game four. And in a five-point game, second-chance points can make all the difference (and they did in game four).  

The Knicks winning the offensive rebound battle is nothing new, but it was absolutely necessary on this particular day. They didn’t shoot well enough to win it without extra opportunities. Specifically, Josh Hart (five) and Achiuwa (four) were excellent on the offensive glass. But it was a team effort, crashing the glass and keeping pressure on Philadelphia. In doing so, they not only created second-chance points but drew fouls, as well.

One other thing that made a big difference was the crowd. Game four was technically in Philadelphia, but you’d never know it by how it sounded.  Philadelphia is clearly commutable from New York, and the Knicks fans willingly made the trip (be it on Amtrak or down I-95). And that mattered. 

Knicks fans were nearly as loud as 76ers fans, with “MVP” chants breaking out for Brunson at times. That probably hurt the 76ers as much as it helped the Knicks, as teams never want to lose their home court to a visiting opponent.

The Knicks can put away the 76ers in game five, which will be played at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, May 2. If the first four games are any indication, game five will be another dogfight. Fortunately, that suits the Knicks just fine.