The New York Knicks stunned the Philadelphia 76ers 144-114 in a record-tying display of long-range shooting that featured Miles “Deuce” McBride, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns and Landry Shamet lighting it up from deep, and left the city buzzing as the Knicks advance to the Eastern Conference Finals while other East contenders like the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers wait in the wings.
This came after the Knicks closed out a different series with a 51-point rout of the Atlanta Hawks in Game 6, so New York is suddenly back in the business of dominating closeout nights. The team rolled into Sunday with confidence and then exploded from three-point range, turning a potential sweep into a historic statement win. Fans and analysts saw a team that can both shoot and bench the starters when the job is done.
The scoreboard read 144-114, but the story was the threes. New York tied three separate NBA Playoffs single-game records for three-pointers made across the first quarter, the first half and the full game. It was a clinic in spacing and shot selection that overwhelmed Philadelphia early and often.
The Knicks opened the game with a first quarter barrage that left the 76ers reeling. New York shot 11-of-13 from beyond the arc in that frame, racing to a 43-24 lead as Miles “Deuce” McBride went 4-for-4 to kick things off. That kind of hot start forced Philadelphia to play catch-up the rest of the night.
New York did not let up in the second quarter and the three-ball kept falling. McBride sank two more long-range shots to sit at 6-of-7 and 20 points by halftime, but he had help from his teammates. Jalen Brunson hit 4-of-8 from deep, Josh Hart hit 3-of-5, Karl-Anthony Towns was 2-of-2 and Landry Shamet added 3-of-5 off the bench to push the Knicks to 18 threes by the half.
76ERS’ JOEL EMBIID TAKES THINLY-VEILED SHOT AT OFFICIALS AFTER KNICKS TAKE COMMANDING 3-0 LEAD IN PLAYOFFS
That first-half barrage built an 81-57 lead at the break and it felt like the game was slipping away from Philadelphia. Shamet nearly broke the first-quarter record but hit the back iron just before the buzzer, a small drama in a night of big numbers. The Knicks kept forcing contested looks and most of them seemed to find the bottom of the net.
The 76ers tried to find answers but struggled to match New York’s perimeter attack. Philadelphia finished just 4-of-15 from three-point range, and while they shot 51 percent overall, turnovers bit them badly. Six giveaways turned into a dozen points for the Knicks and helped widen the margin at crucial moments.
New York shot a staggering 57 percent from three and 54 percent from the field overall, numbers that let them relax enough to pull starters early in the fourth quarter. With the main rotation on the bench, bench players like Jose Alvarado and a late dagger from Pacome Dadiet pushed the total threes to 25 in the final box score. That kind of depth scoring is what separates deep playoff teams from the rest.
This win sends the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the 2024-25 season, when they fell to the Indiana Pacers, and it sets up a waiting game for the rest of the East. Detroit holds a 2-1 edge over Cleveland heading into Game 4, so New York will be watching two potential opponents look to advance. Whatever comes next, the Knicks have shown they can torch defenses from long range when everything clicks.
