Brunson scores 35, Knicks rout 76ers 137-98 in Game 1 blowout

Jalen Brunson turned Game 1 into a warning shot for the rest of the series, scoring 35 points and 27 before halftime as the Knicks overran the 76ers 137-98 and exposed how little room Philadelphia had to answer once New York found its rhythm.

The 39-point margin was not just a one-night outburst. New York became the first team in NBA playoff history to win three straight games by at least 25 points, a run that began with a first-round closeout against Atlanta and carried straight into the matchup with Philadelphia. Four nights earlier, the Knicks set an NBA playoff record by leading the Hawks by 47 points at halftime in a 140-89 rout, fueled by a 43-6 burst that left Atlanta buried long before the final buzzer.

Against Philadelphia, the same pattern reappeared with a different opponent. Brunson, who has repeatedly unsettled the 76ers in the postseason, again controlled the pace and shot-making. He averaged 35.5 points in the Knicks’ 2024 first-round series against Philadelphia, finished that series with three straight 40-point games, and posted a franchise playoff-record 47 points in Game 4. In that same series, he became the first player in Knicks history to record at least 40 points and 10 assists in a playoff game.

The 76ers had already seen enough of Brunson this season to know the danger. New York beat Philadelphia 112-109 on January 24, with Brunson scoring 31 points, and Game 1 offered the same problem on a larger stage: once Brunson dictated the first-half tempo, the Knicks widened the gap quickly enough to erase any sense of a contest. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey checked out with 6:03 left in the third quarter and did not return, a sign that Philadelphia could not slow the slide or force New York into a different game.

For Philadelphia, the issue now is less about a bad shooting night and more about whether Nick Nurse can find a defensive answer for a Knicks team that has been overwhelming opponents from the opening minutes. New York has turned its postseason into a series of early separations, and Game 1 suggested the 76ers may need a far more disruptive plan to keep Brunson and the Knicks from dictating the series from the start.