Jalen Brunson has led the New York Knicks to a Conference Finals berth for the second straight year, but they probably did not expect to get there that fast. Fortunately for them, the Philadelphia 76ers looked so out of their element in the semis that it did not even feel like a legitimate playoff series. The Knicks conducted a clinic, and the 76ers offered little to no resistance.
As such, even Brunson himself was perplexed. People expected their series to become a tightly contested one, yet it ended up being a one-sided affair for the most part. It was so bad on Philly’s part that the Knicks star could not even recognize the 76ers in Games 3 and 4, which were both played at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, as the hosts blew it in embarrassing fashion.
Game 3 ended in a 14-point win for the Knicks to take full control over the series. People at least expected their 76ers to show their pride in Game 4 and defend home court to extend the series, but they somehow managed to put out an even more humiliating product, gifting New York a free ticket to the Conference Finals by falling victim to a 30-point beatdown.
The 76ers looked like they gave up against the Knicks
Sure, the Knicks were heavily favored to win the series, but fans and pundits alike were especially wary of the 76ers. That was more so the case given that they had just completed a historic comeback after being down 3-1 against the Celtics during the first round. Heck, there were even people who compared them to last year’s memorable Pacers squad which made it all the way to the Finals despite being the underdogs in all of their playoff series.
Unfortunately, New York had built so much momentum from their first-round dust-up against Atlanta that it carried over against Philadelphia. The 76ers, outside of a highly competitive Game 2 (which was ironically the only game they played without Joel Embiid in that series), could not handle the Knicks’ brilliance on both ends, and Brunson was the one doing the spearheading as usual.
The Philadelphia 76ers still turned in a successful campaign considering all that they have gone through this season. However, as the narrative usually goes, people are going to judge them by how their campaign ended. Unfortunately, it was yet another humiliating ending, and unfair as it may be, their relative success is going to be lying in the shadows instead.
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