NYK manhandles Philly by 39 points, draws first blood in East semis

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Philly is in trouble.

They got strangled in the concrete jungle.

On May 5, 2026, the New York Knicks handed the Philadelphia 76ers their worst loss of the ongoing NBA Playoffs after crushing them by 39 points, 137-98, to take a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals at Madison Square Garden.

After blowing out the Atlanta Hawks by 51 points to advance to the semifinal round, New York picked up where it left off as it schooled the exhausted 76ers, who were fresh off a grueling comeback from a 1-3 series deficit against the Boston Celtics in the first round.

Jalen Brunson was the difference-maker during the lopsided win as New York’s superstar guard dropped 27 of his 35 points in the first half.

The hefty lefty already had 14 points after the first quarter, then added 13 more markers that turned an eight-point game into a 23-point advantage for New York at the half, 74-51.

Philly had no answers to Brunson’s stellar scoring night.

To make things worse, 13 other New York players also contributed offensively, resulting in an embarrassing drubbing midway through the third quarter.

The wild Madison Square Garden crowd then exploded in excitement at the start of the fourth quarter when the Knicks ballooned their largest lead of the ballgame to 40 points.

Without anything clicking for the 76ers, head coach Nick Nurse decided to pull all of his starters in the final frame, signaling early surrender while preserving his core stars for Game 2.

New York took advantage of Philly’s dismal shooting from the field, as the 76ers converted just 30 of their 73 shots, including 11 of 30 from 3-point territory.

For the first time since Game 4 of the first round, the duo of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey failed to combine for at least 30 points.

The 1-2 punch was limited to a combined 6-of-20 shooting from the field and relied mostly on their points from the free throw line, where they finished 15 of 16 together.

Brunson began the semifinals with a convincing 35-point performance, built on an efficient 12-of-18 shooting from the field, along with three assists, two steals, and one rebound.

Backstopping Brunson was OG Anunoby, who continued his consistent offensive showing for the Knicks with 18 markers on 7-of-8 shooting.

Despite committing two early fouls in the first period, Karl-Anthony Towns made up for it in the second quarter, finishing the Game 1 win with an all-around outing of 17 points, six rebounds, six assists, and two blocks.

On the other hand, Paul George was the only bright spot for the 76ers as the veteran small forward delivered 17 points on 4-of-6 shooting from downtown.

However, Embiid and Maxey failed to meet Philly’s expectations, scoring 14 and 13 points, respectively, their worst offensive performance as a duo in five games.

Can New York sustain its firepower?

Or will the 76ers bounce back just like they did in their Game 2 shocker against the Celtics?