The Philadelphia 76ers suffered a 114-144 defeat to the New York Knicks, exiting the playoffs with a 0-4 series sweep. The team, which had just upset the Celtics in a first-round Game 7, failed to extend their postseason run and saw their season abruptly end.
The game spiraled out of control in the opening quarter, as the Knicks hit 11 of their first 13 three-point attempts to build an insurmountable lead. New York finished 25-of-44 from beyond the arc, with many open looks generated in transition and through swing passes. Joel Embiid scored 24 points on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting night, adding five rebounds and four assists, while Tyrese Maxey contributed 17 points and four assists. However, the rest of the team could not match the Knicks’ offensive onslaught.
Head coach Nick Nuss pointed directly to the team’s shortcomings after the game: “They came out playing extremely fast. On their first five possessions, we gave up open threes four times and couldn’t stop them. Our transition defense communication was poor—two guys would run at the same player and couldn’t even call it out. The energy gap was obvious, and we dug ourselves too deep a hole.” Nuss also noted that the offense started with solid execution, but consecutive misses hurt the team’s morale, as players seemed stuck in the fourth-quarter rhythm of the previous series.
Throughout the game, the Knicks won every battle for loose balls, while the 76ers often stared at each other, leaving the arc wide open. The heroics of rallying past the Celtics in the first round were eventually drowned out by the humiliation of this sweep.