Sixers-Knicks: Jalen Brunson's big Game 4 puts Philly on brink of elimination; New York fans take over Wells Fargo Center

The sequence that sank the 76ers on Sunday afternoon, that may have swung this first-round series toward the Knicks for good, captured everything that has separated these teams through four breathtaking and bloodletting games.

Nico Batum rose up to dunk the basketball midway through the third quarter, and Josh Hart met him at the highest points of their leaps and blocked him cleanly. At the court’s opposite end, Jalen Brunson, just having reentered the game after spending a few minutes in the locker room with some kind of injury, lofted a rainmaking fadeaway floater over Joel Embiid to give the Knicks a five-point lead. Everything else that happened inside a rowdy and raucous Wells Fargo Center was immaterial, at least symbolically. Those two plays, back to back, said everything necessary about the Sixers’ 97-92 loss in Game 4, about the three-games-to-one deficit they now face, and the task ahead of them if they want to save their season.

The Sixers have been much better this series with Joel Embiid on the court — that shouldn't be surprising given he's the reigning MVP — but it's been especially pronounced in this series.

Perhaps that's why it was so surprising that Embiid, who played a team high 44 minutes, scored just one point in the fourth quarter of Sunday's crucial loss to the Knicks despite playing the entire frame. In fact, Embiid played the entire second half while battling a knee injury and Bell's palsy. He finished with just 27 points (on 7-of-19 shooting), 13 coming in the second half.

The Knicks beat the Sixers, 97-92, to take a commanding 3-1 lead as the series shifts back to New York.

Jalen Brunson’s heroics carried the day for the Knicks, as the Villanova product scored 47 points, the most by a Knick ever in a playoff game, in easily his best performance of the series. Josh Hart was held mostly at bay scoring, but was elite on the glass with 15 rebounds. The Knicks are the NBA’s best rebounding team, and it showed in the fourth quarter as they grabbed seven offensive rebounds to extend possessions down the stretch.

Isaiah Hartenstein better not jaywalk on the way to the Knicks’ team bus after Game 4.

The 7-foot-1 Knicks center already got booked for five fouls in the third quarter alone at the Wells Fargo Center.

A big key for the Sixers is to take at least an infinity-point lead with Joel Embiid on the floor, so they'll still be in the game once he comes back in.

Unfortunately for them, Joel Embiid played the entire third quarter, and the Knicks still outscored the Sixers, 30-27.

— Mike Sielski

The Sixers got off to a hot start in the third quarter, leading by as many as ten points, and Embiid continued his strong game, nearing a double-double with a team-high 26 points and nine rebounds. Kelly Oubre Jr. also heated up with two three-pointers in the third quarter.

But Jalen Brunson continued to dominate on the other side of the floor, adding 15 points in the third to keep the Knicks in it, including the and-one that gave the Knicks the lead to end the third. After a scoreless first half, Donte DiVincenzo finally got on the board, hitting two three-pointers and a lay-up late in the quarter to close the gap.

Jalen Brunson is having by far his best game of the series for the Knicks, leading all scorers through three quarters with 38 points on 15-of-26 shooting (including 15 in the third quarter). He also added 10 assists, and scored several key buckets to end Philly runs or put his team ahead. He capped off the quarter with a bucket and a foul to put his team up by a point.

Of course, his other best game this series, Game 3, the Sixers came away victorious

Jalen Brunson is cooking for the Knicks, with 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting and seven assists. But his "Nova Knicks" counterparts have gone quiet, shooting a combined 0-of-7 from the floor.

Nick Nurse talked after Game 2 about making a halftime adjustment to start treating Hart like a knock-down shooter, rather than the player who connected on just 31 percent of his long-range attempts during the regular season. He hasn't even attempted one so far today.

Jalen Brunson exploded for 23 points in the first half of Game 4, keeping the Knicks within two points, 49-47, at intermission after falling behind by double-digits in the first quarter.

The 6-foot-2 point guard finished the half 10-of-15 from the field while adding seven assists and zero turnovers.

The Sixers needed more from Tobias Harris, and Nick Nurse wasn’t going to wait around to get it. After a couple of shifts in which he missed four of his seven field goal attempts and was sitting at a minus-four, Nurse pulled Harris in favor of Nicolas Batum down the stretch. The Sixers raced out to a 27-17 lead after one quarter, but the Knicks battled back to make it a 49-47 game at the half.

Harris has had some good moments on the defensive end this series, but he has fallen well short of the third scorer the Sixers need alongside Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. Through three-and-a-half games, he is shooting just 14-of-35 from the field while struggling to finish in traffic.

The Knicks' frontcourt took a huge blow with Mitchell Robinson sidelined for Game 4 with a sprained left ankle.

His absence puts more pressure on Isaiah Hartenstein to defend Embiid, who finished with a career playoff high 50 points in Game 3.

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson is officially out for Game 4, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Robinson re-injured his ankle in Game 3 after missing over four months of the season with an ankle injury that required surgery. Joel Embiid notably pulled on Robinson’s other ankle while Robinson was mid-air, causing him to land awkwardly and earning Embiid the ire of Knicks players and coaches.

Given the proximity of Philadelphia and New York, it's no surprise that opposing fans often find their way into each other's arenas, ball parks, and stadiums whenever when teams from the two big cities meet. And it's no different in the postseason.

During Game 3 in Philly, Knicks fans could be heard and seen so clearly on the broadcast that Charles Barkley even took time to point it out — and scold Philly fans for allowing so many New Yorkers into their arena. And it sounds like Sunday's Game 4 isn't going to be much different.

Knicks star Jalen Brunson struggled with his efficiency in Games 1 and 2. He scored 22 on 8-for-26 shooting in Game 1 and 24 points on 8-for-29 shooting in Game 2. In Thursday's Game 3, Brunson finally broke free, scoring 39 points on 13-for-27 shooting with 13 assists.

The Sixers managed to win that game despite Brunson’s breakout, but lost the first two with Brunson in check. So how does coach Nick Nurse assess his team's defensive success on Brunson, who is shooting just 35.4% from the field through the first three games, so far this series?

Knicks reserve forward Bojan Bogdanovic had an MRI that revealed ligament damage in his left wrist, according to HoopHype.

The 6-foot-8, right-handed threat from deep is expected to continue playing through the injury.

The Knicks were not happy with Joel Embiid after Game 3.

When Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was asked about Embiid’s “antics” in the game, Thibodeau responded “which one?”

The 76ers’ confidence is high.

They know they could have won Game 1 and realize they should have won Game 2 of the best-of-seven first-round series against the New York Knicks. So after Thursday’s Game 3 victory, the Sixers believe they’re the better team heading into Sunday’s matchup in Game 4 at the Wells Fargo Center (1 p.m., ABC, ESPN).

For the fourth consecutive game in this playoff series, Sixers star Joel Embiid is listed as questionable but expected to play Sunday against the New York Knicks.

Despite battling a mild case of Bell's palsy and still recovering from knee surgery, Embiid scored 50 points to propel the Sixers to their Game 3 win Thursday night.

Good luck trying to find today's 76ers game on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Unlike the previous three games in their first-round playoff series, Game 4 between the Sixers and New York Knicks won't air on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Here's how things stack up in the Eastern Conference heading into Sunday:

2024 NBA playoffs schedule