The New York Knicks powered into the Eastern Conference semi-finals of the NBA play-offs with a record-breaking 140-89 hammering of the Atlanta Hawks that sealed a 4-2 series triumph.
The Knicks will now play the winner of the clash between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers after winning their third straight against the Hawks, who had no answer once New York turned the screw.
OG Anunoby scored 29 points as the Knicks led by 47 at the half – an NBA record in a play-off game – while their eventual 51-point winning margin was a franchise play-off record.
It took the Knicks a while to find a way to beat Atlanta but when they did, it was routine.
“The biggest thing is we had to change our offense,” New York coach Mike Brown said. “Again, not as drastic as we probably did halfway through the year, but we had to change it because every possession was a grind those first three games, especially down the stretch.
“They forced us to put our thinking caps on, and they forced us to play different. Find ways to make the game easier for our players while putting them in their strengths, while trying not to hinder them.”
New York can now sit back and watch the Celtics and the 76ers fight it out in Game Seven in Boston on Sunday.
Boston blown away in Philadelphia
Boston missed the chance to get the job done last night after being comprehensively beaten 106-93. Paul George scored 23 points and added four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block, Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points and Joel Embiid contributed 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in a game in which Philadelphia never trailed.
Momentum is with the 76ers but coach Nick Nurse remains wary of a Celtics team that has won their last seven play-off series meetings.
“I think we played really well. I think that it doesn’t really matter that much, though,” Nurse said. “I mean, we’ve seen games like this. This is just one game. That’s one story. And you’re going to go back, and it’s just not going to flip a switch and happen again. … We’re going to have to really, really dig in and focus and prepare and get ready for adjustments, and we’re going to have to give a tremendous effort.
“It’s nice to win a couple in a row and it’s nice to win, play the way we did tonight, but it really does not matter. Each game’s its own game.”
Jokic and the Nuggets beaten by injury-ravaged Minnesota
The Denver Nuggets are out of the play-offs after a 110-98 defeat at the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It was a remarkable win for the Timberwolves who were ravaged by injury but still came through thanks to 32 points from Jalen McDaniels and 24 from Terrence Shannon Jr.
“I’m just happy it’s over, happy we were able to come out on top,” McDaniels said. “Stuff was said. I’m just happy we were all able to prove our point, get the win, and move on to the next round.”
Defeat was a bitter blow for the Nuggets, who won 54 games in the regular season.
They now head into the offseason with whispers surrounding Serbian superstar Nikola Jokic, who scored 28 points and added 10 assists and nine rebounds in Game Six but is only under team control for another 12 months.
Jokic insists he wants to remain in Denver, though, stating: “I still want to be a Nugget forever.”
Asked what needed to change for the team to be a title contender, he added: “That’s not my decision, to be honest,” Jokic said. “Definitely, if we were in Serbia, we would all get fired.”
