There is little reason to believe Joel Embiid will carry a white flag of surrender with him when the Philadelphia 76ers visit Madison Square Garden Tuesday night to face the New York Knicks and attempt to avoid elimination in their best-of-seven playoff series.
Mr. Embiid, who was named the NBA’s most valuable player last season, might sound like the Sixers are a huge underdog after the Knicks claimed a three-games-to-one lead with a 97-92 victory in Game Four Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena at Philadelphia. Only there is nothing more dangerous than a team fighting to save its season.
“We’ve got no pressure,” Mr. Embiid said after a Knicks guard, Jalen Brunson, scored a franchise playoff record 47 points to carry the Knicks to the brink of the second round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs. “We’re the 7th seed, down three-one, a lot of guys are hurt,” Mr. Embiid said. “We’ll just go out there and play our best basketball, one [game] at a time.”
It’s easy to get caught up in what happened in Game Four and think the Knicks will finish the job before what will be a raucous crowd at the World’s Most Famous Arena. Much like he has all season, Mr. Brunson carried the Knicks, shooting 18 of 34 from the field and dishing 10 assists.
He scored almost at will, working his way inside and out of a Philadelphia defense that tried to guard him one-on-one. His 47 points were one better than the 46 points Bernard King scored twice in the 1984 playoffs.
“It’s great now and it helped us get the win,” Mr. Brunson said. “But it’s not going to do anything for us going forward.”
The Knicks’ supporting cast was stellar. Josh Hart had 17 rebounds; O.G. Anunoby added 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Precious Achiuwa — seven rebounds, four blocks — and Deuce McBride — 13 points — were productive off the bench. “That’s been the story of our season,” the Knicks coach, Tom Thibodeau, said. “We need everyone hustling like crazy. If we do that good things will come from that.”
The Knicks’ defense smothered the Sixers in the fourth quarter, with Philadelphia making zero field goals in the final 5:04 of the game. With a Knicks center, Mitchell Robinson, out with a sore left ankle and his backup, Isaiah Hartensein, in foul trouble, Messrs. Anunoby and Achiuwa kept Mr. Embiid locked down in the final quarter, where the Sixers All-Star center scored just one of his 27 points.
The Sixers, who made just 35.4 percent from the field for the game, claim they had plenty of open shots that just didn’t go down. They were 29 of 82 from the field and only nine of 33 from three-point range.
“The whole fourth quarter they were trying to get the ball out of my hands and that’s what they did by doubling,” Mr. Embiid said. “I just have to keep trusting my teammates.”
The Knicks must resist the urge to exhale going into Game Five. The finish to the regular season was a grind. They had to overcome the loss of an All-Star forward, Julius Randle, and other injuries to claim the no. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Now they’re up three-one and heading back to the Garden with a chance to close out the series. A team that was underrated, but battle-tested is trying to keep a chip on its shoulder.
“We have a lot to prove,” Mr. Thibodeau said, adding, “The challenge now is not to feel good about ourselves. We know the challenge that will be in front of us. We have to get the fourth win, so be ready for that.”
Mr. Brunson echoed those sentiments. He said he’ll look back on his record outing when he retires. For now, there is unfinished work to be done. “We’ve got to figure out how we can be better?” he said. “I’m going to continue to say it: We’ve got to be better if we want to close out and move on to the next round because this team is not going to quit fighting.”
It could be Mr. Embiid’s last stand in a building where he often torments the Knicks and the home crowd. On bad knees and all, he hopes to deliver the Knicks his best shot. “Win one, come back home, win another one, and then Game Seven,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it. No pressure.”
