Knicks advance to second straight Eastern Conference finals by destroying 76ers to finish sweep

PHILADELPHIA — It felt over before it even started.Joel Embiid was booed — loudly — in his own building when he was shown on the jumbotron during warmups.The 76ers PA announcer was being drowned out by all the Knicks fans in attendance, which felt like a majority of the crowd.

Before tipoff, Xfinity Mobile Arena had already become Knixfinity Arena.Then the historic party truly got started.This bludgeoning felt inevitable.There was no suspense, no hint of this ever being competitive.

The Knicks’ breathtaking 3-point shooting — their 25 made 3s tied the NBA record for most in a playoff game — wouldn’t allow for any of that.They put the 76ers out of their misery in emphatic fashion.They completed a dominant sweep with a 144-114 rout Sunday afternoon, securing their spot in the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight season.

They’ll have to wait for the Pistons-Cavaliers series to finish before learning their opponent.Sunday marked seven straight postseason wins, beginning when they trailed 2-1 in the first round.That feels like ages ago.

Six of those seven wins have been by double digits.The Knicks played it cautiously and were again without OG Anunoby due to his right hamstring strain.It didn’t slow them down one bit.

Miles McBride, starting in his place for the second straight game, erupted for 25 points — his most since Jan.15 — on red-hot 7-for-9 shooting from 3-point range.It was part of an incredible all-around 3-point shooting performance for the Knicks.They shot 11-for-13 from 3-point range in the first quarter — tying the NBA record for most made 3s in a quarter in playoff history.

And they were really 11-for-12 without Landry Shamet’s heave as time expired.Sign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.

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