
Jalen Brunson scored 33 points and the New York Knicks (61-31 straight up, 49-42-1 against the spread) took a commanding 3-0 series lead with Friday’s 108-94 win at Philadelphia as 3.5-point road underdogs.
The 202 combined points went ‘under’ the 214.5-point total. The Knicks played without OG Anunoby, who is nursing a hamstring strain but is expected to return soon.
Brunson, who shook off a 2-of-8 start from the field and ended up burying 11-of-22 field-goal attempts, dished out nine assists compared to three turnovers and snagged five rebounds. The Knicks are now on a six-game winning streak.
“I’m Linus. Jalen’s my blanket,” first-year Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “He helps me relax at a lot of different times during the course of the game.”
Mikal Bridges scored 213 points to go with three rebounds and a pair of steals. He drained 8-of-14 FGAs.
Landry Shamet had 15 points off the bench on 5-of-6 FGAs, and Josh Hart finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
New York dominated the glass with a 49-33 rebounding advantage.
Philadelphia (50-43 SU, 48-42-3 ATS) saw all five of its starters score in double figures, but Paul George went scoreless after producing 15 points in the first quarter. He missed all nine of his shots the rest of the way.
After missing Game 2 with ankle and hip injuries, Joel Embiid had 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored a team-best 22 points, while Tyrese Maxey went 8-of-12 on FGAs and finished with 17 points and seven assists.
Rookie VJ Edgecombe had 11 points, seven boards, four assists and two steals.
New York had twice as many free-throw attempts compared to Philadelphia despite playing on the road. The Knicks made 23-of-32 from the FT line, while the 76ers hit 13-of-16 attempts. George and Maxey didn’t get to the charity stripe once.
“I guess it’s good when New York wins,” Embiid said in frustration.
No team in NBA postseason history and has ever rallied from down 3-0 in a series. FanDuel has the Knicks as -8000 ‘chalk’ to advance to the Eastern Conference finals, leaving the 76ers as +2200 (or 22/1) underdogs.
FanDuel has Brunson with +940 odds to win NBA Finals MVP honors. The book has the Knicks with +700 odds to win the NBA Finals. Both of those numbers are the third-shortest in those respective markets.
Game 4 in Philadelphia is scheduled for Sunday at 3:40 p.m. Eastern. Most books have the Knicks as 1.5-point road favorites with a total of 212.5.