So far this postseason, the New York Knicks have found themselves regularly dominating their competition.
From recording the highest in-game lead (61 points) in NBA playoff history during their 140-89 series-clinching victory over the Hawks in round one to finding themselves currently amid a five-game win streak (their longest in franchise history), it's safe to say Jalen Brunson and company have been on an absolute tear as of late.
And yet, despite their numerous blowout wins and league-leading average point differential of plus-18.8 thus far into the festivities, Wednesday's down-to-the-wire win over the Philadelphia 76ers may have actually been their most inspiring performance of the postseason to date.
Knicks proved capable of pulling out close-call wins after downing 76ers
Yes, to say their recent 108-102 win over the Sixers was their most impressive showing of the playoffs may sound a tad surprising on the surface.
After all, there's a strong case to be made that Game 2 of these semifinals was New York's ugliest postseason game yet, as they turned the ball over 13 times, shot a putrid 26.9 percent from deep, and recorded their second-lowest point total of the playoffs.
However, despite these struggles, they proved capable of pulling away with a non-lopsided win, something they had failed to do in their previous close-call matchups.
In Game 2 against the Hawks, while down one with under nine seconds in the game, Mikal Bridges came up just a tad short on a would-have-been game-winning mid-range jumper and, ultimately, saw New York fall 107-106.
The following game out in Atlanta, the Knicks crumbled in the closing seconds with a one-point deficit off a Brunson turnover and succumbed to yet another one-point loss by a final score of 109-108.
Wednesday night, New York clawed their way back from both a halftime and fourth-quarter deficit while enduring crippling shooting woes and, unfortunately, a late OG Anunoby hamstring injury that has his status heading into Game 3 up in the air.
They did so behind strong all-around play from their stars like Karl-Anthony Towns and tremendous, on-ball defense that held the Sixers, who had shot 53.6 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from deep through the first three quarters, to an abysmal 4-of-19 shooting from the floor and 1-of-10 shooting from deep in the final period.
Regardless of how unsightly it was at times, the Knicks pulled away victorious from this close contest, which should give fans more confidence that they can continue to do so down the road once the stakes further rise and opposing challengers become even more troublesome.
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