The New York Knicks were dealt a rough hand when OG Anunoby suffered a hamstring strain in Game 2. But thanks to Miles McBride, it hasn't seemed to matter much.
Mike Brown opted to slot McBride in with the starters. And despite the guard shooting 2-11 from the floor in Games 2 and 3, Brown trusted him again in Game 4 on the road.
McBride immediately rewarded Brown's faith by starting the game 4-4 from 3-point range before the first quarter was halfway over.
The Knicks are on their way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Having McBride off of the bench, and the ability to start him when necessary, is proving to be a swing factor in their favor.
McBride's 3-point shooting rises back to red-hot regular season levels
The fifth-year guard shot 41.3% from behind the 3-point arc in the regular season. He was forced to miss almost two months as a result of sports hernia surgery, and certainly had some rust to shake off when he returned.
McBride was a spotty shooter throughout the Knicks' first round series against the Atlanta Hawks. But overall, he shot 11-26 from downtown – right in line with his regular season efficiency.
The two-way guard carried that success into Game 1 against the 76ers, when he made two of five attempts. But his 2-9 performance from downtown in Games 2 and 3 took away some of that momentum. That didn't matter to Brown, who stuck with him on Sunday.
McBride opened the game with three 3-point makes in the first 3.5 minutes of action. The 76ers took a timeout, after which they failed to score. The Knicks took the ball up the other way, swung it around a couple of times, and found McBride wide open for a fourth 3-point shot.
It was a sign of things to come in a first quarter that New York would eventually win 43-24. The Knicks tied the NBA playoff record for most 3-pointers made in any quarter, with 11. And they went on to win the first half 81-57, overall.
McBride went on to make two of his three 3-point attempts in the second quarter, bringing him to 20 points on 6-9 shooting from downtown. The Knicks won his first half minutes by just as many points as he had scored: 20.
It seems like the Knicks are going to end up having all of the momentum they could've asked for going into the Eastern Conference Finals. And even once Anunoby is able to return, McBride will continue to be key off of their bench.
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