The Knicks played all season to get to this moment, one win away from advancing out of the first round of the playoffs for a second straight year.
Beyond emerging superstar Jalen Brunson’s breakout campaign, including a franchise postseason record with 47 points Sunday in Philadelphia, the Knicks have done all the little things — all season and throughout their 3-1 edge in their series against the Sixers entering Tuesday’s Game 5 at the Garden — that winning teams do.
Brunson morphing into the lead star the Knicks have coveted for years obviously has been paramount in their improvement, especially without injured three-time All-Star forward Julius Randle.
But their ability to turn games with their defense and rebounding and to plug various secondary players into expanded roles when injuries arise has been just as important, especially when considering the integral roles the likes of OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Precious Achiuwa and Miles McBride played in Sunday’s win at MSG South in Philadelphia.
“I think it has been the story of this season and I think when you look back to everything that transpired with guys going out and new guys coming in and whoever gets in there, just get the job done,” Tom Thibodeau said after Sunday’s game.
“Know what your job is. Do your job. Execute. And then there was the disappointment in the way we finished [Game 3], but what we were in control of is how we got ready for this game. So, be ready, and that’s our challenge. And we know you’re not replacing frontline guys individually. We have to do it collectively. And if we do that, if we’re a team and we do the right things, good things come from that.”
When asked what it would take to vanquish Joel Embiid and the Sixers, Hart — who hauled down 17 rebounds with three blocked shots in Sunday’s win — stated flatly, “everything.”
He also noted the Knicks “gotta be locked in defensively, first and foremost.”
With Mitchell Robinson (sprained left ankle) sidelined and Isaiah Hartenstein on the bench with five personal fouls, Anunoby and Achiuwa did an exemplary job at the defensive end down the stretch against Embiid, who scored only one of his 27 points in the fourth quarter.
The reigning league MVP also took shots at Philly fans for allowing their Knicks counterparts to take over Wells Fargo Center, saying it “pisses me off” and “it’s not OK.”
Embiid missed significant time during the regular season with a knee injury, and in recent weeks has been dealing with a mild case of Bell’s palsy.
They also have been without guard De’Anthony Melton, who played seven ineffective minutes Sunday (zero points) in his series debut, and forward Robert Covington.
But the Knicks were ravaged by injuries this season — most notably lengthy absences for Robinson, Randle and Anunoby — and still got to 50 wins and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Sunday’s comeback from a 12-point hole only was the latest example of their resilience and fortitude.
“Somehow we just found a way, kept fighting, kept sticking together,” Brunson said. “We found a way. When it’s ugly and we can find a way to win like that, when we’re not playing perfect, it’s a plus for us, a plus for our confidence. We’re not done yet. We’ve got to continue to have that pump-up mentality and we’ve got to find a way to win another.
“I’m going to continue to say it: We’ve got to be better if we want to close it out and move onto the next round, because this team is not going to quit fighting.”
And neither are the Knicks under Thibodeau, who gets his team to approach games in January with the desperation of an elimination game.
“We’re a team and we have a team of leaders and then of course the way Jalen has responded to the challenge has been huge,” Thibodeau said. “But not just Jalen. Everyone has embraced their role. And like I said, the challenge now is for us not to feel good about ourselves, to not change, to enjoy this for the moment, but start getting ready for the next one.
“So we know the challenge that will be in front of us and we have to get a fourth win.”
