OG Anunoby scored 26 of his 29 points in the first half to lead visiting New York to a historic 140-89 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday as the Knicks won their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series 4-2.
It was the most points scored by the Knicks in a playoff game and the 51-point margin of victory their largest in the postseason. The only bigger victory margin in club history came earlier this year, when New York routed the Brooklyn Nets 120-66 on Jan. 21.
The Hawks endured the second-worst postseason defeat in franchise history. The then-St. Louis Hawks lost 133-75 to the Minneapolis Lakers on March 19, 1956.
New York, who produced a 63-11 first-half run, led by as many as 61 and beat the Hawks for the third straight game to advance to the conference semifinals for the fourth straight year. Karl-Anthony Towns had his second career playoff triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, along with three steals. The starters were out of the game midway in the third quarter.
Timberwolves 110, Nuggets 98
Elevated into the starting lineup of a heavily depleted backcourt, Terrence Shannon Jr. scored a career-playoff-high 24 points to help Minnesota close out Denver in Game 6 in Minneapolis.
The sixth-seeded Timberwolves advance to face the second-seeded Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals, with Game 1 scheduled for Monday in San Antonio.
Without All-NBA guard Anthony Edwards (knee), Donte DiVincenzo (Achilles), Game 4 hero Ayo Dosunmu (calf) and veteran Kyle Anderson (illness), the Timberwolves turned to Shannon — who did not play in the first three games of the series. He stepped up, capping his 9-of-20 performance shooting from the field with a crucial three-point play that ignited a game-ending 10-1 run for the Timberwolves.
Jaden McDaniels scored a game-high 32 in the win. Nikola Jokic helped keep the Nuggets within striking distance, finishing with team highs in points (28), assists (10) and rebounds (nine).
76ers 106, Celtics 93
Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points as surging Philadelphia beat visiting Boston again, forcing a decisive Game 7 in their first-round series.
The second-seeded Celtics led the series 3-1 following a 32-point win in Philadelphia on Sunday, but the seventh-seeded Sixers rebounded to post double-digit wins in Games 5 and 6. The teams will reconvene Saturday for Game 7 in Boston, where the Sixers will aim to complete a 3-1 series comeback for the first time in franchise history.
Paul George added 23 points for Philadelphia, while Joel Embiid had 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in his third game since returning from an emergency appendectomy. Jaylen Brown led Boston with 18 points but also committed five of his team’s 13 turnovers.
