The Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks continued their slugfest of a playoff series in Game 4. The Sixers let go of a great start and lost by a score of 97-92. New York now leads the series 3-1.

Let’s break down Game 4.

76ers player notes:

Joel Embiid: 27 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 3 steals, 7-19 FG shooting

Still fighting through Bell's palsy and a recovering meniscus, Embiid continued his domination. He closed the paint off defensively, forcing misses even as the Knicks dragged him out further with pick-and-rolls starting high in the halfcourt. The Sixers looked helpless out there on offense without him. He got to the foul line with regularity.

However, Embiid undid a lot of his hard work with some bad passes and almost went scoreless in the fourth quarter. Issues with entry passes burned him but he also just failed to continue what had been a stellar game.

Tyrese Maxey: 23 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 8-20 FG shooting

From midway through the second quarter through the third quarter, Maxey was scintillating and sensational. The tough shots he hit gave the Sixers life. He was not a major threat to begin the fourth quarter, when he usually comes up clutch, but eventually got going — he even made two incredible plays to secure a loose ball. More failures to lead the way without Embiid (which were not entirely on him, in fairness) doomed Philly.

Knicks player notes:

Jalen Brunson: 47 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 18-34 FG shooting

Brunson finally got going in Game 3, recording as many assists in that game as he did in the first two games on top of totaling a very efficient 39 points. He kept it up in this game.

No one could stay in front of Brunson in this game, or at least not well enough for him not to drop points in from all over the paint. His stellar game opened up space for his teammates to score, which he assisted routinely. He became the first Knicks with a 30-10 stat line in consecutive games, earning MVP chants in the process.

Game recap:

There’s no chance the intensity of this series is plateauing, let alone diminishing, after all the commotion from Game 3. The best playoff game of Embiid's career will always have an asterisk next to it after his flagrant foul on Mitchell Robinson, which Knicks players and fans have chastised as dirty. Despite pushback from the other side, this already tough series is providing sky-high levels of theatricality and high-level hoops.

Bojan Bogdanovic was reported to have a left wrist issue but still played. Robinson was listed as questionable for a left ankle sprain he sustained after the Embiid foul and ruled out. Julius Randle and Robert Covington remained out.

1st half

The Knicks changed things up by moving Josh Hart onto Maxey instead of OG Anunoby, who took Tobias Harris. Embiid got the game started strong with a dunk on a busted New York coverage, sending a crowd with a bigger Philly contingent than Game 3 into loud cheers. But Knicks fans still made a strong showing, as shown when Brunson hit his first three jumpers of the game, giving him New York's first seven points of the game.

Both teams brought the energy to start but the Sixers seemed to effectively force the Knicks' defense into a scramble, opening up plenty of looks. Embiid's dimer badge was activated, as he tossed some great one-handed bounce passes that led to points. His interior defense forced lots of misses and he put in the work on the boards, too. New York was unable to connect on its jumpers from long range, allowing Philly to go up by double figures early.

Nico Batum tried to put Donte DiVincenzo on a poster but was fouled. He was the first sub off the bench and was followed by Cam Payne after his critical Game 3. De'Anthony Melton got his first minutes of action this series, helping Embiid get into position for a post-up jumper on his first offensive possession and later forcing a turnover by deflecting a pass. Not only was Buddy Hield squeezed out but Nick Nurse went to a nine-man group for the first time this series.

Bogdanovic turned his ankle as he and Batum fought for a loose ball, sending him back to the locker room and later ruling him out for the game. Brunson started to really assert himself in the second quarter as the Knicks went on a run. The 76ers offense looked powerless to score without Embiid. New York started looking shakier once Precious Achiuwa came in for Isaiah Hartenstein but still went on an 8-2 run over four minutes to trim the deficit to four. Even those two Philly points came on foul shots.

Embiid came back into the game, though the Knicks were still rolling. He made a business decision on an Anunoby dunk and Brunson tied things up on a floater. New York's All-Star was getting a step on whatever defender stood in front of him, using his quickness, off-ball movement and off-balance shooting to torch Philly's defense.

The Sixers had their own chance to play with Embiid on and Brunson off but didn’t capitalize as much as they should have. Maxey got hot from the corner — where he’s at his best but cannot always tap into because of the creation burden he bears — and Embiid got to the foul line to rebuild Philly’s lead.

At halftime, the Sixers led 49-47.

2nd half

Maxey was the first defender to get a crack at Brunson in the third quarter, though Kelly Oubre Jr. still got his chances. The Knicks guard still managed to create a shot opportunity for Hartenstein as both sides traded buckets to begin the period. Maxey got a pair of tough shots to fall — a one-legged pull-up jumper in the paint and a contested, off-balance layup through a foul — as the Sixers began a mini-run.

The Knicks did a great job sticking with off-ball cutters to force the Sixers into turnovers. They also started hunting the Harris-on-Brunson matchup. Try as he did, Harris did not have the quickness to prevent Brunson from getting his shot off. He got to 30 points in 29 minutes of action.

As New York started to get hot from deep near the end of the quarter, Embiid kept the Sixers ahead by virtue of his foul-drawing talent. He put Hartenstein into foul trouble by the end of the third quarter as the Knicks center refused to learn his lesson about letting their arms get intertwined. Embiid then took advantage of poor positioning from him and drew another foul, bringing Achiuwa back in. Anunoby guarded Embiid but the big man got him in the air and drew a foul.

Embiid started the fourth quarter with Sixers down by one, a sign that Philly would overcome the minutes without him by simply avoiding them. With Brunson getting examined in the locker room after taking a tumble with Embiid at the end of the third quarter, the Knicks continued setting their screens high in the halfcourt to pull Embiid out further and force help in their pull-up looks.

Brunson came back into the game with over nine minutes left, sizing up Embiid and hitting a one-legged jumper going to his right to make it a three-point lead. Anunoby proved to be a capable Embiid defender, allowing Achiuwa to roam behind him. Hart also provided some great backline defense.

The Sixers switched up their defenses often, from using Embiid as a roamer off of Hart to playing him on Achiuwa, before settling on its typical matchups. Anunoby remained on Embiid, fighting like hell in the post and mucking up Philly possessions. The Knicks failed to concede switches onto Brunson for Maxey, forcing Philly to come up empty again. They got back to business dominating the offensive glass, holding a three-point lead that felt like more.

Embiid scored his first point of the fourth quarter with under a minute left, hitting one of two free throws to make it a five-point game. Down by four with 27 seconds left, he missed a layup that was contested very well by Achiuwa. The Sixers had other chances to get back into it but they failed, allowing Brunson to get even more MVP chants and fill the Wells Fargo Center with chants of “Let's go Knicks!”

Assorted observations:

  • The NBA is all about using different uniforms all the time without any rhyme or reason yet this is the second game out of four with the same uniform combination. And the last game occurred in the other team's arena. Just nonsensical.
  • PA announcer Matt Cord setting Micah Parsons up for boos in a building off Eagles and Giants fans was excellently done.

Game 5 is back in New York on Tuesday at 7:00 PM EST.