By Eddie Castro

This past Sunday, the New York Knicks completed a four-game sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers in Philadelphia with an impressive 144-114 blowout victory. The win marks the franchise’s first time since the 1999-00 season to advance to back-to-back conference finals. Their 140-point showing was the most points a Knicks team has ever scored in a postseason game. New York also became the second team since the 1986-87 Los Angeles Lakers to have multiple 140-point games in a single postseason.

The team had a next-man-up mentality as their top playoff scorer, OG Anunoby, missed the last two games with a right hamstring strain. The Knicks came out of the gates on fire from the three-point line hitting 11 of their first 12 three-point attempts. In the first half alone, the team knocked down 18 three-pointers, setting a franchise record and tying a playoff record.

The Knicks would go on to make more history during this game as they finished with 25 three-point shots made tying the postseason record. To put things nicely, the Knicks got every look they wanted on offense, and they have been outright suffocating on defense since their Game 6 blowout victory against the Atlanta Hawks. That momentum of consistency carried them through four games against the Sixers.

Players like Miles “deuce” McBride were one of many players who stepped up in the close-out game on Sunday as he poured in 25 points shooting 7 for 9 from the three-point line. McBride has done a tremendous job in the past two games in the starting lineup filling in for Anunoby. Another player who has stepped up in a big way after being criticized often in the Atlanta series is Mikail Bridges. Bridges hasn’t had the season many would expect a player of his caliber to have, however, towards the end of the Atlanta series and the most recent series against Philadelphia, he has played his best basketball of the year.

As far as points, Bridges’ stat line in four games versus the Sixers was 17, 18, 23, and 12. Aside from Bridges and McBride the game-changing player without a doubt has been the play of Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns has been heavily criticized for not being able to adapt to Coach Mike Brown’s offensive style of play and saw a significant drop in his stats this past year.

In these playoffs so far, not only has he appeared to be the number one option for the Knicks, but New York is essentially running their offense through him, with Jalen Brunson finding his spots on the floor creating more space and shot opportunities for others. From his impeccable display of passing to his aggressive offensive drives to the basket, Towns appeared to have found ways to impact the game in multiple ways.

New York now will look potentially at a one-week layoff as they await the winner of the Detroit Pistons/Cleveland Cavaliers series which is currently tied at 2-2 as we go to press. The waiting period for the team can be both a good and a bad thing. The upside of the layoff is being able to rest players who have logged in some heavy minutes and have been banged up, more particularly Anaouby getting back close enough to 100 percent with the hamstring the Knicks would obviously favor a six or seven-game series in hopes either team comes into the next round with limited rest time.

The downside of course is sometimes too much rest leads to rust, which is pivotal considering New York as a team has unlocked another level of consistency and is playing their best basketball at the right time. For coach Mike Brown the hope is that the layoff won’t affect the team too much and they will be ready to host the first two games at Madison Square Garden if Cleveland prevails or they will travel to Detroit for the first two games and battle the No.1 seed Pistons. All in all, you have to be very impressed if you are a Knicks fan to witness this amazing offensive and defensive play.

Sports Notes: (WNBA) Led by Breanna Stewart, the Liberty will battle the Portland Fire tonight at 10 p.m. EST. (NBA Basketball) The Brooklyn Nets will pick No.6 in this year’s NBA Draft in what many are saying could be the best draft class in years. (Baseball) The Mets will wrap up a three-game set with the Detroit Tigers tonight and then welcome in the cross-town rival the New York Yankees to Citi Field for the first of two scheduled three-game series tomorrow night.

Want more New York Sports? Catch an All-New Episode of Sports Talk with Eddie presented by Our Time Press live on the Our Time Press website, Facebook, and YouTube this Wednesday at 1 p.m. EST. Who would you rather the Knicks face in the Eastern Conference Finals? Let your voice be heard and call in Live during the show at 917-319-5481.