Legendary Jalen Brunson performance scoring 47 carries Knicks past 76ers into 3-1 series lead

Joel Embiid is trying. He knows he has to be dominant, the best player on the floor for the Philadelphia 76ers to win this series. Despite a knee clearly still slowing him and a mild case of Bell's Palsy, he is out there and played the entire second half Sunday because Philly falls apart when he is not on the court (a -60 net rating coming into this game).

Jalen Brunson was the dominant best player on the court Sunday and the Knicks are up 3-1 in the series and heading home because of it.

Brunson set a New York franchise record with 47 points in Game 4, dished out 10 assists, and his clutch play late carried the Knicks to a 97-92 win and a commanding 3-1 lead in their first-round series.

Game 5 is Tuesday in Madison Square Garden where the Knicks can close things out.

New York won Sunday because of their defense, hustle and Brunson. New York's defense, playing without center Mitchell Robinson (ankle), held Philadelphia to 35.4% shooting for the game and they were 9-of-33 from 3 (27.3%). The 76ers starting guards, Tyrese Maxey and Kyle Lowry, combined to shoot 9-of-27 (33.3%) for the game. As for signs of hustle, New York grabbed 15 offensive rebounds resulting in 21 second-chance points.

Embiid, coming off a dominant 50-point game, scored 22 of his 27 points Sunday in the first and third quarters, when he was freshest coming off a rest. He was 0-of-3 shooting with one point in the fourth quarter, and he was pressing to make things happen. The 76ers were +1 in the 44 minutes Embiid played, but -6 in the minutes he sat.

Tyrese Maxey finished with 23 points but needed 21 shots to get there. Kelly Oubre added 19 points. The 76ers got six points total from their bench.

OG Anunoby stepped up as the second scorer behind Brunson with 16 points, but he needed 16 points to get there. Knicks not named Brunson shot 19-of-52 (36.5%) and were 5-of-19 from 3.

Fortunately for New York, they had Brunson and having the best player in the series has made all the difference.