ATLANTA (AP) — OG Anunoby scored 29 points in 27 minutes, Karl-Anthony Towns had his second triple-double of the series and the New York Knicks had their biggest playoff victory in franchise history, overwhelming and eliminating the Atlanta Hawks 140-89 in Game 6 on Thursday night.
The Knicks broke several NBA records by halftime. Their 40-15 lead at the end of the first quarter marked the largest of the shot clock era. Their 47-point halftime lead was the biggest in playoff history.
New York’s 51-point win tied for the sixth-largest margin of victory in NBA postseason history.
Dyson Daniels and Mitchell Robinson were ejected after fighting following a pair of free throws from Anunoby that gave the Knicks a 50-point lead in the second quarter.
The Knicks exceeded 100 points with 8:21 remaining in the third quarter. New York’s starters were done for the night with 2:45 remaining in the third.
Anunoby scored 26 of his points in the first half. Mikal Bridges finished with 24. Towns, five days after becoming the fourth Knicks player with a playoff triple-double, had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
76ERS 106, CELTICS 93
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points, a resurgent Paul George had 23 points and Philadelphia which lost by 32 points twice in this first-round playoff series played its most complete game of the season and forced Game 7 with a win over Boston.
The decisive game is Saturday in Boston.
Uplifted by Joel Embiid’s early return from an appendectomy, the Sixers rebounded from two blowout losses to win Game 5 in Boston and were buoyed by a throwback effort from George to keep a comfortable lead in Game 6. Embiid did his part in Game 6 with 19 points.
The play of the game — and maybe the series — came in the third when Kelly Oubre Jr. blocked Jaylen Brown, Maxey scooped the loose ball and fed to George on the break who then dazzled with a behind-the-back pass to VJ Edgecombe who finished with a thunderous dunk for a 69-54 lead.
A night after the Flyers won in overtime to advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs, Sixers fans cut loose after that slam.
The 76ers will only go as far as Embiid can take them on his injury-prone 7-foot frame and Maxey is a bona fide All-Star. Edgecombe’s youthful exuberance made a fan favorite in Philly and an NBA Rookie of the Year finalist.
TIMBERWOLVES 110, NUGGETS 98
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jaden McDaniels had 32 points and 10 rebounds and Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 24 points in a surprise start for injury-ravaged Minnesota in a victory over Denver in Game 6 that finished off another tense NBA playoff series between the rivals.
With their top three guards missing because of injuries, the Timberwolves went big with Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle and Naz Reid fueling a 64-40 advantage in points in the paint and an 50-33 edge in rebounding.
Minnesota, the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, will start the second round at San Antonio on Monday. The second-seeded Spurs beat Portland in five games in their first-round series.
Nikola Jokic had 28 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds to lead the Nuggets, but sidekick Jamal Murray struggled to get free from McDaniels and finished with just 12 points on 4-for-17 shooting. Cameron Johnson scored 27 points to lead Denver’s 10-for-27 night from deep, but Jokic and the 3-pointers simply weren’t enough to keep up with a fiercely motivated Timberwolves team.
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