The highlight was Joel Embiid from the opening tip.
The first “f–k Embiid” chant came soon after.
Many others followed.
The sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden took every opportunity to boo the Sixers’ 7-footer, complaining when he dribbled or hooking a defender and making a ticky-tack mistake, exploding after every shot that went off target.
Even when the Knicks dropped Game 1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the crowd never let up, letting Embiid know this was just the beginning.
But unlike the tense first-round games two years ago — when the reigning MVP delivered a series of timely buckets, cheap shots and verbal penalties — the Knicks may now have a dominant big man in the series.
Although Embiid failed to make a big impact in the first game of the series – he scored 14 points while shooting 3 of 11 from the field – Karl-Anthony Towns continued his incredible season throughout the postseason, finishing with 17 points (7 of 11 shooting from the field, including 3-for-5 with two 3-pointers, only six blocks).
In the first round win over the Hawks, coach Mike Brown helped swing the series when he put the ball in Towns’ hands, asking the 7-footer to make a mistake.
He responded with his first pair of playoff triple-doubles, ending a six-game streak averaging 18.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.7 steals while shooting nearly 57 percent from the field and over 44 percent from three-point range.
“I want to answer the phone,” City said after the Game 6 win in Atlanta. “You ask for opportunities and they are obliged, and I have to return that hope and that opportunity. I want to do anything – I always talk to you about the impact of winning. I got many opportunities to do that and I want to make sure that I succeed. [taking] opportunities [I’m] given. And I’m proud that I was able to help us win.”
Towns, a six-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA selection, has never been a slow shooter and made a big impact, leading the Knicks to three wins in the conference finals after helping the team end its 25-year drought last year.
This season, Towns has averaged a career low 13.8 field goals.
Against Atlanta, he averaged 9.7. On Monday, he took just one shot in the first quarter — a 3-pointer — before falling into his bad habit of picking up unnecessary fouls.
After stripping Embiid of rebounds early, Towns headed to the bench with two fouls in less than five minutes to play.
When Towns came back in the second half, he made a splash, attacking Andre Drummond for an inside goal.
He followed with a nice back pass to Jose Alvarado.
At halftime, Towns had 10 points, five assists, four rebounds and one block.
Before the end of the third quarter, the Towns left for the last time, the Knicks lead by 27.
“I have to continue to contribute to the win and do whatever this team needs me to do or sacrifice to win,” Towns said recently. “This is the moment. We must seize this opportunity.”
