NBA roundup: Knicks advance with 51-point rout; Wolves move on, too

OG Anunoby scored 26 of his 29 points in the first half to lead the visiting New York Knicks to a historic 140-89 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday. This was the Knicks' first-round Eastern Conference playoff series win 4-2 and their largest postseason margin of victory, surpassing their earlier 120-66 rout of the Brooklyn Nets on January 21. The Hawks suffered their second-worst postseason defeat in franchise history. The Knicks' 63-11 first-half run led by a 61-point lead helped them win the third straight game to advance to the conference semifinals for the fourth straight year. Karl-Anthony Towns had his second career playoff triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, along with three steals. The starters were out of the game midway in the third quarter. In the Western Conference, the Timberwolves defeated the Nuggets 110-98 in Game 6. Terrence Shannon Jr., elevated into the starting lineup after injuries, scored a career-high 24 points to help Minnesota close out Denver. The sixth-seeded Timberwolves advance to face the second-seeded Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals, with Game 1 scheduled for Monday in San Antonio. Without All-NBA guard Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, Ayo Dosunmu, and Kyle Anderson, Shannon stepped up, finishing with a crucial three-point play that ignited a game-ending 10-1 run. Jaden McDaniels scored a game-high 32 in the win. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Boston Celtics 106-93 in Game 7, forcing a decisive seventh game in their first-round series. The second-seeded Celtics led the series 3-1 after a 32-point win in Philadelphia on Sunday. The seventh-seeded Sixers rebounded with double-digit wins in Games 5 and 6. The teams will meet again on Saturday in Boston, where the Sixers aim to complete a 3-1 series comeback for the first time in franchise history. Paul George added 23 points for Philadelphia, while Joel Embiid contributed 19 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists in his third game since returning from an appendectomy. Jaylen Brown led Boston with 18 points but committed five of the team’s 13 turnovers.