The story of this one: the superstars. Joel Embiid was not as good as he was in Game 3 (when he dropped 50 in an all-time Sixers classic), but still played a tremendous all-around game. Knicks guard Jalen Brunson was even better than he had been back on Thursday night. The game belonged to those two players, but Brunson was just better — and as a result, the Knicks are headed home with a 3-1 series lead after winning Game 4, 97-92. 

Here is what stood out from the Sixers' latest heartbreaking loss:

Embiid, Sixers dominate first quarter despite poor shooting

The Sixers outscored New York, 27-17, in the first 12 minutes of Game 4, and one could make a case their lead should have been even larger than it was.

On offense, the Sixers were constantly generating great looks. They barely made any mistakes, their ball movement was pristine and the entire process behind just about every possession was sound. But they made only one of their eight three-point attempts, and finished the quarter with only those 27 points to show for a collective effort that had perhaps warranted higher total.

On defense, the Sixers were even better. Brunson scored a dozen points, but all of his teammates were shut down: Knicks players not named Brunson scored a combined five points on 2-12 shooting from the field. Brunson was able to get going, including knocking down a few early jumpers over Embiid — who the Knicks clearly wanted to force to defend in space — but aside from that, the Sixers' defensive effort was remarkable. All of their pieces were connected, they played cohesive, team basketball and Embiid was tremendous protecting the rim.

Accumulating a 10-point advantage after a quarter of playoff basketball is impressive. It is even more impressive that their lead could have been even greater if they shot the ball well from beyond the arc.

Mitchell Robinson sidelined

The Knicks' backup center — who helped swing Game 1 in New York's favor with his stellar defense against Embiid — missed the second half of Game 3 after injuring the same ankle which required surgery in the year and led to him missing the majority of the regular season. Robinson left the arena following that game wearing a walking boot.

Robinson entered the arena Sunday morning without any boot or wrapping on his foot or ankle. Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said that Robinson would go through his pregame warmup session before the team decided his status — typically a sign that the given player will be available. Robinson went through the entirety of his routine, and it was reported nationally that he was planning to play. But just 30 minutes before tip-off, when teams must submit starting lineups and inactives, the Knicks ruled out Robinson.

Filling in for Robinson as the backup to starting center Isaiah Hartenstein was fourth-year player Precious Achiuwa, who played well in the second half of Game 3 but is not nearly as reliable of a player as Robinson.

De'Anthony Melton returns to the rotation, Buddy Hield exits

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse had gone with eight players in his initial rotation in all four Sixers postseason games to date, and after Cam Payne's eruption in Game 3, Payne being locked into the rotation made it hard to imagine Nurse calling upon the services of Melton, who missed multiple months with a back injury and was not used in Game 3 despite being upgraded to available.

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Then came somewhat of a surprise: late in the first quarter, Melton checked into the game, expanding Nurse's rotation to nine players and cementing the fact that their prized trade deadline acquisition, Hield — who scored just two points across the entirety of the first three games of the series — is finally on the outside looking in after weeks of struggles.

The Melton situation has been odd, just because he has seen such little action over the last few months, and while he is certainly deserving of minutes in a vacuum, Nurse and his staff have had to grapple with the fact that there may be rust that the trusted guard has to shake off. But Nurse decided that Game 4 was the time to bring Melton back into the fold.

Another hectic crowd at Wells Fargo Center leans towards New York

There is no doubt that, just like in Game 3, there were more Sixers fans than Knicks fans physically present in South Philadelphia. But in the first half of Game 3, Knicks fans completely hijacked the arena with their noise and energy, which was vastly superior to those of the Sixers' fans. In the first half of Game 4, it was exactly the same — if not even more pronounced. 

Many have compared the noise of these crowds to a high school game, and that comparison is apt. It truly has felt like a neutral site game on many occasions.

The Sixers have long had a strong home-court advantage. I have been at just about every single home game, regular season and postseason, for quite a few years, and I have never witnessed a crowd as split as the two during these games against the Knicks. Kudos to New York fans, because this is a difficult arena to take over — and they have done it for significant stretches.

Brunson's heater continues

After shooting a combined 16-for-45 across the first two games of this series, Brunson got hot in Game 3, pouring in 39 points and 13 assists. Nurse seemed at ease with it; his respect for Brunson is enormous and he calmly stated what most believed to be true already: the Sixers were never going to keep him down for an entire series.

Brunson had his aforementioned dozen in the first quarter, and nearly matched it in the second quarter: the Knicks' All-Star point guard entered intermission with 23 points and seven assists on 10-15 shooting from the field. He single-handedly uplifted the Knicks' offense from putrid to viable, and thanks to a strong defensive quarter by New York in the second they were able to head to the visitor's locker room only trailing by two points.

A wild — and important — final two minutes of the first half

With two minutes and 19 seconds remaining in the first half of play, the Sixers led by four. Josh Hart — who had not yet made a field goal after knocking down four triples in each of the first three games of the series — picked up his second foul in a span of fewer than 45 seconds, giving him three personals. Because of that foul trouble, Thibodeau opted to bench his trusted wing for the remainder of the half, summoning Game 1 hero Miles "Deuce" McBride.

McBride checked in and instantly sent the Knicks fans in attendance into a frenzy by knocking down back-to-back triples, giving the Knicks the lead as well as momentum that could be felt in the arena. 

But the Sixers responded with a haymaker of their own: Maxey drilled a tough long two-point jumper, the Sixers got a stop, Maxey pushed the pace in transition and found Kyle Lowry for a crucial corner three — the first shot Lowry made on the afternoon. Brunson was able to connect with a floater a few seconds before the game clock expired, and just like that intermission had arrived — but not before chaos had already ensued.

Thibodeau makes a major defensive adjustment

Maxey had Knicks wing OG Anunoby defending him nearly every time down for three and a half games to start this series, but when the second half of Game 4 started, the Knicks made a major switch: Hart — who already had those three fouls — took over the Maxey assignment, with Anunoby manning Tobias Harris.

This move was likely as much about Embiid as it was about Maxey. Sure, the Knicks may have wanted to throw a different look at the Sixers' All-Star point guard and the NBA's 2023-24 Most Improved Player, but at the same time, putting Anunoby in a off-ball defensive role enabled him to be available as a help defender against Embiid. 

Anunoby's foot speed likely makes him better-equipped to defend Maxey than any other members of the Knicks' rotation, but his sturdy 6-foot-7, 232-pound frame an impressive 7-foot-2 wingspan also make him an ideal help defender against a scorer like Embiid who defends so much attention from opposing defenses.

Another New York injury

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported Sunday morning that the Knicks' most noteworthy trade deadline acquisition, Bojan Bogdanovic, has ligament damage in his left wrist that could eventually require surgery, but that the veteran swingman would remain active during the playoffs.

But after logging just 71 seconds of play, things escalated, as Bogdanovic went down with a left ankle contusion while he and Nic Batum chased after a loose ball. Bogdanovic was helped to the locker room, did not return for the remainder of the first half and was ruled out for the remainder of the game soon after the third quarter began.

Bogdanovic's status moving forward is unknown, but given Thibodeau's perhaps-infamous struggles to trust bench players, any blow to New York's rotation is a significant one. If Bogdanovic is to miss time, two obvious options exist for Thibodeau if he wants to add a player to his rotation: the most likely addition would be former Sixer Alec Burks, who was acquired alongside Bogdanovic from the Detroit Pistons at the trade deadline. The other — albeit less likely — option: another old friend of the Sixers: Shake Milton.

Embiid forces Thibodeau to gamble — and the bet does not pay off

Achiuwa was the Knicks' backup center in Game 4, but Hartenstein was the only one Thibodeau demonstrated any faith in as an option against Embiid. When Embiid drew Hartenstein's fourth personal foul midway through the third quarter, most coaches in most situations would have brought in Achiuwa. But the hard-nosed Thibodeau, in a crucial playoff moment, took a risk and stuck with Hartenstein. That risk did not pay off. 

Just over two minutes later, Embiid was able to ignite another whistle on Hartenstein, the Knicks' trusted big's fifth personal. At that point, Thibodeau had no choice but to insert Achiuwa.

Another critical Payne moment

Payne was not as pivotal for the Sixers in Game 4 as he was in Game 3 — but in the fourth quarter, despite being scoreless prior to checking back into the game, Payne scored the Sixers' first five points of the frame on a floater and then a triple that gave the Sixers the lead back after the Knicks had seized control of the game by the end of the third quarter. Moments later, Payne drew a pivotal charge on Hart — not only did that heads-up play wipe off two potential Knicks points, but it was Hart's fifth personal

It was only five points and one defensive stand, but in the fourth quarter of Game 4 Payne changed the complexion of the game — again.

Knicks take control entering final minutes

The Knicks — thanks too more impressive team defense and tough shot-making from Brunson — led the Sixers by as many as five in the middle portion of the fourth quarter. Their fans continued to drown out the many Sixers fans in attendance, but the Sixers were able to hang in there, thanks in large part to the scoring and shot creation of Maxey.

Achiuwa may not have had Thibodeau's trust entering this game, but he may have earned it in the fourth quarter: Achiuwa played the entire final frame and his energy helped put the Knicks over the top. His activity was infectious, and it gave 

Sixers fail to make necessary plays down the stretch, fall short in Game 4

The fourth quarter of Game 4 felt much like most of Game 1, where even when the Sixers made the right plays on the defensive end, they could not end possessions with rebounds. The Knicks pulverized them on the glass yet again down the stretch in this one.

On top of that, the Sixers' offense down the stretch was putrid. Give credit to the Knicks for putting on a tremendous defensive effort in the game's final dozen minutes, but Embiid, Maxey and co. were all out of sorts at various points in the fourth quarter. 

All of that, combined with Brunson's absurd and relentless scoring performance, was exactly the recipe the Knicks needed. When these teams face off in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, the Sixers will be one loss away from heading home. The task at hand now: win three straight games, with the first and last of them coming on the road.

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