Game 1 was pretty much everything Knicks fans could have hoped for. They slowed down Tyrese Maxey, and Joel Embiid was quiet, outside of his usual free-throw antics.

New York also easily dismantled a 76ers defense that some believed had the answers for Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, and the Knicks' revamped offense. And they did it all in such dominant fashion that Nick Nurse threw in the towel, waved the white flag, and sat his starters for the final quarter and a half.

But the regardless of how flawed the 76ers looked Monday night, this is still a good team with some really good players, and an imperfect but championship-winning coach.…