How Miles McBride made history in Knicks' Game 1 win over 76ers

C Jackson Cowart

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How Miles McBride made history in Knicks' Game 1 win over 76ers image

Before this weekend, Miles McBride had never scored more than 3 points in an NBA playoff game after mostly riding the pine in his first two seasons with the New York Knicks.

On Saturday, the third-year guard rewrote the franchise record books and had Madison Square Garden chanting his name.

The former second-round pick came off the bench to score 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting (58.3%) in the Knicks' 111-104 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, finishing one point shy of the team lead in scoring to help secure a Game 1 win in the 2024 NBA playoffs.

He also finished with a plus-minus of +37 — the highest in a playoff game in franchise history, per StatMuse.

McBride makes Knicks playoff history in Game 1

After the 76ers jumped out to a 13-point lead late in the first quarter, McBride entered the game and hit his first 3-pointer seconds later to cut it to 10.

He then outscored the 76ers by himself with a 13-point second quarter to lead an inspired charge by the New York bench, drawing the roaring approval of those inside Madison Square Garden.

When he hit his final shot in the fourth quarter — a 24-footer with 7:37 left to extend the Knicks' lead to five — he became the first player in franchise history to score 20 points with five threes off the bench, per Tommy Beer.

The third-year guard also added four assists, three rebounds and a steal, finishing with zero turnovers and tripling Philadelphia's bench output by himself.

McBride earns praise of teammates, coaches

Knicks star Jalen Brunson finished Game 1 win with 22 points in 41 minutes, both tied for the team lead, to deliver a 1-0 series lead for New York.

But when he was asked what it took for his team to win Saturday, he had two simple words to explain it:

A second-round pick out of West Virginia, McBride has long been a fan favorite for his relentless play on both ends of the court.

After averaging 3.5 points in 11.9 minutes last year, McBride started 14 of 68 games and played nearly 20 minutes per game in 2023-24. He drew his first two starts in January and combined for 39 points, and he averaged 18.9 points in his nine starts over the final month of the season.

Even coach Tom Thibodeau, known to be as hard on his players as any coach in the league, had nothing but praise for the Knicks' breakout playoff hero.

New York hosts Philadelphia for Game 2 of their first-round series on Monday, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT.

C Jackson Cowart

C Jackson Cowart Photo

C Jackson Cowart is an award-winning sportswriter, reporter and editor with nearly a decade of experience in the industry. In addition to his work with The Sporting News, he has also worked with theScore, Action Network, Forbes, ESPN and Sportsbook Review, covering anything from the NFL, NBA and MLB to college sports, WNBA and NASCAR. He's also a fiercely proud Oregon native and UNC alumnus who loves sports cards and high-stakes fantasy leagues as much as he hates Duke.