Steve Popper: Knicks still have a series to win vs. 76ers, not a parade route to plan

The Knicks sent league historians scurrying to work their way through the record books as they beat up on the Philadelphia 76ers Monday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the latest in a stretch of four one-sided, record-setting wins.

But shortly after the game ended, when Karl-Anthony Towns was asked about those last four games — the wins coming by 16, 29, 51 and 39 points — he looked forward instead.

“We're playing well, but it doesn't mean anything if we can't find a way to get three more wins,” Towns said. “So we’ve just got to stick to the task at hand. You said it was the last four games? The key word is last. It doesn’t have anything to do with the next three, four, five, six. We’ve got to stay locked in and be disciplined and execute at a high level.”

Maybe it’s the experience, having been to this round four straight seasons, loaded with a roster of veterans who have experienced the highs and lows, seen the celebrations in the streets of Manhattan and endured the disappointing finishes that followed, but the troops gathered inside the Knicks' locker room seem to be the only ones not already plotting a championship parade route.

One by one, the Knicks were the ones to offer a word of caution - that just because they blew out the 76ers in Game 1, the path will almost certainly get tougher.

It’s with good reason, too. The 76ers lost to Boston by 32 points in Game 1 of their opening round series, recovered to take Game 2 in Boston and then, once Joel Embiid returned, overcame a 3-1 series deficit to pull off the upset in seven games. Even before the teams took the court Monday, Knicks coach Mike Brown was warning that, with its roster intact and healthy, Philadelphia is a far greater challenge than the seeding might suggest.

Understandably, on the outside, we’re still skeptical of this talk. Atlanta said it too, after the Knicks beat them by 16 in Game 4 to even the series, then by 29 in Game 5 — the Knicks insisting that the close-out game on Atlanta’s homecourt would be the hardest game of the season. Maybe you remember what ensued — a lead that grew to as many as 61 points and created an almost comical, one-sided affair.

“I mean, it's pretty easy because yesterday is irrelevant,” Josh Hart said after Tuesday’s practice. “Only thing that matters right now is the present. We got to make sure we're focused, have good attention to detail, make sure we're prepared for tomorrow. You know, that’s a good team.

“Obviously, they had an emotional Game 7, and I don't know what their travel schedule is like and all that, but I'm sure they probably didn't even go home. They probably went straight here. They had physical and exhausting series in travel. So, they're gonna try to get their legs under them and come out with energy tomorrow. So we gotta make sure we don't just match that, but exceed it.”

Paul George echoed those sentiments after the game, explaining the blowout as, “Just get settled in. Yeah, we had breakdowns but they also shot the [expletive)] out of the ball. You know, they were hot. They came out hot, they came out on fire. But it's a game of adjustments. We’ll make adjustments; see what we need to get better at. It’s the same as last series. It’s one. They don’t get any extra points for going up big [in Game 1]. We’ll be ready for Game 2.”

Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse had to miss Tuesday’s practice to attend the funeral of his brother, who passed away last week. But Nurse and his staff have been here before and will make adjustments. Brown, who was an assistant with Golden State when Nurse beat them in the NBA Finals with Toronto, talked about how Nurse pulled out all sorts of tricks — swapping out schemes on defense to slow the offensive attack of Golden State.

Both teams insist that what looked so simple Monday when the Knicks shot 63% — including a fourth quarter without a starter on the floor — won’t be repeated in Game 2, or as the series wears on.

“Being the favorite means literally nothing,” Hart said. “Every game you have to come in with a focus and attention to detail. And if you don't do that, you can lose anybody in this league. We feel like we can beat anybody, but it's that mentality that you have to go out there and be present every single day. Not worried about the past, because that's irrelevant. Not worried about what the future holds, because you have no idea. It's about us being in the present.

“So we don't really care too much about being favorites or All Stars, All-NBA and all, because at the end of the day, none of that really matters. And none of that matters if you win. No one remembers the leading scorer or how many All Stars you had or how many NBA, All-NBA [honors you had]. They remember you being a champion, and that's obviously the goal.”

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.