GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Finally finished with Boston, a trip to New York came quickly for the Philadelphia 76ers. So did the memories.The Eastern Conference semifinals are a rematch of a tight series between Atlantic Division rivals from nearby Northeast cities, a Knicks victory in six games in 2024.Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Maxey delivered unbelievable performances. Both teams made unimaginable rallies.Knicks fans were deafening inside Madison Square Garden — and in Philadelphia. (And no, Joel Embiid hasn’t forgotten).When it was over, the Knicks had outscored the 76ers 650-649. They start up again Monday night, believing this series can be even better.“I expect nothing less. Actually more,” Maxey said. “That was a first-round matchup. This is a second-round matchup. So I think both teams are going to come out there and be extremely competitive. It’s going to be a dogfight, it’s going to be a chess match and I’m just ready to get started.”The Knicks had a few days to rest after finishing off Atlanta with a 140-89 victory on Thursday in Game 6, setting an NBA postseason record by building a 47-point halftime lead. The 76ers have only one full day to recover after completing the NBA’s 14th comeback from a 3-1 deficit by beating the Celtics 109-100 on Saturday.Philadelphia became the first No. 7 seed to beat a No. 2 since the first round became a best-of-seven format. That was the matchup when the 76ers and Knicks met two years ago.The 76ers were on the verge of tying that series in Game 2 before the Knicks came from five points down with under 30 seconds remaining. Brunson scored a Knicks playoff-record 47 points in Game 4 and New York was poised to wrap it up at home in Game 5 before Maxey scored seven points in the final 25 seconds of regulation and the 76ers won in overtime.“Man, that was a fun series. We were going punch for punch,” Josh Hart said after the Knicks practiced Sunday. “When you think about that, you always think of the good games, so you guys can guess what games those are. But you know that you’ve got to turn the page. Those are memories. They don’t affect tomorrow but they’re fun memories.”Embiid returned midway through the Boston series after an appendectomy and was limping late in Game 7 after a player fell into his knee. He appeared in worse shape in the series two years ago, dealing with lingering problems from a surgically repaired left knee and having been diagnosed recently with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis.“I had a lot going on at that time, so hopefully everything is good this time,” Embiid said. “We’ve got a much better team than we had at that time, so it’s going to be a fun series.”Popular ReadsThe Knicks also appear better, having since acquired All-Star Kar …
