| Jalen Brunson didn't hesitate with his answer. He'd just attempted a career-high 26 shots and finished with his fifth-worst conversion percentage (30.8) in a postseason game. For so many nights this season, and in many obvious ways, Brunson was the reason why the Knicks won, secured the No. 2 seed and were in that spot — celebrating the immediate aftermath of a 111-104 triumph over the 76ers in Game 1 of their series — to begin with.
But for one night, the Knicks needed a different hero.
So when asked about what it took for the Knicks to erase their deficit to start the fourth quarter and survive the opener, Brunson, in an on-court interview with MSG, uttered the words "Deuce McBride" and nodded his head as the fans around him responded by shouting Miles McBride's nickname in the same style Springsteen fans would at a concert — a drawn-out echo that sounded as if it'd reverberate through the Garden's exits, out onto Seventh Avenue and last until Game 2 tipped off Monday.
Brunson, with just eight baskets, finished with 22 points. McBride, in just 28 minutes, finished with 21. He was joined by a collection of contributions from Josh Hart, Isaiah Hartenstein, Mitchell Robinson and others — basically anyone in Tom Thibodeau's eight-man rotation — that were just enough to overcome Brunson's struggles, providing a blueprint the Knicks hope to never use again but, as their victory demonstrated, could if needed.
 The Sixers defense targeted Jalen Brunson in Game 1, but the Knicks still found a way to grab a 1-0 series lead.
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Most NBA teams build around their superstar and aren't necessarily constructed to withstand them having an off night, especially in the playoffs. That's when the stakes are higher. The margin for error narrows and narrows until it doesn't exist. Last year, when Julius Randle faltered and the Knicks didn't possess the scoring options of their current edition, they went 2-3 in games when Brunson scored 25 or fewer points. But they've since added OG Anunoby. McBride turned into a pivotal role player when the Knicks swung the mid-season deal with the Raptors. Hartenstein, inheriting a larger role when Robinson was injured, developed into a center poised to land a sizable contract in free agency.
The Knicks, for at least one night, showed that there's more to their roster than their All-NBA candidate.
"It's definitely encouraging when your main guy who, we've been on his shoulders this whole season," Hart said postgame. "And when [Brunson] struggled, that's when we had to pick him up."
If anything, the way the Knicks won Saturday might've provided the best introduction for the playoffs — the can-they-win-without-their-star-being-their-star style that was always a pressing worry during the regular season. Could they survive off nights from Brunson? Did they always need 40-point nights from him to have a chance, especially with Randle out for the season?
They certainly could've used a stronger game from Brunson on Saturday. The 76ers were without Joel Embiid near the end of the first half after he appeared to aggravate his knee injury, and the Knicks built a 12-point halftime lead. But that had been erased by the start of the final frame, with the Knicks trailing at the start of a 12-minute segment where Brunson managed just two points but still assisted on clutch 3-pointers from Hart and Anunoby that sealed their win.
 Josh Hart's three fourth-quarter 3-pointers helped make up for an off night from his ex-Villanova teammate in Game 1.
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Those individual performances turned an ugly win into an encouraging one. Donte DiVincenzo remained on the bench after shooting just 3-of-10. Brunson was contained. Hart, with four 3-pointers, 22 points and 13 rebounds, doubled his previous career-best for made shots beyond the arc in a postseason game. Given that the Knicks didn't have Anunoby for most of the final stretch of the regular season, his sheer presence on the court was encouraging — especially his defensive prowess.
And then there was McBride, who scored five of his points and dished out two of his four assists while playing the entire fourth quarter.
It didn't, for once, become disastrous without points from Brunson.
Still, it's a long series. It's a long playoffs. One win, regardless of how it happened, will fade into the back of memories by the time Hartenstein and Embiid jump for the opening tip at 7:30 p.m. Monday. As long as Embiid's knee cooperates, the 76ers still present a daunting challenge — they went 31-8 with Embiid in their lineup during the regular season, and could've easily secured one of the Eastern Conference's top seeds without his lengthy absence.
 Miles McBride scored five points and handed out two assists in the fourth quarter to help fuel the Knicks' comeback win over Philly on Saturday.
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
So the Knicks don't want that extreme from Saturday, with Brunson scraping together points rather than scoring them in bunches, to become their formula throughout the playoffs. It likely won't be, given the type of player Brunson has developed into. Philadelphia kept "throwing bodies" and "clogging the paint," Brunson said postgame, and he had two days to figure out an antidote to that for Monday, to prevent the 76ers from successfully implementing that game plan again — daring McBride, daring Robinson, daring Bojan Bodganovic and Hartenstein and Anunoby and essentially anyone else in that eight-man rotation to beat them.
But entering Game 2, the Knicks demonstrated a win could still happen if the 76ers mitigate the impact of their star point guard again. That, at least, should provide Thibodeau some reassurance.
Today's back page  New York Post
Rangers and Matt Rempe strike again Near the end of February, before the Presidents' Trophy and the No. 1 overall seed were guaranteed for the Rangers, Matt Rempe provided evidence that there was more to his skillset than just the fights and hits he'd become known for during his first taste of the NHL.
In vintage Matt Rempe style, he'd been involved in an old-school hockey fight against Flyers forward Nicolas Deslauriers on Feb. 24 that lasted more than a minute. Wells Fargo Center queued up a bell sound. It got the "juices flowing," he said postgame with a smile, in an introductory stretch with the Rangers that included plenty of that — a fight on his first shift at MetLife Stadium against the Islanders, a match penalty against the Devils, opponents actively trying to coordinate something with the 6-foot-7 rookie pregame.
But nearly eight minutes into the third period that afternoon, Rempe screened the Flyers' net and watched as a shot from the point trickled through traffic, deflected off his shin and bounced past Samuel Ersson for the game-winning goal. It was the "ugliest" of first goals, he joked on ESPN and again with reporters in the locker room afterward. Still, it was a goal.
 Matt Rempe's second goal of the season got the Rangers on the scoreboard in Game 1 against the Capitals.
Getty Images
Two months later, with the Rangers and Capitals still scoreless in the second period, a tic-tac-toe sequence behind the Capitals net ended with Jimmy Vesey threading a pass to Rempe in the front. This time, he executed a shot that flew past Charlie Lindgren and into the net. This time, there was clear offensive talent, more than just a right-place-at-the-right-time deflection. Rempe had sensed space in front of the net, filled that spot and waited for Vesey's pass.
Rempe scored eight goals across 43 games in the AHL this season, and with the Rangers needing a spark to start their first-round series, Rempe produced the second goal of his NHL career.
His tally served a key role during an encouraging performance from the Blueshirts' fourth line, which accounted for half of their goals in a 4-1 win against the Capitals on Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round series. Artemi Panarin's goal in the second period, which gave them a 2-0 lead, was almost expected after his 120-point season. Chris Kreider scoring his 41st postseason goal wasn't exactly a shock, either.
But the fourth line's offense, especially given the adoration that fans at the Garden continue to show Rempe with plenty of chants and cheers, will serve as a bonus if it continues to follow in future games.
 The Rangers and their fans at MSG looked every bit the part of a team poised for a deep playoff run in toppling the Caps Sunday.
Getty Images
"I can't think of a player that's come in and had that impact on a team, on a fanbase, on a city," Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette told reporters postgame. "If you watch him, you look at him, he just smiles. He's just happy. Loves being here. Loves to play the game. He's been great."
This was what the Presidents' Trophy winner should look like to start the playoffs. There was balance. The Garden was energized. The Rangers got strong goaltending from Igor Shesterkin, too.
Last year's collapse against the Devils after snagging a 2-0 series lead will continue to loom until the Rangers secure a series victory. Alex Ovechkin still looms on the other bench, too. But for one afternoon, the Blueshirts teased a seamless transition into the postseason. Rempe, of course, found a way to contribute again, too.
"I think I'm built for the playoffs," Rempe told reporters postgame, according to The Post's Mollie Walker.
The bat needed more than ever  Francisco Alvarez's thumb injury could keep the Mets catcher out of the lineup for as long as eight weeks.
AP
When the Mets signed J.D. Martinez near the end of spring training, there was a buzz around the clubhouse about what the designated hitter's bat could provide.
Pete Alonso called him a hitting "savant." Francisco Lindor coined Martinez "one of the best hitters for a very long time." Brandon Nimmo said he'd "make any lineup better." And with the Mets, who already possessed that trio of hitters along with budding star Francisco Alvarez, Martinez was supposed to be their missing piece.
But that changed Friday, when Alvarez exited their win against the Dodgers with a thumb injury that needs surgery — sidelining him for the next six to eight weeks. The Mets' fifth consecutive series win, which ended with a loss Sunday to the Dodgers, came at a cost over the weekend, removing the jolt of power that launched 25 homers last season and flashed the potential to replicate that in the spring.
Instead, the Mets need Martinez — who manager Carlos Mendoza said could make his debut as soon as Friday after a stop in Triple-A Syracuse — to produce. They can't afford much of a transition or lull after he reaches their lineup and logs daily at-bats in the majors. They need the former Dodgers and Red Sox star to become as indispensable as possible, collecting hits like he did Sunday with Single-A St. Lucie — when he singled and doubled in a minor-league game — and helping overcome Alvarez's absence as much as possible.
 Signed late in spring training, J.D. Martinez may make his Mets debut by the end of this week.
AP
Alvarez told reporters that he was "mad with myself" for the injury, a fluke play when he tried to stay upright after rounding first base but injured the thumb when he stuck his hand into the dirt. He knew right away that it was bad, Alvarez said, and the evaluations and timelines that followed confirmed the outlook.
Without Alvarez, the Mets will use Omar Narvaez and Tomas Nido at catcher. Nido threw a runner out Sunday and both have experience with the club from past seasons, but will the absence of their regular catcher hurt a pitching staff that has, to this point, been better than advertised?
The more pressing concern, though, and perhaps the one most quantifiable for the Mets as their season shifts to San Francisco before returning to Citi Field, will arise at the plate. And that's where the Mets need Martinez to help more than ever.
What we're reading 👀 🏀 For as inspiring as the Knicks' Game 1 win was, Stefan Bondy writes the series will still be determined by Joel Embiid: "He's too big for the defense to stop and too big to avoid knee pain."
⚾ When your offense is scuffling the way the Yankees' has been, any win is a good win, and if it takes three hits from Alex Verdugo and Luis Gil's best start of the season, you take it and move onto the Athletics.
🏒 When a playoff game starts as tight as Game 1 did between the Rangers and Capitals it's good to have a coach behind the bench like Peter Laviolette who has seen it all, writes Mark Cannizzaro.
🏒 The Islanders' task to get back in their series against the Hurricanes is pretty simple: find more opportunities to put the puck in the net.
🏀 No one on this current Knicks roster may be a better fit with the team's 1990s heritage than Josh Hart.
🏈 Aaron Rodgers is in town for voluntary workouts, and from the looks of things, he has some pretty good chemistry cooking witb Garrett Wilson.
⛳ Nelly Korda made history on Sunday in becoming only the third LPGA player to win five straight tournaments with her comeback victory at the Chevron Championships. Only 25, she'll take aim at a record-breaking sixth consecutive tournament title next weekend in L.A.
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