Jalen Brunson celebrates a big hoop as the Knicks grabbed a 3-1 series lead with their win Sunday in Philadelphia. (AP photo)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Brunson had just finished the highest-scoring game of his playoff career, the highest ever by a New York Knicks player in the postseason, and he was impressed.

Not by his own performance. Brunson loathes talking about that.

He meant by the Knicks fanbase, which came into Philadelphia, took over the arena and made Joel Embiid as miserable as the guys wearing blue.

Brunson scored a career playoff-high 47 points, added 10 assists and the Knicks beat the 76ers 97-92 on Sunday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

He wouldn’t let them lose Sunday and a crowd that seemed split between big Northeast cities had a decidedly Knicks sound down the stretch.

“The Philadelphia fanbase is, I said this before, they’re very relentless and very passionate. I mean, I’m an Eagles fan, I would know,” said Brunson, who won two national championships playing collegiately for Villanova. “But seeing the Knicks here and hearing the Knicks here, it was pretty cool and it’s awesome.”

Not for Embiid, who had to hear Brunson get louder chants of “MVP! MVP!” than the guy who actually won the award last season.

“I love our fans but it was unfortunate. I’m not calling them out, but it is disappointing.” Embiid said, adding that he’s aware that Knicks fans often make the short train trip for the road games.

But Brunson’s performance was too marvelous not to cheer as he surpassed the 46 points scored by Bernard King in 1984.

OG Anunoby added 16 points and 14 rebounds, and took on some of the defensive assignment against Embiid in the fourth quarter as the Knicks moved within a victory of getting to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second straight year.

The No. 2-seeded Knicks can do that with a victory at home on Tuesday night.

Embiid played the entire second half after the 76ers faltered badly when he sat in the first. But the All-Star center, who has been dealing with lingering problems from his surgically repaired left knee that he appeared to reinjure after a dunk in Game 1, and was recently diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis, couldn’t muster a basket in the fourth quarter.

Embiid finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Tyrese Maxey added 23 points for the 76ers, who will try to force another game at home, which would be Thursday.

Josh Hart missed all seven shots and Donte DiVincenzo missed his first seven. But Hart grabbed 17 rebounds and the Knicks kept going after missed shots, especially when it was clear Embiid didn’t have the energy to keep chasing them, and scored 21 second-chance points.

PACERS 126, BUCKS 113

Myles Turner scored 29 points, Tyrese Haliburton added 24 and the Indiana Pacers made a franchise playoff record 22 3-pointers as they pulled away late .

The win gave the Pacers a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Indiana has won three straight since losing the opener and can reach the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2014 — with a win Tuesday at Milwaukee.

Indiana is 7-2 this season against the Bucks, who are trying to avoid a second straight first-round exit.

Haliburton posted a career playoff scoring high for the second straight game while Turner matched a playoff career high that he set in Friday night’s overtime win. Turner also had nine rebounds and four assists against a Bucks squad that was missing two injured All-Stars, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

It’s unclear if either will be available in Game 5. Antetokounmpo hasn’t played since straining his left calf April 9. Lillard injured his Achilles tendon Friday night and had a protective walking boot covering his right foot this weekend.

Brook Lopez led the Bucks with 27 points and nine rebounds, and Khris Middleton added 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

CLIPPERS 116, MAVERICKS 111

Paul George and James Harden are two-for-two without Kawhi Leonard in the Los Angeles Clippers’ first-round playoff series against Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks.

The healthy LA stars can afford to shrug over the blown 31-point lead in Game 4. George and Harden each scored 33 points while playing key fourth-quarter roles to help the Clippers hold off a huge rally fueled mostly by Irving for to even the first-round series at 2-2.

Leonard was out with right knee inflammation again after missing the series opener, then playing in both Dallas victories. The Clippers aren’t sure he’ll make it back for the third Western Conference first-round meeting between these teams in the past five seasons.

The teams have split a pair on each other’s home court. Game 5 is Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

Irving scored 40 points for Dallas, including an acrobatic layup with 2:15 remaining for a 105-104 lead that was the first for the Mavericks since the middle of the first quarter.

Doncic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his fourth career playoff triple-double — all against the Clippers — while clearly struggling with right knee soreness that had him questionable until he warmed up before the game.

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