76ers

Philadelphia 76ers collapse in 104-101 game two loss to New York Knicks

The New York Knicks absolutely stunned the Philadelphia 76ers in a 104-101 comeback victory last night at Madison Square Garden. It was one that will almost certainly leave the 76ers hungrier than ever as the series shifts back to Philly with the Knicks holding a 2-0 advantage.

Up 101-96 with 47.3 left in regulation led by Tyrese Maxey (35 points, 10 assists, and 9 rebounds) and Joel Embiid (34 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists), it seemed like the 76ers were seconds away from evening up the series and headed back to Wells Fargo Center with momentum on their side.

But, a disastrous chain reaction of events consisting of turnovers, Knicks dagger threes, offensive rebounding, and questionable officiating allowed Donte DiVincenzo to hit a near-game-winning three to send Philadelphia back down I-95 in awe.

Here’s what happened: 

Tyrese Maxey’s hot start propels 76ers in 1st quarter

Both Joel Embiid (knee) and Tyrese Maxey (illness) were listed as questionable ahead of the game last night, which nearly caused armageddon on 76ers X (Twitter). Thankfully, the 76ers’ star duo went on to suit up after participating in their respective pre-game routines and combined for 21 of Philadelphia’s 25 points in the first frame. 

Tyrese Maxey scored Philadelphia’s first nine points of the game, hitting a pair of catch-and-shoot threes in semi-transition and coming off a down-screen set by Joel Embiid on an inbounds play. Maxey was able to get these clean looks due to him operating off the ball, which is the luxury of having Kyle Lowry in the starting lineup in terms of facilitating and scanning the floor. 

With Joel Embiid having a serious injury scare, many wondered how he’d come out tonight. While he shot just 4-10 from the field in the first quarter, Embiid led all scorers with 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Embiid mostly faced single coverage against Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson and while he did struggle to shoot from a distance, he played with much more aggression and was able to get some face-up shots to fall and get to the rim rather quickly – considering his knee injury. Embiid and the 76ers as a collective were much more aggressive chasing rebounds on both ends of the floor as well. 

Kelly Oubre Jr. had a lot of success defending Jalen Brunson in game one and that success translated into the first quarter. Brunson got off to an ugly 0-4 shooting start from the field as Oubre denied and chased him off the ball and made things difficult for the star guard off the dribble, forcing him into tough shots.

However, New York’s wing depth proved to be an issue for the 76ers once more as Josh Hart (7 points) and Donte DiVincenzo (6 points) combined for 13 points in the opening frame. DiVincenzo thrived as a shooting and dribbling threat both on and off the ball, despite respectable defense from Kyle Lowry. Josh Hart reigned in a few momentum buckets in transition and knocked down a spot-up three. But, when you effectively scheme Brunson out of New York’s offense and win the period 25-18, you can live with those results. 

Maxey, Embiid, and Harris shine for 76ers at halftime

The 76ers received near-perfect production from Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Tobias Harris as the trio combined for 48 of Philadelphia’s 55 points at halftime, which felt unnatural, but a glorious sight at the same time.

Tyrese Maxey picked right back up where he left off and at the perfect time with Embiid on the bench. Maxey exploded past his primary defender, Bojan Bogdanovic, and sliced through the Knicks’ interior defense getting to the rim a series of times while also drilling a pull-up three.

Maxey’s ability to heat up in bunches and lead the offense when Embiid is taking a rest will continue to be vital in the postseason. Maxey led all scorers at halftime with 20 points and 5 assists on 7-11 field shooting.

Maxey and Embiid played off of each other at a much more consistent rate in just the first half than they did in the entirety of game one. Maxey drew defenders off the Embiid pick-and-roll and the big man was hand-wrapped an open elbow jumper. Embiid then went on to find Maxey cutting from the back door, which is something he has excelled at when facing double teams early on in this series. 

Tobias Harris struggled to find his shot throughout game one and the 1st quarter, but provided sound two-way production as his defensive rotations and rebounding shined.

Heading into intermission, Harris had 10 points and 6 rebounds on 408 shooting, drilling a series of corner threes created by Tyrese Maxey’s gravity. With his’ offensive struggles, especially against the Knicks, seeing Harris contribute in various aspects of the game is a more than welcome sign. If Harris can remain resilient off the glass and hit a spot-up three or two like he did in the first half, the 76ers will be set offensively.

Philadelphia once again couldn’t stop the red-hot shooting of Josh Hart, who led New York in scoring with 19 points and 9 rebounds at halftime on 4-5 shooting from three. Hart drilled a plethora of spot-up threes and even a ridiculous pull-up attempt in transition as the 76ers collapsed onto Brunson. In terms of containing Hart, there’s not much Philadelphia can do besides recover and close out quicker as slowing down Brunson is much more vital. 

Knicks take momentum from 76ers in third quarter

To counter Tyrese Maxey’s stellar first-half performance, the Knicks decided to start blitzing Maxey off the pick-and-roll with Joel Embiid and it failed miserably. Maxey used New York’s double coverage to his advantage and instinctively created a series of open shots within the arc for a rolling Embiid.

Maxey even made a beautiful skip pass off the Embiid screen to Kyle Lowry who drilled a weak side three. To see Maxey making such natural reads against a quality defense in the postseason is just another reason to heavily consider him for the Most Improved Player award.

The Knicks started to target Joel Embiid off-switches by using Jalen Brunson as a decoy.

Isaiah Hartenstein was used as a facilitator around the elbow, which forced Embiid out of the paint and gave Brunson an easy lane to the paint off a give-and-go with Hartenstein. Brunson then beat Oubre off the dribble, which forced Embiid to rotate, creating an easy dunk for Hartenstein to cut in from the backdoor.

With Embiid not being as agile due to his meniscus injury and not being that switchable of a defender in the first place, this was an effective chess move from the Knicks. Brunson’s rim penetration helped New York gain their first lead of the game and end the period on a 9-2 run. 

Stop me if you heard this before, the 76ers offense crumbled when Embiid went to the bench to receive treatment on his knee. Philadelphia reverted to isolation possessions where Buddy Hield, Tobias Harris, and Kelly Oubre Jr. forced shots.

Hield in particular had been a non-factor in the early stages of this season as he simply lacked aggression as a shooter while not having many plays run for him. Heading into the final frame, Hield scored just two points throughout the series.

The playoffs are a place where there is little room for error when it comes to rotation minutes and the 76ers need to consider prioritizing Cam Payne over Hield.

Hield is evidently in another cold spell and with Payne, you’re getting ball-handling and playmaking, even if his shots are not falling.

76ers repulsively collapse in 4th quarter

Much like the fourth quarter in game one, Joel Embiid came out struggling from beyond the arc where he settled for a contested pull-up three over Mitchell Robinson and turned it over when facing an aggressive blitz around the wing.

As a result of these mistakes, the Knicks got back in transition and beautifully set up Bojan Bogdanovic from the perimeter, who knocked down a pair of spot-up threes that gave New York their biggest lead of the night. 

As the final frame dragged on, it appeared as if the very same mistakes Philadelphia made in the fourth quarter of game one were once again apparent tonight. Miles McBride made a variety of vital contributions including offensive rebounding, which again hurt the 76ers in crunch time, and creating offense off of those rebounds.

Jalen Brunson’s connection with Isaiah Hartenstein was in full effect with Brunson creating quality looks in the restricted area off dribble penetration. Embiid was a slight step too slow to contest Hartenstein as he banked in multiple shots.

Just as it seemed all momentum was in New York’s favor, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid took offensive matters into their own hands as the 76ers had little offensive contributions from their supporting cast in the second half and throughout most of this early series.

Maxey’s scoring ability took over the late stages of the game with some impressive buckets in isolation and a pair of spot-up shots created by Joel Embiid’s post-gravity. 

Tobias Harris and Nicolas Batum played elite one-on-one defense on Jalen Brunson as he forced long contested shots and with the 76ers up 101-96 with just 47.3 to go, Philadelphia had this game secured, or so we thought… 

Brunson went on to rim in a contested corner three in the face of Maxey and as the 76ers inbounded the ball from full-court, the Knicks aggressively doubled Maxey as he received the ball, and sure enough, he turned it over. Donte DiVincenzo attempted to hit a three off the turnover but misfired.

Philadelphia simply needed to get a rebound with three 76ers players in the restricted area and hit a few free throws. But, in an unexplainable chain of events, Isaiah Hartenstein overpowered a lackluster box-out effort from the 76ers, secured an offensive rebound, and delivered a pass to DiVincenzo, who then drained the dagger three.

Tyrese Maxey attempted to get to the rim against a mismatched Hartenstein, but the Knicks big man had one more game-altering play in him as he rejected Maxey’s layup and ripped the hearts of 76ers fans out of their chests from everywhere across the globe…

The 76ers will look to protect home court from the New York Knicks in game three on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. EST on TNT and NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Mandatory Credit: Copyright 2024 NBAE(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Freshman journalism major at Temple University, NBA/76ers contributor for The Liberty Line, and owner of Sixercountry on Instagram, which has over 40,000 followers. I am aspiring to be a credentialed 76ers reporter and top NBA personality.

Read More

Comments (0)

Leave a Reply

Back To Top

Discover more from The Liberty Line

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading