Sixers get blasted in Game 1 in the Garden, lose to the Knicks 137-98

The Sixers lost 137-98 to the Knicks on Monday night at Madison Square Garden. A 39-point loss in Game 1 of the second round, two days after the most emotional win this franchise has had in decades.

The scoreboard was ugly from the second quarter on and by the time Nurse called timeout with five minutes left in the third, the Knicks were up 30 and the game had been over for a while.

I’ve seen this movie before. The Sixers lost Game 1 to the Celtics by 32 and came back to win that series. One blowout loss doesn’t define anything but the circumstances here are different and worth acknowledging honestly.

Quick Turnaround Killed The Sixers

The Sixers played a Game 7 in Boston on Saturday night. Embiid logged heavy minutes on a body that’s been through surgery, a hip contusion, and three straight elimination games. Maxey played 45 minutes. George competed through illness.

The entire roster was running on fumes and adrenaline. Then they had one day off and flew to New York to play a Knicks team that had six days of rest after blowing out the Hawks by 51 in their closeout game.

Fresh legs against dead legs. That’s what Monday night looked like.

The Sixers had nothing in the tank offensively. Maxey didn’t make a field goal until nearly midway through the second quarter. Embiid went 3-for-11. The energy that carried them through three straight elimination wins in Boston was completely drained. The NBA’s scheduling did the Sixers no favors and it showed in every possession.

That’s not an excuse. It’s reality. The series is seven games and the turnaround won’t be a factor by Game 3.

Brunson Was Ridiculous

Jalen Brunson dropped 35 points on 12-for-18 shooting in 31 minutes. He was in a zone from the opening tip, scoring 14 of the Knicks’ first 21 points on 6-for-7 shooting.

He was hitting pull-up jumpers over every defender the Sixers threw at him. Edgecombe, Oubre, Grimes, it didn’t matter who was in front of him. He was finding shots with subtle fakes and hesitations that made elite defenders look slow.

Jalen Brunson had 27 points at the half lol

cap beats the buzzer 🚨

🪣 27 PTS pic.twitter.com/7NVemIA5TC

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) May 5, 2026

The Sixers are going to have to throw different looks at Brunson throughout this series. They need to mix up coverages, be less predictable, and make everything harder for him. Monday night he was comfortable from the first minute.

That cannot happen in Game 2.

The Bench Problem Is Back

Nurse stuck with a short rotation again and it backfired. Grimes was the sixth man. Drummond and Edwards combined for eight first-half minutes. Meanwhile the Knicks played 11 guys before garbage time and kept building their lead with bench production that the Sixers couldn’t match.

At some point Nurse has to expand the rotation and buy his starters more rest. Embiid, Maxey, and Edgecombe cannot play 38-plus minutes every game in a second-round series after the war they just went through against Boston. The bench hasn’t been reliable all postseason but running five guys into the ground isn’t a sustainable strategy against a team as deep as the Knicks.

Mitchell Robinson Hack-A-Thon

The Sixers went to the Hack-a-Robinson strategy early, intentionally fouling Mitchell Robinson to exploit his 40.8 percent free throw shooting. Robinson started 0-for-4, which validated the approach.

The Knicks countered by subbing in Ariel Hukporti so the Sixers couldn’t keep fouling. It’s a card the Sixers can play throughout the series but the Knicks clearly have a counter for it.

Towns Got Going Too

Karl-Anthony Towns hit a three over Drummond early in the second quarter and the Knicks pushed the lead to double digits.

The Embiid-Towns matchup that everyone has been anticipating didn’t produce much in Game 1 because Embiid was gassed and Towns didn’t need to be dominant with Brunson carrying everything.

If Embiid has more legs under him in Game 2, that matchup should look very different. Towns has never been able to handle Embiid when Embiid is locked in. Monday night Embiid wasn’t locked in because his body wouldn’t let him be.

I Can’t See the Knicks Shooting Like That Again

New York shot the lights out. Brunson was historically efficient. The role players were hitting everything. The Knicks scored 137 points against a Sixers team that has been one of the better defensive units in the playoffs over the last two weeks.

That kind of offensive explosion is not sustainable over a seven-game series. The law of averages is going to catch up to the Knicks at some point and the Sixers need to be ready to capitalize when it does.

well it definitely can’t get any worse 😂

— Drew Smith (@drewmsmith) May 5, 2026

The Sixers showed against Boston that a Game 1 blowout means absolutely nothing in the context of a series. They lost by 32 in Game 1 against the Celtics and came back to win three straight elimination games. One bad night on tired legs with one day of rest doesn’t tell you anything about what this series is going to look like by Game 3.

Adjustments need to be made. Nurse has to figure out how to slow Brunson down. The rotation has to expand. Embiid needs rest and recovery before Wednesday. Maxey needs to attack earlier instead of deferring. All of that is fixable.

Game 2 is Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET at MSG. The Sixers need to steal one in New York before this series comes home to Philly. They did it against Boston. They can do it against the Knicks.

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