Sixers let Game 2 slip away in the final five minutes, head back to Philly down 0-2

Cut the “strong effort” bullshit. I don’t want to hear about how competitive the Sixers were or how they hung tough without Embiid or how the fight was there.

The Sixers had this game. They were winning this game. They had every opportunity to go back to Philly tied 1-1 and they choked it away in the final five minutes because they couldn’t stop turning the ball over and couldn’t make a shot when it mattered most.

The Knicks won 108-102 at Madison Square Garden to take a 2-0 series lead. The Sixers scored 12 points in the fourth quarter. They committed 18 turnovers in the game. They went five minutes and 52 seconds without a made field goal starting at the 6:52 mark of the fourth quarter.

Five minutes and 52 seconds of scoreless basketball in the most important stretch of the game. That’s a wasted opportunity that a team quite literally cannot afford to have wasted opportunities.

Paul George opened the game scoring 11 of the Sixers’ first 13 points on 4-for-4 shooting. Oubre hit a pair of corner threes late in the first to put the Sixers up 25-20. Edgecombe came out with tighter, more physical defense on Brunson, playing him higher up the floor and preventing him from getting into rhythm early.

Brunson didn’t score until he hit two free throws with 3:05 left in the first quarter after missing his first three field goal attempts. That’s the defensive adjustment the Sixers needed to make from Game 1 and they executed it.

Maxey was tremendous in the second quarter.

He hit threes, posted up Jose Alvarado, split defenders on ball screens, and scored from every level. The Sixers went into halftime up 62-61 and looked like the better team. The defense was engaged and the offense was flowing. Jalen Brunson was pretty much contained and the Knicks couldn’t pull away.

https://t.co/QJb7Ak8gBb pic.twitter.com/fuWpBcYT0l

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 7, 2026

The third quarter was a battle. Both Drummond and Bona picked up four fouls by the 7:09 mark, which forced Nurse to bring in Dominick Barlow at center for his first minutes of the game. To Barlow’s credit, the kid played well in a brutal spot.

Six points on 3-for-3 shooting, two rebounds, a blocked three-pointer on Anunoby in the corner, and he handled switching onto Brunson on ball screens without getting completely exposed. For a guy thrown into his first postseason action in a road game without Embiid, Barlow actually held his own.

Unfortunately, none of that was good enough to overcome what happened in the fourth quarter. The game was right there and the Sixers were within striking distance. Maxey hit a go-ahead three after Barlow’s block on Anunoby. The Sixers had the lead and the momentum with under seven minutes to play.

Then everything fell apart. Maxey committed six of the team’s 18 turnovers. The jumpers that had been falling all night suddenly stopped going in. The offense became stagnant and the Sixers couldn’t generate a clean look for nearly six full minutes of game time.

Bridges hit a long two to push the Knicks’ lead to six. The Sixers tried blitzing Brunson with double teams and traps but New York handled the pressure and never left the door open.

12 points in the fourth quarter. 18 turnovers for the game.

A five-minute scoring drought in the final stretch when you need every possession to count. The craziest part is that you just felt it coming and knew that this was going to be one of those games that this team should have won.

The Embiid Factor Is Obvious

The Sixers are 1-3 in the playoffs without Embiid this year. The one win was the historic Game 2 in Boston where Edgecombe went for 30 and 10.

Every other game without him has been a loss. When the fourth quarter tightens up and you need a possession where you can dump it into the post and let your 7-footer go to work, the Sixers don’t have that option without Embiid. Everything falls on Maxey and the perimeter guys and when those shots stop falling late, there’s no bailout plan.

Maxey logged 47 minutes Wednesday night. That’s not sustainable and it’s a direct result of the short rotation and the lack of Embiid to anchor possessions in the half-court.

Maxey was brilliant for three quarters and then gassed out in the 4th because he’s carrying too heavy a load for too many minutes.

I love Playoff P

The one consistent bright spot across the entire postseason has been Paul George’s three-point shooting. He’s made at least one three in all nine playoff games and multiple threes in eight straight.

For the postseason he’s shooting 31-for-59 from deep at 52.5 percent. That’s an absurd number and the Sixers need it to continue because without Embiid, George’s shooting is the only thing keeping the offense from completely collapsing.

your @NBA postseason leader in threes: pic.twitter.com/il4uWdJmUl

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 7, 2026

Sixers Down 0-2. Back to Philly Friday Night.

The series comes home to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Friday night. Embiid’s status is the only thing that matters heading into that game. If he’s back, the Sixers have a real chance to win Games 3 and 4 at home and bring this series back to 2-2.

If he’s out again, the Sixers are asking Maxey to play 47 minutes a night and carry the entire offense while the bench provides almost nothing. That’s a formula that worked for 42 minutes Wednesday night and fell apart in the final five.

The Sixers should have won Game 2. They didn’t because they couldn’t close. That’s the difference between this team and the Knicks right now. New York finishes. The Sixers don’t. Until that changes, the series isn’t going to change either.

Friday night. Xfinity Mobile Arena. Get Embiid back on the floor and take care of home court. That’s all that matters.

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