The first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs started today for the Philadelphia 76ers as they took on the second-seeded New York Knicks. The Sixers earned their way into the playoffs by defeating the eight-seeded Miami Heat in the play-in tournament on Wednesday night. A hard-fought win against one of their nemesis after a bad first half helped the Sixers reach the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.
The New York Knicks clinched the second seed in the Eastern Conference on the last day of the season, beating out the Milwaukee Bucks and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jalen Brunson has been seemingly unstoppable this season, helping lead the Knicks to 50 wins and homecourt in this first-round matchup. The Knicks won the season series against the Sixers 3-1, but Joel Embiid only played in one of those matchups, which happened to be a blowout Knicks win in January.
Sixers vs. Knicks Game 1 recap
The first quarter started well for the Sixers as they were able to build an early 10-point lead behind nine early points from Joel Embiid. He was able to get a couple of and-ones down low and hit a three-pointer straight away. New York’s offense started slow, but they were able to stay in with a flurry of offensive rebounds, getting 5 in the first quarter. Embiid was able to show his dominance early while the Sixers swarmed Jalen Brunson and tried to make it as hard as they could for the star guard, building a nine-point lead after the first quarter.
The nine-point lead the Sixers built was wiped away immediately when Joel Embiid went to the bench. With Jalen Brunson on the bench, the Knicks were able to tie the game with shot-making by Bogdan Bogdanovic and Deuce McBride. They combined for four three-pointers early in the second to allow New York to make their run.
With the Knicks amid a run, Joel Embiid took it upon himself to get the Sixers going with a crazy self-oop for a slam and then came down on his surgically repaired left knee and immediately fell to the ground. The entire Sixers organization and fanbase held their collective breath with Embiid laying on the floor of Madison Square Garden. To add insult to injury, the Knicks were able to capitalize and take a 12-point halftime lead.
Miraculously, Joel Embiid started the third quarter after what seemed like a terrible injury he suffered in the first half. His return helped inject some energy and juice into a team that looked dejected at the end of the first half when he went down. His defense and playmaking helped spark a run that helped them get back into the game, and then Tyrese Maxey went nuclear to help the team take the lead back. His aggressive drives and array of finishing moves helped drag Philly’s offense out of the mud in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was an early back-and-forth battle but once the Knicks grabbed the lead when Joel Embiid was on the bench to start the quarter, they kept it. The Sixers showed heart and kept fighting but gave up too many offensive rebounds that led to second-chance points. The Knicks took Game 1, 111-104. They were led by Josh Hart (22 points and 13 rebounds) and Jalen Brunson (22 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists). The Sixers were paced by Tyrese Maxey (33 points) and Joel Embiid (29 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists).
Grab a board
You can point to a couple of stats that tell the story of this game, but there is one obvious one that stands out. REBOUNDS! They were outrebounded 55-33 and gave up 23 offensive rebounds. Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson helped get multiple chances for the Knicks on a night that Jalen Brunson was having a tough night, to say the least. With a team whose offensive revolves so much around one player, when he has tough nights, they should be taking advantage of it.
Nick Nurse has to emphasize rebounding with his team and maybe get some lineups in that will help with that. There should be real thought of whether more athletic guys should play over Tobias Harris, either Ricky Council IV or KJ Martin. Giving up that many offensive rebounds, you are asking to lose.
Tough buckets for Brunson
What stings about this Game 1 loss is that the Sixers did a good job on Jalen Brunson defensively. He shot 8-26 from the floor and was hounded by Kelly Oubre Jr, Nicolas Batum, and Tyrese Maxey. Brunson actively hunted Maxey while he had the ball, but Maxey did more than enough to hold his own. They have to keep putting tremendous pressure on him to stay in the series. He may not always shoot that badly, but if you are making him work every possession, that could swing things in Philly’s favor.
Hoping for the best
Joel Embiid went down late in the second quarter with what seemed like a major knee injury. He came back in the second half and played a good half. He didn’t have as much lift on his jumpers as he normally does, but he still made his presence felt. Who knows if Embiid will play Game 2, but this team will not compete without him. Hoping for the best for the Embiid for his own health and the collective mental health of all of Philadelphia.
The Sixers and Knicks will face off again in Game 2 Monday night at 7:30 PM on TNT.
