The Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks faced off on Wednesday night in Philly for only the second time this season. Both the Sixers and Knicks held championship aspirations and major moves made in the summer, going in different directions. Injuries have defined the regular season for the Sixers, while the Knicks have been relatively healthy as it pertains to their starters. Their starters have missed a combined six games while all three of the Sixers stars have missed multiple games separately and together.
The Sixers were looking to bounce back after their loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder last night without any of their three stars. They put up a good effort until they ran out of juice mid-way through the fourth quarter. That loss dropped the Sixers back to eight games under the .500 mark putting fans and the ownership more in desperation mode.
The Knicks seem to be hitting an early season rough patch now, losing five of their last seven games. They were looking to bounce back from their recent loss to the Detroit Pistons but would be without Karl Anthony Towns, who was out with a finger injury.
Game Recap
The first quarter started and within the first two minutes Tyrese Maxey had two fouls and the Sixers had already had an unsuccessful challenge. The Knicks had an early nine-point lead that they pushed to as much as 10 in the quarter. With the roster in injury flux, the first two guys off the bench were two-way players Justin Edwards and Jeff Dowtin Jr. Next off the bench was Ricky Council IV, so it looked like Nurse would hopefully lean into the youth and energy. Paul George was the only positive for the Sixers in the first frame while Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges did the damage scoring for New York.
The second quarter started with an offensive avalanche by Mikal Bridges and the Knicks’ bench, knocking down three-pointer after three-pointer. They were able to push the lead to 15 and get the visiting Knicks fans cheering. The Sixers continued the trend of putting themselves in an early hole and trying to fight out of it. The Knicks seemed to make every single shot they hoisted from beyond the arc and had the Sixers running all around the floor chasing the next closeout from the extra pass. The Sixers did try an unorthodox matchup zone that seemed to give the Knicks some trouble but they still took a 60-47 lead to halftime.
The second half started off as a back-and-forth affair with the Sixers matching the Knicks level of play but they were able to keep them at arm’s length. Seems like every time the Sixers would cut it the deficit to six points, the Knicks would hit a big three to put them back up nine. Maxey was able to get it going offensively after struggling to finish any shots in the paint in the first half.
The team made a push playing late in the third quarter while playing box-and-one defense on Jalen Brunson. They had rookie Justin Edwards face-guarding Brunson while Maxey and others helped double on the perimeter, although this defense is susceptible to offensive rebounds, which they gave up. The defensive and a nice five-minute offensive stretch from Paul George got the Sixers even at 85 at the end of the third period.
After tying the game after a banked-in three by Jeff Dowtin, the fourth started with the Sixers trying to steal a win from the Knicks. New York began the quarter on an 11-6 run fueled by extra opportunities due to offensive rebounds. The Sixers fought and fought late in the fourth quarter and were down 107-102 with about a minute left. When they could have given up, Tyrese Maxey willed this team to a 109-109 tie to secure an extra five minutes of overtime for the Sixers.
From the opening tip, the Knicks and Brunson put the nail in the coffin on the Sixers, going on an immediate eight-to-nothing run. Sixers never got within five points after that run and their rally fell short, losing 125-119. New York was led by Jalen Brunson (38 points and 5 rebounds), while Philly was led by Tyrese Maxey (33 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists) and Paul George (26 points and 6 assists).
Sixers Youth Stepping Up
Tonight was the second night in a row that head coach Nick Nurse went with his young guys and two way players over some of his vets. The first guy off the bench tonight was two-way player Justin Edwards, who came off a career performance last night. He played 35 minutes, scoring 10 points and guarding Jalen Brunson to the best of his ability. Jeff Dowtin Jr. played 14 minutes, was the seventh man off the bench, and got minutes over Reggie Jackson in this matchup.
Adem Bona and Ricky Council the IV both played tonight doing what they could to keep the Sixers in the game. These experiences are good for these players who otherwise, wouldn’t be in this situation if this team was fully healthy. If he keeps playing like this, Edwards could be playing his way into a standard NBA contract.
Rounding into form
Paul George has obviously struggled in his first season in Philadelphia. Adjusting to new systems, coaches, teammates, and injuries. In the month of January, he looked more like what we expected he would look like. Early in the season, you would get these performances every few games, but he’s starting to stack together good performances. He’s posting 22.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc. He probably should have been more involved in the offense in the fourth quarter and overtime but they need this from him almost every night, with or without Joel Embiid.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
