76ers Routed by Knicks — fall to 36-29
Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images
The 76ers continue to look directionless without Joel Embiid getting destroyed by the Knicks 106-79 at MSG giving the team its 4th loss in the last 5 games.
There was some hope going into the game coming off a 79-73 win over the Knicks and this time around they’d have star Tyrese Maxey returning from a concussion injury. Early in the game, the offense was abysmal with just 14 first-quarter points quickly falling behind 26-14. Tyrese Maxey would be 10 of those points. The Knicks offense was on fire in the first half hitting 54% from the field and 43.5% from 3 and the 76ers had no answers for Jalen Brunson or Josh Hart. The Knicks lead grew to 18 as they led 59-41 at the half.
Tobias Harris had one of his worst nights of the season not putting points on the board until 3 minutes into the 3rd quarter in the midst of a 10-2 76ers run to start the second half. This cut the lead to 10 with a 61-51 score but from there it was the Brunson and Hart show. In the blink of an eye, it’s 71-53 and Josh Hart is already over the triple-double mark. The 76ers trailed 87-61 going into the 4th and final quarter of play where the Knicks only buried the Sixers more leading by 33 in the 4th on the way to the 106-79 beatdown of the 76ers.
What does this mean for the team? Well, the offense has had no answers as of late without Embiid. Back-to-back games of 79 points in today’s NBA is a catastrophe. The team shot 37.5% from the field on the night and just 24.2% from 3. With the Pacers upsetting the Thunder, the 76ers have dropped into the Play in Tournament and the schedule isn’t getting easier with 10 of their next 12 games being against playoff teams as of today. The team is 10-21 on the season without Embiid and 7-12 since he got injured. Nick Nurse and company need to find a way to make this teamwork because if performances like these persist, the team could very easily find itself on the outside looking in come playoff time.
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