Embarrassing Third Quarter From Philadelphia Digs Too Big Of A Hole As 76ers Fall To Knicks
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
The Philadelphia 76ers were in it until the end, but a 34-9 run from the Knicks in the second half was too much for the 76ers to overcome.
Despite winning the first two matchups in New York earlier this season, the 76ers could not pick up their third win of the year against the Knicks at home, as Philadelphia fell 112-109 in a tough matchup. The first half saw a bloodbath back-and-forth affair between both teams, but the third quarter was the death sentence for Philadelphia, as the Knicks outscored the 76ers 30-13 in the quarter. It rolled into the fourth quarter as New York at one point led by 17 points, thanks to a 34-9 run, and that lead turned out to be too much for the 76ers, who could not mount the comeback.
Joel Embiid looked unstoppable in the first half, scoring 28 points in the first 24 minutes, but struggled to continue his dominance into the second half, as he didn’t score until eight minutes left in the game. He finished with 38 points and 11 rebounds, while Tyrese Maxey added 22 points. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 31 points, while OG Anunoby added 23. The big stat difference in this one was the offensive rebounds, as the Knicks grabbed 19 of them compared to only six from the 76ers.
As the game tipped off, both teams were knocking down big shots right away. For the Knicks, it was Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson, and OG Anunoby, who all knocked down early triples, and for the 76ers, it was four points from Joel Embiid and five from Tyrese Maxey.
Back and forth, both teams went throughout the quarter, with Embiid and Brunson being the driving forces for their respective teams. Embiid, especially, no matter what the 76ers needed in the first quarter, he provided it. A big rebound, free throws, a deep three he hit was doing it, capping off a 15-point, four-rebound quarter with a monster one-handed slam.
Trailing by three with Embiid on the bench, Maxey took over Joel’s role in the final minutes of the first, hitting a 13-foot fade-away jumper and a pair of free throws to tie the game at 34 after 12 minutes.
Similar to the first quarter, the second quarter was a back-and-forth fight from the jump. Towns scored a quick five points for New York, but Paul George responded with seven points of how own in the first two minutes of the quarter. After a three from Josh Hart, the 76ers went on a nice run to take their largest lead of the game.
It started with back-to-back buckets from George and Trendon Watford and continued with a long three-pointer from who else but Embiid, to put the 76ers up six halfway through the quarter. That lead didn’t last long for the 76ers as Brunson checked back in the game and instantly knocked down back-to-back shots.
Embiid continued his hot first half with eight straight points for the 76ers, but three dunks from Anunoby kept them right in it. In the final before the break, Kelly Oubre Jr. drilled a long three to keep Philadelphia ahead, and Embiid knocked down another bucket for his 28th points of the first half, putting the 76ers up 64-60 at the break.
Out of the halftime break, Oubre continued where he left off socring a quick four points, but the Knicks instantly responded with a 15-0 run to take the lead back. Everything was dropping for New York, threes from Brunson and Bridges, alley-oop dunks from Robinson, and in a flash, it went from 68-62 76ers to 77-68 in favor of the Knicks.
Maxey finally ended the five-minute scoreless run for Philadelphia, but the Knicks kept their foot on the gas, as Landry Shamet hit a layup, and another dunk from Robinson increased New York’s lead to eight and forced Nick Nurse to call a timeout.
Despite the timeout, the Knicks’ impressive third quarter continued as Brunson drilled another three and Robisnon and Anunoby both slammed dunks, as New York went into the final 12 minutes up 90-77.
In the fourth quarter, the Knicks’ lead grew to 17 after a few buckets. Needing a run to get back into the game, the 76ers got one going after a long three from Embiid for his first points of the second half. A layup from Quentin Grimes and back-to-back three-point plays from Maxey and Embiid brought the 76ers back within seven with under four minutes to play.
After misses from both teams for over a minute, back-to-back layups from Oubre and Embiid cut it to a one-possession game. Anunoby turned a missed shot on the other end into a dunk, but V.J. Edgecombe responded with a three to make it 104-102 New York.
However, following the Edgecombe three, the Knicks responded as well with Anunoby drilling a long three of his own, and after a miss from Embiid, Shamet drilled another three to make it an eight-point game. With 40 seconds left, the 76ers weren’t done yet as Maxey drilled a quick three and Edgecombe added two free throws.
An offensive foul was called on Brunson on the following possession, but a challenge from New York overturned that call, and the Knicks added two more points from free throws. Maxey stormed down the court for a tough layup to cut the game back to three, and on the other end, after a challenge this time from the 76ers, Philadelphia got the ball back with 10 seconds left down three.
On the inbound, Maxey got the possession and chucked up a deep three as he thought he was fouled, but nothing was called. The 76ers fouled Brunson to extend the game, but he missed both shots. On the final play of the game, Embiid lost the ball running down the court, the Knicks stole it and ran the clock out to hold on and win 112-109.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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