Dog Tired and Lack of Bench 76ers Fall to Knicks, Now Trail 3-0 in Eastern Conference Semifinals
May 8, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) shoots in front of Philadelphia 76ers guard Vj Edgecombe (77) during the second quarter of game three of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The 76ers are now down 3-0.
It was a dogfight in South Philadelphia as the 76ers and Knicks battled in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals. The 76ers were embarrassed in the first two games of the series, losing by 39 in one game and scoring just 12 points in the fourth quarter of the second one to go down 2-0 in the series.
Unfortunately for Philadelphia, Game 3 was just as embarrassing as a tired-looking 76ers were defeated by the Knicks 108-94, falling to a 3-0 deficit in the series. No NBA team has ever come back from a 3–0 deficit to win a playoff series.
Other than the second quarter for the Knicks, both teams struggled to shoot well all night long, and with the refs being very lenient with their foul calls, points were hard to come by. Unfortunately for the 76ers, Jalen Brunson was unguardable all night long, dropping 33 points and adding nine assists. Landry Shamet added 15 points off the bench, and Josh Hart recorded a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double.
The 76ers just looked gassed all night long, as due to the lack of production from their bench this series, Nick Nurse once again relied on his starters for big minutes. Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe played nearly every minute of the second half, scoring 17 and 11 points respectively, while Paul George, who scored 15 points in the first quarter, finished with 15 points. George went 0-for-9 from the field after the first quarter.
Joel Embiid also looked exhausted all night, as he was ineffective on both offense and defense, scoring just 18 points and grabbing just six rebounds. Kelly Oubre Jr. was the most called-upon player of the night, scoring a team-high 22 points.
The bench once again was unhelpfl again, scoring just 11 points with one three-pointer coming during the end of the game with no starters in. Not one non-starter for the 76ers scored until the fourth quarter.
Things started hot for the 76ers as immediately after winning the tip, Kelly Oubre Jr. ran down the court and layed in the first basket of the game. Paul George followed that up with a long three and a dunk, and two free throws from VJ Edgecombe made it 9-0 to open the game.
Josh Hart finally got the scoring going for New York, and Karl-Anthony Towns kept it rolling with a layup. Following a tip shot from Hart, George and Towns traded mid-range buckets, and the VJ Maxx duo was on full display. Tyrese Maxey tossed not one but two alley-oop dunks to Edgecombe, forcing a timeout from the Knicks.
Out of the timeout, the 76ers kept rolling with Joel Embiid knocking down his first bucket, and George following it up with another three to go up 12. Despite back-to-back buckets from Hart and Towns, and back-to-back threes from Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges, the 76ers’ attack kept going with Maxey driving through the lane for two and George scoring five points.
Trailing 29-20, the Knicks finally put together a run to take the lead. The former 76er Landry Shamet got things started with five points, and Brunson and Bridges kept it going with layups to end the first quarter trailing 31-27.
Out of the break, New York’s run continued with four more points from Shamet and a bucket from Hart to tie it at 35, and a long three from Jose Alvarado made it 38-35 Knicks. Once New York had the lead, the Knicks continued to grow it with a dunk from Mitchell Robinson and straight points from Brunson.
Bridges took over the scoring for five straight, and Brunson added another bucket, making it a 12-point lead for New York, forcing a timeout from Nick Nurse. Out of the timeout, Oubre drilled a pair of free throws, and Embiid scored three points to cut the deficit back to single digits. Obure nailed another bucket but was answered with a nice running layup from Brunson. Just before the final buzzer sounded before the half, Oubre was able to knock down a corner three, making it a 60-52 deficit for the 76ers after two quarters.
Coming out of the halftime break, both teams went back and forth to open up the quarter. Duce McBride opened up the scoring with a long three, but Edgecombe answered back with one of his own. The next few minutes saw both teams’ point guard and center duos score all the points, with Brunson and Towns for the Knicks and Maxey and Embiid for Philadelphia.
Following five straight points from Oubre, the 76ers cut their deficit down to six and then to four following an inbound steal and dunk on the other end from Edgecombe. Still above two minutes left in the quarter, the 76ers pulled out the Hack-A-Mitch on Robinson to try to slow down the Knicks.
It somewhat worked, with Robinson going 4-for-8 from the line in the quarter. However, the 76ers were unable to go on a run, missing nearly all of their shots, with Embiid scoring just one layup to close out the third quarter, still trailing 85-76.
In the fourth quarter, Jordan Clarkson kicked off the quarter with a bucket, but the 76ers then went on an 8-1 run to cut the game back to four points. It happened in a flash as Quentin Grimes hit a pair of threes and Maxey drove through the lane, making it 88-84 and forcing a timeout from Mike Brown.
However, following that break, the Knicks caught fire again, using a 17-5 run to grow their lead and essentially put the game out of reach. Hart and Bridges both hit buckets nd Brunson added five points to grow the lead back to double-digits. Following two free throws from Shamet, Brunson and Bridges both hit layups to grow the lead to a game-high 16 with four minutes to play.
Maxey, who at that point had played all but one minute of action, drilled a three-pointer and assisted an Embiid dunk to cut it back to 12, but after two free throws from Brunson, Nurse began emptying his bench with under two minutes left.
With the bench in for both teams, the backups jacked up a few shots to waste down the clock. When it was all said and done, New York held onto the 108-94 win, taking a 3-0 series lead. This is the first time since 2020 that the 76ers have gone down 3-0 in a playoff series.
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.
Get New Articles Emailed Right To Your Inbox:
