Jan 4, 2026, 3:03 AM UTC
Is anyone having a happier New Year than this offense?
The Sixers won their third in a row and beat the New York Knicks for the second time in a row, knocking them off 130-119 Saturday.
The backcourt dazzled in MSG again. Tyrese Maxey lead all scorers with 36 points, shooting 14-of-22 from the field. VJ Edgecombe went for 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting.
Joel Embiid continued his streak of 20+ point performances, finishing with 26 as well, going 9-of-15 from the floor and 10 rebounds while Paul George had 15. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 31.
The Sixers were only without Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford while New York was missing Josh Hart and Landry Shamet.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
* It felt like there was plenty of extra juice in the building to start with Embiid getting booed every time he touched the ball and plenty of 1-on-1 hunting. Embiid got turned over once but made his first three attempts of the game, including backing down Mitchell Robinson from the block for an and-1.
* Edgecombe also started the night 3-of-4 attacking the basket a couple times, doing somewhat of a self-pass off the backboard. However brief it was the Sixers actually opened the game winning the second-chance battle with a pair of putback dunks.
* On the other end, Brunson already had the Sixers’ defense in knots, putting up 12 in the first while getting to the line seven times. The second unit didn’t initially keep pace, but a flurry of baskets at the rim capped off by Maxey put them up by one at the end of the quarter.
* The Sixers were the first team to get any sort of separation thanks in large part to Edgecombe, who opened up the second with a pair of pull-up threes. The contested layup he made in traffic was equally impressive and it was amidst a 9-0 run. Jared McCain finally got one to go down, hitting one well beyond the line to prompt a New York timeout.
* Team-wide the Sixers did a good job of being pesky on the perimeter with three steals in the quarter, all of which turned into baskets. Edgecombe continued to be on fire from downtown, and the offense really kicked into another gear when Maxey and Embiid returned to the game and the two played off each other.
* Because of that they looked to be cruising into the half up double digits, but a couple sloppy plays cost them that. A turnover leading to Brunson free throws followed by OG Anunoby shaking free for a three had them settling for an eight-point lead at the break.
* The second half opened with the same type of cohesion and ball-movement the Sixers excelled with against Dallas. They kept clearing out one for Embiid and Maxey not just allowing them to cook, but setting up threes swung to George and open cutting lanes for Dominick Barlow.
* None of that took Maxey out of the rhythm he had, though to be fair, halftime hadn’t either. He called his own number a bit more as his shots continued to fall, hitting everything once he found an ounce of space to go for 11 in the quarter.
* Another weak close to a quarter cost them a bigger lead, but the Sixers did have more of a cushion this time. This one started with a potential and-1 but it was Robinson fouled on a layup, and he didn’t convert the free throw. Maxey turned it over and McCain took a very ill-advised up-and-under layup attempt. The Knicks trimmed a lead that was as big as 19 down to 12.
* After being held in check for much of the first three quarters, Karl-Anthony Towns was finally able to do something against the Sixers’ bigs. He didn’t get a ton of space but worked his way to a quicks six points to start the fourth. Edgecombe continued to be everywhere for Philly, blocking a Mikal Bridges three and hustling back to be rewarded for the transition dunk, a five-point swing that caused another timeout.
* Aside from that flurry, the Sixers did a great job with the front court matchup. Not only was Embiid moving great to score inside, but Robinson was also in foul trouble all night. He picked up his fifth with well over the quarter to go.
* They weren’t nearly as efficient as the Sixers but the Knicks shot the three-ball very well on the night, the Sixers steal-hunting approach can lead to a lot of open looks. That helped them never be totally out of this game, and when Embiid got his layup blocked and Maxey followed with a turnover out of a timeout, it allowed New York to cut it a single digit game.
* The Sixers only flaw offensively was that they oddly missed a lot of free throws and Maxey split a pair to make it an eight-point lead. A Brunson missed floater gave them their first stop in minutes, and PG made his second big play of crunch time, securing an offensive rebound to lead to an easy Quentin Grimes putback. Not only did Edgecombe steal the ensuing inbound, but hit a big euro coming out of the timeout to put the game away.
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