In today’s matinee, the Knicks (27\*-18) absorbed a Joel Embiid onslaught, survived cold shooting from the wings, and steadied themselves just enough in the final seconds to leave Philadelphia with a 112–109 win, holding off the 76ers (24-20) after nearly squandering a 17-point fourth-quarter lead.
Through the first quarter, New York mostly controlled the flow but never created separation. They relied on Brunson, Towns, and McBride to build modest leads, but never more than six points. Before the game, Towns was questionable to play due to back spasms. Numerous times this afternoon, he seemed to aggravate the problem. Off the bench, Mitchell Robinson’s rim protection and physicality made him the only effective deterrent to Embiid.
In a tightly contested frame, Maxey and Embiid consistently erased any ground the visitors gained. When McBride drilled a late three, Maxey answered with some freebies, and the quarter ended with a 34-34 deadlock.
The home team seized control in the second quarter. Maxey bent the defense at the point of attack. Embiid gradually thundered into the lane, benefiting from his strength, footwork, and friendly whistles. For our heroes, Anunoby emerged as an offensive presence, cutting and finishing with concentrated energy, but Towns was unable to slow Embiid. By the break, the Knicks were on the wrong side of 64-60.
Through the half, New York dominated the glass (25–14) and crushed the offensive boards (10–1). The Sixers, meanwhile, were ruthless when they got looks, shooting 65% overall, won the paint 30-22, and moved the ball well enough to offset the rebounding deficit. Embiid’s highest scoring first-half of the season ended with a game-high 28 points. For the Knicks, Brunson posted 19.
In the third quarter, the Knicks showed us what they can do when focused on both ends. Behind efficient scoring and furious defense, they opened the second half with a 14-4 run. Philly’s Embiid looked bedraggled after his extraordinary first half, so perhaps the coronation by the ABC halftime panel was a tad premature.
When Shamet slipped through for a backdoor layup, the Knicks had outscored Philly 21-7 and taken a 10-point lead, their largest yet. A little later, Deuce hit a jumper to make the score 88-74. With steals, blocks, rebounds, and forced turnovers—and Karl-Anthony Towns benched for most of the quarter due to foul trouble—the Knicks held the home team to just 13 points in the frame. (Yep, 13.) With the wind in their sails, New York gleefully embarked into the fourth with a 90-77 advantage.
Early in the fourth, Embiid went down, grabbing his leg, but remained in the game. His gait was gimpy, Joel had scored zilch in Q3, and missed two free throws before gingerly hitting a triple around the eight-minute mark of Q4. The big fella spurred an eight-point run to cut into New York’s 17-point lead, but you could just tell he was already fantasizing about that postgame ice bath. By game’s end, he’d have 38 points, 11 boards, and five assists.
Good luck keeping a lead in today’s NBA when two of your players (Bridges, McBride) each shoot 1-of-8 from downtown. Bridges was terrible, hurting his team by missing dead-on bunnies and, at one point, shooting 3-of-16 from the floor. Captain Clutch sizzled from deep (6-of-12) but was the only Knick with more than one made three-pointer. Nonetheless, they looked like the better team. Worried about the playoffs? Not us, not yet. (Brunson would finish with 31 points on 11-of-24 FG.)
At the midway point, Towns fouled out. Blame the bad back, but that’s six fouls in 16 minutes to go with his 10 points and six boards. Lucky for New York, Robinson was playing like a spring chicken, grabbing every possible offensive rebound. Philly had some juice, though, with Kelly “Sideshow Bob” Oubre, Jr. and OAKAAKUYOAK Quentin Grimes pitching in to cut the differential to five with five minutes left.
With two minutes left, Embiid scored to make the score 102-99. Anunoby (the wing who was shooting well) made a tip-in to drive half of the stadium wild. VJ Edgecombe responded with a quick-trigger triple, which set the Philly half of the crowd cheering. OG said _Hmph_ and answered with a triple; then an Embiid miss became a Shamet trey for an eight-point lead with 42 seconds left. The Knicks fans were shaking the building. (Anunoby tallied 23 points on 10-of-15 FG.)
A Maxey triple and two Edgecombe free throws made it a three-point game. In a wild final 30 seconds, Brunson was tagged for an offensive foul, trying to break away from Edgecombe on an inbound. A coach’s challenge overturned the call, giving New York a free throw and possession. Anunoby was fouled and made one of two free throws. Maxey raced down the floor for a layup, cutting the difference to five points with 18 seconds left. Brunson missed two free throws, but Maxey missed on a three-pointer, Shamet wasn’t whistled while trying to commit an intentional foul, and New York escaped with a 112-109 win.
My sheet says Matthew Miranda is coming in hot with a recap. As for New York, they will host the Kings of Sacramento on Tuesday. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.
_\* Should be one more, but the NBA Cup win doesn’t count._