The Sixers returned to action on Friday night to take on the newly crowned Emirates NBA Cup champion New York Knicks in the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. The Knicks played on the second night of a back-to-back and had to travel back home from Indiana last night in what was their first game since winning the Cup on Tuesday. Conversely, the Sixers had not played since last Sunday.
Tyrese Maxey would return from his two-game absence due to illness, but Joel Embiid sat out of this one with an illness of his own and further management of his injured right knee.
The Sixers would get off to a hot start, led by Tyrese Maxey and Dominick Barlow, who combined for 17 points in the opening frame. Paul George, showing the rust after being off most of the last week, could not hit any of his shots early and allowed the Knicks to keep it close when the Sixers made their initial run.
The Knicks would begin to leverage their size advantage, finding Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson consistently for easy looks around the rim. They would combine for 16 rebounds in the first half, matching the total for the entire Sixers team.
Aside from being noticeably poor in their corner recovery defense and allowing a handful of open long balls, the Sixers' defense was pretty sound in the first half, with VJ Edgecombe really standing out in his first matchup against Jalen Brunson. Offensively, Tyrese Maxey paced the Sixers with 17 points, followed closely behind by his aforementioned point guard counterpart, who poured in 16 first-half points of his own to take his Knicks to the locker rooms with a 59-57 lead.
The third quarter brought much more of the same: high-intensity competition and a true back-and-forth affair. VJ Edgecombe would take over the usual problem quarter for the Sixers by hitting jumpers, finishing through traffic, getting his teammates involved, and playing heady on-ball defense. His fingerprints were on everything the Sixers did in the third, and he is the main reason why the Sixers entered the final frame with an 88-87 lead. Maybe his most important contribution to the quarter was giving Tyrese Maxey an extended rest period compared to what he is used to this season, and he flashed that extra burst of energy down the stretch.
The Knicks' triumvirate of Jalen Brunson, KAT, and Mikal Bridges all earned their paychecks in this one, chipping away professionally every time it felt like the Sixers were building towards a real lead. Mitchell Robinson's energy was felt on both ends of the floor to back them up when nobody else really had it going for them, and to Robinson's credit, he was very efficient at the free-throw line, where he usually struggles. Robinson's 14 points and 11 boards through the third helped to spell a combined five points from OG Anunoby and Josh Hart to that point and keep the Knicks in the game.
Tyrese Maxey would return to begin the fourth quarter, and he, Jared McCain, and VJ Edgecombe would put their stamp on the best win of the season so far for the Sixers. With under two minutes to play, Edgecombe came soaring in to slam home a Tyrese Maxey miss that put the Sixers up eight.
Moments later, Edgecombe dove after a loose ball to steal it right from under Brunson's nose, and it led to an immediate Maxey three-point shot. A perfect ending sequence, and the Sixers were able to snap their five-game losing streak to the Knicks by a final score of 116-107. The Knicks may not have hung a banner for winning the NBA Cup, but the Sixers got their banner win in the still-young season.
The Sixers will be right back at it tomorrow at home as they welcome the 2025 top overall draft pick, Cooper Flagg, and the Dallas Mavericks to Philadelphia for the very first time. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
