By: Kylan Watson

Fresh off of losing to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the New York Knicks who were looking to make another statement at Philly’s expense. This game was ugly throughout the majority of it as it turned into a defensive struggle. Philly was able to outlast the Knicks as they did just enough to stop their explosive offense and made enough shots to win this game 79-73.

Neither team started this game off well, they both missed makeable shots and at times it looked like you were watching a 1990’s to early 2000’s NBA game. The Sixers played tougher than the Knicks throughout the majority of this game. They turned up the defensive pressure and forced the Knicks to be perfect and they just could not do it in this game. Philly was able to shut Jalen Brunson down in this contest, he only made six/22 shots and scored 19 points in the game. The Sixers put a combo of Kyle Lowry and Kelly Oubre Jr. on him, and he just could not deal with their length and toughness. Both of them forced him to take difficult shots which propelled the Sixers offense in a game where everything was a struggle. Thanks to the Knicks inability to hit shots Philly was able to hold them to 73 points, something they have not done since 2015. Additionally, this was the lowest total the Knicks have scored in a game this season. When the Sixers put the defensive screws to their opponents like they did tonight they can compete with any team in the NBA. Right now, without Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid they will need to find different ways to win and sometimes it is better to get an ugly win than a pretty loss.

When the Sixers needed it most when the Knicks started to make a fourth quarter run the trio of Kelly Oubre Jr. (18 points), Buddy Hield (16 points), and Paul Reed (13 points) put the team on their backs to pull the Sixers over the finish line. They combined for 47 of Philly’s 79 points and they made pivotal buckets to put a fourth quarter Knicks comeback attempt to bed. Hield finally found his offensive rhythm and could not have picked a better time as the Sixers needed every point from him. He came off the bench for the first time as a 76er, and it clearly lit a fire under him. Hield made four/six three-pointers to keep Philly ahead in this game. Buddy rediscovering his stroke will be a big development for the Sixers, as they need another scorer to show up during this stretch without Embiid and Maxey. When he has his stroke working it adds another dimension to the Sixers offense. The spacing that adds creates wide-open opportunities like it did tonight. He was not on the floor for this possession, but the Sixers shooting created an opportunity for Kyle Lowry to hit a three-point shot that put the game away for the Sixers.

The Sixers will now prepare for their final regular season game with the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. Philly will need to cash in on the high percentage shots created off their ball movement like they did in the fourth quarter of this game. The Sixers finally getting shots to find the bottom of the net will open up more space for them to attack the paint and get easier shots. When the shots are falling can compete with any team in the association. Additionally, the Sixers will need to play another night of stifling defense like they did tonight now New York will not miss as many makeable shots on Tuesday. However, if the Sixers can force them to take difficult shots and grab the rebound, they should be able to slow down the Knicks explosive offense. If they can implement these things into their gameplan they can get their 37^th win of the season on Tuesday.