By: Kylan Watson
After falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder last night, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the New York Knicks tonight for the second time this season. The Sixers got Paul George and Tyrese Maxey back in this game and fought valiantly in this contest, but thanks to an overtime scoring explosion the Knicks were able to beat Philly 125-119.
Early in this game the Sixers once again could not find their offensive rhythm especially from the three-point line. They only made 13/35 three-pointers in this contest and that will not cut it no matter who is on the floor. Philly must be better at cashing in on their three-point opportunities until they start making those shots. They will not be able to win many games in this tough stretch that they have.
The Knicks on the other hand could not miss early in this contest from the three-point line. They kept moving the ball, finding those open three-point opportunities, and making them (Knicks made 16/37 of their three-point attempts). Before the Sixers could even settle into this game they were down by double digits once again. Jalen Brunson (38 points) and Mikal Bridges (23 points) combined for 61 of New York’s 125 points. Brunson continued to find the holes in the Sixers defensive scheme throughout this contest and found the bottom of the net. When Philly gave him more defensive attention which got the ball out of his hands and allowed Bridges to take over the game. He would either hit a three-pointer or attack the paint which got his defensive matchup in foul trouble.
Despite the offensive explosion from Brunson and Bridges the Sixers battled back in this contest. Particularly in the second half when Tyrese Maxey (33 points) and Paul George (26 points) finally found their rhythm. They combined for 59 of Philly’s 119 points in this contest. Both players decided to stop settling for contested jumpers and attack the smaller New York defenders. Once that started happening the Sixers offensive finally got out of the mud, and they were able to force an overtime period.
Philly’s offense was most effective in this contest when they let Paul George be the primary ball handler and use a creative pick and roll scheme to get him going. One of the biggest issues of the season so far has been Nick Nurse underutilizing George, and his abilities as a playmaker. Putting George in that position allowed him to be able to attack the paint and get the Knicks defenders in foul trouble. It also created easy high-percentage shooting opportunities for his teammates and forced New York to take multiple timeouts to stop the Sixers momentum. The third quarter belonged to George and Maxey and in the fourth quarter, thanks to some clutch defensive pressure, the Sixers were able to cash in on a Maxey lay-up to force an overtime period against New York.
In that overtime period playing the last game of a back-to-back finally caught up to the Sixers as their shots started not falling and the Knicks took over. Brunson scored a couple more baskets early in the period and that wrapped this game up for the Knicks.
There are no moral victories, but being able to take the next few days off should help the Sixers to get healthier as they prepare for another weekend back-to-back facing the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.
The Sixers will need to limit their turnovers, win the rebounding battle, and cash in on the high-percentage shooting opportunities created off their ball movement. Philly cannot afford to give the Pacers and their explosive offense any opportunity to create easy buckets. Forcing Indiana to take contested shots and limiting them to one possession will be pivotal for the Sixers if they want to win this game on Saturday night.
Implementing these things into their game plan on Saturday should give Philly a fantastic opportunity, to end their four game losing streak and get their 16th victory of the season.
