Sixers vs. Knicks: Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey integral in comeback win
The Sixers conjured a spirited second-half turnaround Friday night in Philadelphia.
Joel Embiid (35 points on 14-for-18 shooting, 11 rebounds) and Tyrese Maxey (27 points) led the team to a 119-108 comeback win over the Knicks at Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers avoided their first three-game losing streak since a skid from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 and improved to 35-19.
James Harden added 20 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds.
Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle each scored 30 points.
The Sixers will play the Nets on Saturday night in Brooklyn. Here are observations on their win against the Knicks:
Brunsons quarter
In their loss to the Knicks on Sunday night in New York, the Sixers had a too good to be true kind of start. Friday was the opposite story.
Brunson scored the games first five points and 13 of the Knicks first 15 on 5-for-5 shooting. As usual, he shielded defenders savvily and didnt let DeAnthony Melton take him off his path. After he hit back-to-back threes, Brunson ran a pick-and-pop with Randle, who hit a triple. RJ Barretts driving baseline layup against PJ Tucker gave New York a 20-7 lead and prompted Sixers head coach Doc Rivers to call timeout. Maxey subbed in for Melton.
The 22-year-old looked more self-assured and far better overall than he had in the Sixers loss Wednesday to the Celtics. After darting in for a layup, he picked up a steal and dished to Tobias Harris for a fast-break dunk. Theres been expected bumpiness with his transition to the bench, but hes been good at shaking rough games off.
The Sixers couldnt keep pace with Brunsons fantastic start, but Embiid at least prevented the game from spiraling out of control by scoring 15 first-quarter points. With Mitchell Robinson (right thumb surgery) still out, the Sixers fed Embiid over and over again in the post against Isaiah Hartenstein and Jericho Sims.
They dont want to lose offensive flow by leaning too much on Embiid, but it still often makes sense to continue running the offense through him until it stops working. However, when the Knicks doubled Embiid and the Sixers swung the ball around the perimeter, the large majority of their early jumpers didnt drop. The team began 2 for 13 from three-point range.
Meanwhile, Brunson was on fire and scoring against any Sixer that defended him. He made a contested fadeaway jumper over Shake Milton late in the first and narrowly missed a long three at the buzzer that wouldve given him 23 points in 12 minutes.
Shooting struggles bleed into defensive showing
Tobias Harris didnt bounce back swiftly from a 2-for-10 outing in Boston.
Harris trigger wasnt quick on catch-and-shoot three-point chances, and he also missed his first three long-range attempts. He had a poor stretch late in the second quarter that included him featuring in a stagnant, unproductive possession. On the Sixers next trip, he came up just short on a runner.
The Sixers seemed deflated at times by Harris, DeAnthony Melton and James Hardens struggles. After Melton fell to 0 for 4 from three-point range with an extremely wayward transition try, Quentin Grimes back-cut Tucker and cruised in for a layup. The Sixers are a veteran-heavy team that knows jump shooting ups and knows shouldnt impact their defensive focus and energy, but thats appeared to be creep up as an issue the last several games.
Harden dropped to 2 for 9 from the floor early in the third quarter with a missed layup, then demonstratively complained about the lack of a foul call. Despite unexceptional three-point shooting, the Knicks reached 86 points in under 30 minutes with an uncontested Randle jumper against the Sixers zone defense.
Maxey integral in second-half turnaround
Rivers opened the second quarter with an all-bench lineup that included Danuel House Jr. and Paul Reed.
That unit initially exceeded all expectations, turning in an immediate, Maxey-led 8-0 run to tie the game at 38 apiece. New York soon solved the Sixers zone defense, though, and Reed fouled Hartenstein on a successful push shot.
New Sixer Jalen McDaniels was available to play and Rivers said pregame that he’d “probably” throw him in right away, but the 25-year-old wing ended up staying on the bench. We assume he’ll be a bit more up to speed Saturday and debut in Brooklyn.
Of course, Maxey was the bright spot off the Sixers bench. His defensive effort was impressive, too. Maxey nabbed a backcourt steal, forced a Brunson travel, and provided troublesome ball pressure during a 13-0 Sixers spurt that put the team up 87-86. In Maxey’s 33 minutes, the Sixers outscored the Knicks by 27 points.
Rivers went away from the all-bench unit to begin the fourth quarter, instead using Harden and Harris alongside Maxey, Georges Niang and Reed. The Sixers took a 100-95 lead on threes from Harden and Maxey. New York scored the next four points, but Maxey then fired a deep, audacious pull-up three and drained it. Niang (13 points) hit a big three on the team’s next trip, too.
The home crowd loved all of that, and the Sixers ratcheted up their intensity on the offensive glass to chase down a few extra possessions. The team’s transition offense suddenly looked more potent as well. Though the Sixers aren’t constructed to be an elite rebounding team or overwhelm opponents with speed, they don’t seem hopeless in either area when committed. Thanks to Maxey’s high-energy impact and a collective ramp-up in level, the Sixers took an eight-lead with a little over three minutes left.
The Sixers couldn’t quite put the Knicks away for a while, but Embiid fittingly delivered the hoop they needed. After converting an and-one leaner, he took a small leap and pumped his fist in celebration. A Maxey catch-and-shoot three courtesy of Embiid felt right as a dagger, too.
