After a Game 1 blowout, the Philadelphia 76ers made the New York Knicks work for it in Game 2. Jalen Brunson made sure it did not matter.
Brunson scored 26 points and delivered the tiebreaking basket with 5:06 remaining as the Knicks held off the Philadelphia 76ers, 108-102, on Thursday at Madison Square Garden to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The game featured 25 lead changes—the most in any playoff game in 11 years—and 14 ties. Neither team led by more than 7 points all night.
This was nothing like Game 1. And Brunson was ready for exactly this kind of game.
Philadelphia Fought Without Embiid—and Nearly Won
Joel Embiid woke up Thursday with right hip and ankle soreness and could not get through the morning shootaround. He was ruled out. The 76ers, who already overcame a 3-1 deficit against Boston in the first round and won Game 2 there without Embiid while he was recovering from a late-season appendectomy, showed again that they can compete without their best player.
Tyrese Maxey, held to 13 points in Game 1, came roaring back. He scored 15 points in the second quarter alone and had 19 in the first half, leaving defenders in the dust in a way that looked entirely different from the player who went quiet in the opening game. Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr. each added 19 points, and VJ Edgecombe contributed 17.
Philadelphia led for the final time at 99-96 on an Oubre three-pointer.
Then Josh Hart—who had appeared to hurt his left hand or wrist in the third quarter and left the game—came back and hit a three-pointer with 6:52 remaining to tip the balance back toward New York. Brunson followed with the tiebreaker, then added another jumper for a 103-99 edge with 3:45 to play. Mikal Bridges finished it with a basket that pushed the lead to six.
The Knicks did a significantly better job containing Maxey in the second half, with Bridges leading that defensive adjustment while also contributing 18 points on the other end.
Knicks Supporting Cast Held Up
OG Anunoby added 24 points for the Knicks—though he was not on the floor late in the game, with his status unclear after what appeared to be an injury earlier in the game. Karl-Anthony Towns posted 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, providing the kind of all-around presence that forces defenses to make impossible choices.
The Knicks, who became the first team in NBA history to win three straight postseason games by at least 25 points with their Game 1 rout, showed a different dimension Wednesday. They can win ugly. They can win close. Brunson, specifically, has demonstrated across two games and an entire postseason run that tight games at Madison Square Garden are his natural habitat.
What Comes Next
The series now shifts to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday. Embiid has been vocal about wanting Wells Fargo Center filled with Sixers fans rather than New Yorkers who bought up tickets. Given how Philadelphia fought on Wednesday, they will need the home crowd—and they will need Embiid.
The 76ers have shown they are not done. The problem is the hole is familiar—another series where they find themselves down 2-0, chasing from behind. They climbed out of 3-1 against Boston. A 2-0 deficit is more manageable.
But an on-point Brunson is on the other side of this one. And he has Philadelphia’s number so far.
