New York Knicks Shows Their Toughness in Game Two Victory
We knew going into this matchup that the second-seeded New York Knicks and the seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers would be an epic playoff matchup. Philadelphia tried to redeem themselves after a 111-104 Game One loss. Although the Sixers led for most of this game, the Knicks showed their physical and mental toughness by taking down the 76ers in an epic late-game 104-101 win. New York is now heading to Philly for their Game Three and Game Four matchups, which both should be eagerly as fun, and as interesting to watch. The Knicks may have taken two tough late-game wins at home during the first two games of this series, but their biggest challenge thus far awaits them playing at the Wells Fargo Arena in Philly.
The 76ers got off to a quick 9-0 start. New York’s offense clearly struggled, and it took a while to score off some good looks. Philadelphia led 25-18 going into the second quarter, and although they led by seven, the Sixers were looking to crush the life out and the energy out of Madison Square Garden. The Knicks committed four easy turnovers in that first quarter compared to the 76ers one. New York tried to come back in the second quarter, but the Sixers had multiple ten-point leads. With less than five and a half minutes remaining before halftime, the 76ers led 41-32, the Knicks went on a 17-12 run to cut Philly’s lead to just four after two-quarters of play. Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with 20 points, while Joel Embiid recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Josh Hart had 19 first-half points for the Knicks, with Jalen Brunson recording 13 points on four of 14 shooting.
New York took their first lead of the night eight minutes into the third quarter. The Knicks would go back and forth with Philadelphia but ultimately held a five-point lead with 12 minutes left to go. The fourth quarter really showed how badly each team wanted to win, but more importantly how mentally and physically tough this Knicks team is. Philly held a 100-96 off a Maxey three-pointer with a little over a minute remaining. Donte DiVincenzo fouled Kyle Lowry, who hit one of two free throws to give the Sixers a five-point lead. Jalen Brunson knocked down a clutch three to put the Knicks down by two. After Josh Hart stole the ball from Tyrese Maxey, DiVincenzo attempted and missed a three-point opportunity, however, Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed the offensive rebound. The ball would find its way back into DiVincenzo’s hands, and this time he would hit a huge three-pointer for New York to give the Knicks a 102-101 lead. Maxey missed a finger roll layup, and OG Anunoby grabbed the rebound, which meant the Sixers had to foul Anunoby if they wanted to still have a chance. The Knicks forward hit both free throws giving New York a three-point lead. With less than seven seconds left, Joel Embiid missed a tying three-point attempt to give the New York Knicks a tough 104-101 Game Two win.
Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid combined for 69 points in the loss. Maxey put up 35 points, nine rebounds, and ten assists, while Embiid recorded 34 points, ten rebounds, six assists, and a block in the loss. Jalen Brunson had 24 points on eight of 29 shooting along with eight rebounds, and six assists. Josh Hart had a huge factor in the win with 21 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks. Donte DiVincenzo scored 19 points, 12 on three-pointers in the Knicks enormous Game Two victory.
