3 observations after Sixers get blitzed by Knicks, lose by 36 points

The Sixers had a dismal Friday night.

They got blitzed by the Knicks at Wells Fargo Center, suffering a 128-92 loss and falling to 23-11 on the season.

New York improved to 20-15. Star point guard and Villanova product Jalen Brunson was the team's top scorer with 29 points.

For the Sixers, Joel Embiid had 30 points and 10 rebounds. Tyrese Maxey recorded 27 points and nine assists.

The Sixers were without De’Anthony Melton (lumbar spine soreness), Robert Covington (left knee effusion) and Furkan Korkmaz (illness). They also ruled Tobias Harris out for the night early in the fourth quarter because of left ankle soreness.

“They checked him out,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said postgame. “He kind of jammed his ankle. X-rays and stuff were negative. He thinks he’s going to be questionable for tomorrow. He says it’s going to be determined by how he wakes up in the morning, but he thinks there’s a reasonable chance that he could play.”

Nurse said he expected Embiid to be available for the second leg of the Sixers’ back-to-back Saturday night vs. the Jazz.

Here are observations on their defeat to the Knicks: 

Another double-digit lead for Melton-less starters 

With Melton still out, the Sixers predictably kept the same starting lineup that had been tremendous Tuesday in their blowout win over the Bulls.

However, the unit of Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr., Nicolas Batum, Harris and Embiid couldn’t replicate its near-perfect start against Chicago. Embiid winced in apparent discomfort after committing a turnover on the game’s first play. New York went up 7-2 when Donte DiVincenzo swiped the ball from Embiid, drew two free throws on the ensuing fast break, and knocked both down.

Embiid looked close to his usual self physically after a couple of minutes and the Sixers made a strong push back with a stellar stretch defensively.

Batum didn’t cede any ground to Julius Randle in isolation, forcing a contested fadeaway miss. Oubre blocked an OG Anunoby jumper, leading to a Maxey layup seconds later. The Sixers played a few minutes of smart, focused, high-intensity defense and were rewarded with plenty of open-floor opportunities. Randle, who'd totaled 74 points over his past two games, had a rough night, going 1 for 11 from the field.

The Knicks showed Embiid a crowd whenever he brought the ball forward, which allowed the reigning MVP to set up several open jumpers early. Oubre canned one from the left wing to give the Sixers a 26-16 lead. 

Brunson, McBride overwhelm Sixers from long distance 

Miles McBride and New York’s second unit turned the tide in dramatic fashion.

After Quentin Grimes stopped Harris in the post, the Knicks sprinted ahead and McBride hit a corner three. He drained three more triples in the first quarter and played pesky defense on Maxey without fouling him. Josh Hart made a buzzer-beating layup to give New York a 34-30 edge through 12 minutes. 

Ominously, Anunoby drained a tough three to beat the shot clock on the Knicks’ first possession of the second period. Brunson then delivered a flurry of jumpers and ultimately scored 16 points in the second. 

The Sixers’ defensive level dipped, although many of Brunson’s makes were closely guarded. Thanks largely to Brunson and McBride, the Knicks had an exceptionally hot start (12 for 19) from three-point territory. The Sixers, meanwhile, began 2 for 8.

Still, as New York’s long-range success continued, the Sixers’ fundamentals faltered. When they tried zone, the Knicks picked it apart and Isaiah Hartenstein got a dunk. Batum scratched his head after lofting an uncharacteristically wayward entry pass intended for Embiid, and DiVincenzo then punished the miscue with a transition three. 

“We know ourselves, so we know it starts on defense,” Embiid said. “I thought we were not good enough. We’ve just got to be better defensively. It’s one game; it happens. They were hot, we were not. We were not at our best. We’re going to be fine.”

Nurse has frequently mentioned that the Sixers haven’t yet rolled out many defensive schemes he intends to eventually incorporate. Though that’s somewhat plausible as a factor in the Sixers’ struggles to neutralize Brunson in the second quarter, Nurse surely won’t be pleased with his team’s performance in basic areas like half-court offensive execution, transition defense, and defensive communication. 

Despite Maxey posting 20 points, seven assists and no turnovers in the first half, the Sixers trailed by 20 at intermission. 

“They hit us in the mouth at the end of that first,” Maxey said. “And then it seemed like we were on our heels ever since then in the game. There were a couple clips that Coach showed where they hit us first when we were on defense, and we shouldn’t allow that to happen.”

An abysmal Sixers showing

The Sixers’ lapses persisted early in the third quarter.

Among the lowlights were Oubre catching the ball out of bounds and DiVincenzo being able to assist an Anunoby lay-in after grabbing his own long rebound. Missed foul shots from Harris and Embiid also hurt the Sixers’ comeback attempts.

The Sixers still managed to eat into New York’s lead. The Knicks’ shooters grew cold, missing multiple open looks that could have halted the Sixers’ run. Randle was especially helpful, misfiring on his jumpers and committing turnovers that got the Sixers rolling in transition. 

Embiid grew more forceful in his approach, looking to attack against Hartenstein whenever he had any space. He drove in for a thunderous dunk and converted a layup that cut the Sixers' deficit to 88-76.

They couldn't ever trim the Knicks' lead to single figures, though. Jaden Springer missed a wide-open corner three late in the third quarter, Patrick Beverley air-balled one long, and the Sixers' bench failed to add any meaningful scoring pop. As a whole, the team's second unit had just eight points before garbage time.

The fourth quarter was embarrassing for the Sixers, who kept Embiid in until the 4:41 mark and very much went through the motions as he neared the 30-point, 10-rebound mark for a 15th consecutive game.

When he finally got there, the Knicks had just rattled off a 21-1 run and their fans' voices were by far the loudest in the arena.

“I think you’re going to be disappointed in the effort tonight,” Nurse said. “I’m not going to sit here and say that, blanket (statement), effort was bad. But I always think when (the deficit) is 20-ish, even with five or six minutes to go, you still may have a shot to climb back in it these days.

“So yeah, we didn’t make a couple shots. We were really living in our offense there for a while. The ball just wouldn’t go in, and it was deflating us to go back and play transition (defense). They got a bunch of transition baskets.”

Every team has clunkers over the course of an 82-game regular season. Friday's performance absolutely falls into that category for the Sixers.

Next up is a Utah team that was down 54-18 at one point Friday in a loss to the Celtics.

“We’re going to have to tie our shoes pretty tight, get back out there and fight tomorrow,” Nurse said. “We have to play a lot better.”