May 04, 2026
NEW YORK – On Monday, Sixers guard Quentin Grimes and head coach Nick Nurse expressed confidence that the team could put a Game 7 win from two nights prior that was equally draining physically and emotionally behind them. But in Game 1 of their second-round series against the New York Knicks, their collective hangover against a Knicks team with a rest advantage was evident.
The first eight minutes of the game were competitive. The remaining 40 were not. Every single member of New York's starting five had a perfectly optimal performance; Paul George was the only member of the Sixers to play remotely close to the level they aspire to reach.
Even Nurse, always aggressive leaving his best players on the floor in lopsided games, recognized the value of getting his starters out of the game early. Midway through the third quarter, he pulled the plug. The only silver lining of a miserable night for the Sixers: none of their best players even reached 29 minutes.
Takeaways from a 137-98 bludgeoning in which the Sixers' Game 7 hangover was apparent:
The Sixers overcame a 3-1 deficit for the first time in franchise history and beat the Boston Celtics in the first round of these playoffs because for three games their high-end talent completely outperformed Boston's high-end talent. Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and even George matched Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, play for play, eventually outpacing them.
That was not the case on Monday night.
Jalen Brunson was absolutely brilliant, bookending the half with two outrageous scoring outbursts. He set a tremendous tone in the opening minutes for New York, scoring 14 points on seven shots – mostly well-defended ones – before the Sixers could even settle into the game. He finished the half with another barrage of buckets, capped off by a triple that sent Madison Square Garden into a frenzy:
27 POINTS FOR JALEN BRUNSON.
— NBA (@NBA) May 5, 2026
HE SCORED NEW YORK'S LAST 11 IN THE HALF 🤯 pic.twitter.com/E5a6aaWEzO
Brunson led a picture-perfect offensive attack for New York; he only needed 31 minutes and 18 shots to score 35 points but did not do it alone. OG Anunoby made seven of his eight shot attempts; Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns scored a combined 34 points on 21 shots. Josh Hart had a classic Josh Hart line: eight points, eight rebounds and six assists. It was a perfect encapsulation of the upside this Knicks team possesses.
Meanwhile, Maxey was oddly passive early on and never really made himself a major part of the game. Embiid was able to draw plenty of fouls early, but could not find any semblance of a groove as a shooter. George shot the ball well, and he was the only one. Any of Nurse's deep reserves making an impression in garbage time would have been a welcomed development; none did.
Typically, before a playoff series begins it is reasonably safe to assume what the vast majority of defensive assignments will look like. Perhaps a few matchups might be unclear, but in a general sense it is obvious what each team will be trying to accomplish.
Heading into Monday's Game 1, it was just about impossible to get a good sense for what Nurse and Knicks head coach Mike Brown had up their sleeves. Where did they land?
Perhaps the biggest surprise: Embiid defending Towns, New York's sharpshooting center. Given how limited Embiid has been from a mobility perspective since returning to action after his emergency appendectomy, it seemed like Nurse would not want him tracking arguably the best big-man shooter in the history of the NBA.
It did not last long. About five minutes into the game, Embiid and Kelly Oubre Jr. swapped assignments; Oubre moved to Towns while Embiid roamed off Hart, a shooter who has hurt the Sixers in the playoffs before but the least accurate shooter in New York's starting five. Towns had to check out early with two fouls, which made life easier for Nurse to match up. But at that point, Oubre made another switch, taking over the Brunson assignment from VJ Edgecombe. The only things that stayed consistent for the Sixers when both starting lineups were on the floor: George defended Anunoby and Maxey defended Mikal Bridges.
On New York's side, Bridges predictably drew the Maxey assignment. Not that there was considerable doubt, but Towns opened the game on Embiid, while Brunson tried to hide on Oubre, Hart defended Edgecombe and Anunoby took the George assignment.
Over the course of what many expect to be a long series, both coaches will go to many different defensive alignments and coverages. But it is always important to note the starting point.
Some additional notes:
• One strong moment from Nurse early on that could repeat itself later in the series: when Towns entered early foul trouble and Mitchell Robinson checked in to replace him, Nurse had Justin Edwards enter the game. Edwards intentionally fouled Robinson, a 40.8 percent free-throw shooter for the season, twice in two possessions. Robinson missed four straight free throws and Brown pulled him from the game until the two-minute mark.
• Provided an opportunity to log extended minutes, Adem Bona did not exactly build a compelling case to play regular minutes. He picked up three fouls within 69 seconds.
• While Nurse is without intriguing options to bring off his bench outside of Grimes and Andre Drummond, it seems pretty clear that the Sixers will not be able to ride six players for 40-plus minutes per night for long. But before the game, Nurse declined to deviate from his long-held public belief that the best players should be on the floor as much as possible.
Up next: Game 2 at Madison Square Garden is on Wednesday night.
