The Philadelphia 76ers have just been knocked out of the playoffs by the New York Knicks. Joel Embiid’s hunt for a finals appearance continues even after so many years. He was recently diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy, but the reigning MVP refused to sit on the sidelines. The Knicks were mostly on the front foot through the series, but there were times when they looked shaky.
Joel Embiid and Buddy Hield were the best performers in the scoring department on the night. They made 39 and 20 points respectively. But even that wasn’t enough to get them the win. Tyrese Maxey made 17 points, but that’s nowhere near the numbers he normally puts up on the big stages.
Shaquille O’Neal weighs in on how the Philadelphia 76ers lost to the New York Knicks
Shaquille O’Neal sits down with Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson Jr to analyze games on TNT’s ‘Inside the NBA.’ The team did the same with the Sixers-Knicks clash when Shaq made a surprising remark about the home team’s loss. He said, “The offensive rebounds really hurt the Sixers. They came and played, wish Maxey had a better game.”
Shaq is right to an extent, the Knicks have made more offensive rebounds than the Philly-based franchise. Jalen Brunson and Co. managed to grab 20 rebounds whereas the Sixers had 16. The difference may not be huge, but what Shaq means is that the Sixers could have grabbed many more offensive rebounds as well. Sixers big man Joel Embiid is undoubtedly not at his 100%, but it is unfair to blame the star solely.
Tobias Harris had a game to forget, after failing to score a single point despite playing for 29 minutes. The Sixers were nowhere near their best, but they still managed to put up a great fight against a talented team.
Jalen Brunson speaks about Knicks’ struggles against the Sixers
Jalen Brunson is a proud alumni of the Villanova Cats, where he won two NCAA titles. He also played for the team alongside his current Knicks teammates, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo. The trio have been tightly knit until now, and they have played a pivotal role in every bit of success that the Knicks have had this year.
After the game, Brunson spoke about how the Knicks looked shaky at times. He said, “We were focused, we knew that this wasn’t gonna be easy, even with the lead that we had, we tried obviously to play with the lead but we knew that they were gonna keep fighting. I mean every game has been like this, so doesn’t matter how you start, just matters how you finish it.”
There were times when the Knicks looked to struggle, like in Game 2 for example. It took multiple attempts from Donte to hit the game-winner after a scrappy last few seconds. It certainly sparked huge controversy when Maxey wasn’t given a foul, but that doesn’t mean we should take anything away from the Sixers. Brunson has been the leader of the Knicks team, and he has had a phenomenal series against the Sixers.
Jalen Brunson over the last 4 Games:
41 PTS – 12 AST – 3 REB
40 PTS – 10 AST – 4 REB
47 PTS – 10 AST – 4 REB
39 PTS – 13 AST – 2 REB pic.twitter.com/yFtGeyyqRm— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 3, 2024
He averaged 35.5 points, 9.0 assists, and 4.5 rebounds against the Sixers this year, and that includes a 41-point game in Game 6. The NY-based franchise will play the Indiana Pacers next, and the team will be in high spirits to continue building on the momentum.