Led by No Podcast P, Oubre, Sixers show way more fight before losing close one to Knicks

Paul George led the charge as the Sixers mounted a great second half effort before falling to the Knicks at MSG.

They looked like an actual NBA team tonight — progress!

Despite a second half comeback, the Sixers fell 110-105 to the New York Knicks Wednesday night, dropping their ninth game in a row.

Even after going 0-of-9 from three, Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 30 points, though he shot 12-of-31 on the night.

Paul George was locked in after giving up podcasting. He finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and four steals. Kelly Oubre Jr. went for 27, while Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 34.

Joel Embiid remained out with left knee injury management. Guerschon Yabusele was also out with an eye injury. Karl Anthony-Towns was out for New York with a left knee injury.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• He made his first basket of the game, but Maxey was again struggling to just handle the ball with his right hand. Why on earth he’s playing through this hand sprain is anyone’s guess, but that’s just the way this season has gone.
• As they’re beginning to perfect, the Sixers opened the game looking half asleep. Mikal Bridges making his first six shots of the game helped the Knicks take an early double-digit lead. Oubre tried to match with a 12-point first, but his teammates opened the game 4-of-19 from the floor.

• Lonnie Walker IV knocked down a contested midrange jumper, ensuring that the Sixers finished the quarter with more made field goals than Bridges. After barely outpacing one player, the Sixers trailed by 12 after one.

Second Quarter

• A healthy dose of the two-man game between George and Andre Drummond opened the quarter. George found Drummond on a couple of rolls, but he was shooting just as poorly as Maxey. Those two opened the game 4-of-18 from the field.
• The Sixers are better defensively with Adem Bona on the floor instead of Drummond, primarily because Bona’s legs still work. He’s still able to picked on though if he’s drawn out into too much space. With hardly any resistance on the perimeter, the Knicks were able to do just that.
• Another sequence that sums up the season pretty well: the Sixers put together an 8-0 run to trim the lead down to 11. Said run was snapped when Drummond accidentally kicked the ball into the stands after he threw down a dunk. That ended up being their last field goal of the half as they went into the break down 16.

Third Quarter

• Some signs of life were shown as PG opened the half knocking down a few jumpers. He was able to poke free a couple of steals on the other end as well. Their defense actually looked like it has for much of the season. They couldn’t protect the rim well, but they were able to generate turnovers. They had 11 steals through three.
• As had been the case all night, the Knicks had an answer every time the Sixers came within striking distance. Maxey, who was still struggling to make shots, came up favoring his hand after diving on the ground for a loose ball.
• The hand was obviously bothering Maxey the most when he was shooting jumpers, but he did begin to have some success as a driver, and strung together a 12-point quarter. His stepback three attempt to beat the buzzer didn’t fall, but the Sixers had finally got the lead to single digits, trailing by nine after the third.

Fourth Quarter

• They were able to keep that momentum rolling across quarters. With George driving the offense, it made it much easier for Maxey to pick his spots. Three-point shooting was still few and far between, but a returning Justin Edwards was able to get on the board during this stretch.
• Drummond had his rough moments. He still wasn’t really deterring anyone and started to concede a lot of offensive rebounds. He was really effective though as a screener for PG. The constant lob threat helped him create driving lanes, stuff we really haven’t seen much of this year. After a 12-1 run, the Sixers had their first lead since the opening minutes of the game.

• It looked like Maxey finally got his first three of the night to go down, but it rimmed out. Brunson shortly tied the game up and on a few possessions later, had a three go halfway out before banking back in off the glass. It appears the rims at MSG are on team tank. That sequence ended up sinking the Sixers as their offense ran out of gas.
• Another day, another game showcased for everyone to see. The Sixers will next take the court Saturday when they host the Golden State Warriors. That is set to tip off at 8:30 p.m. on ABC.