Jalen Brunson scored eight of his 26 points in the fourth quarter Wednesday night for the host New York Knicks, who took control of their Eastern Conference semifinal by stopping the Philadelphia 76ers down the stretch to earn a 108-102 win in Game 2.
The Knicks lead the best-of-seven set series 2-0. Game 3 is scheduled for Friday night in Philadelphia.
“Being down 2-0 after coming back to win in the first round, I think it’s more of a challenge,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “It was 1-1 after two games (against the Boston Celtics in the first round), right? So it’s 2-0. Puts a lot on this next game for sure, but that’s OK.”
Karl-Anthony Towns produced 20 points and 10 rebounds despite playing just 27 minutes due to foul trouble for the Knicks, who ended the game on a 12-3 run to close out a contest that included 14 ties and 25 lead changes.
OG Anunoby, who exited the game with 2:31 left after hobbling off with a right leg injury, had 24 points while Mikal Bridges added 18 points as New York won its fifth straight game overall. The Knicks’ average victory margin in the previous four games was 33.8 points.
“He looked like he was hopping,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said of Anunoby. “I have not talked to medical yet.”
New York center Mitchell Robinson was a late scratch due to illness.
Tyrese Maxey scored 26 points for the 76ers, who managed just 12 points on 4-of-19 shooting (21.1%) in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia took its final lead at 99-96 on Kelly Oubre Jr.’s 3-pointer with 6:52 left, after which the Sixers hit 1 of 10 from the field with two turnovers.
“At the end of the day, it came down to who was going to get more stops in that fourth quarter,” Brown said. “To hold a team like that to 12 points – and they missed some shots, we know that – to have them only score 12 points in that fourth quarter, it’s huge.”
Oubre and Paul George each finished with 19 points. VJ Edgecombe had 17 points.
Philadelphia big man Joel Embiid missed the game due to ankle and hip injuries.
The 76ers took their biggest lead by opening with a 15-8 run in which George scored 11 points. The Knicks responded with a 10-2 surge to go in front for the first time at 18-17 and begin the seesaw affair in earnest.
The 76ers led 33-31 at the end of the first, 62-61 at the half and 90-89 through three quarters.
“We felt like we should’ve won it,” Edgecombe said. “It came down to shot-making at the end of the game. They were making shots, we (weren’t).”
Midway through the fourth quarter, New York’s Josh Hart answered the 3-pointer by Oubre with a trey to begin a decisive 9-0 run. The Knicks grabbed their biggest lead to that point at 105-99 on Bridges’ 20-footer with 2:56 left.
The teams combined for four consecutive empty trips before Maxey split a pair of free throws with 1:33 left. Brunson answered by making two foul shots before Maxey’s layup cut the margin to five. Hart and George traded missed 3-point attempts, after which McBride hit 1 of 2 free throws with 22.1 seconds left.
Maxey missed a 26-footer and Brunson collected the rebound with 12.6 seconds left and dribbled out the clock.
–Field Level Media
