76ers vs. Knicks Game 4 breakdown: New York swipes win, puts Philly on the ropes….

April 28, 2024 Sports Gist Basketball, NBA 0

Offensive rebounds, poor offense sink Sixers as they drop Game 4, go down 3-1 to Knicks

With their season essentially on the line, the Sixers couldn’t grab a rebound or score down the stretch as the Knicks won Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

The Sixers dropped Game 4 of this first round series 97-92 to the New York Knicks, falling to a 3-1 deficit.

Joel Embiid, who played the entire second half, went for 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists before running out of gas in the fourth quarter. Tyrese Maxey finished with 23 points, shooting 8-of-21 along with six rebounds and six assists.

Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 47 points, shooting 18-of-34 from the field while also putting up three boards and 10 assists.

Here are some thoughts from the Center.

First Quarter

  • The stars were out at the start of this one. It took over three minutes of action for someone other than Embiid or Brunson to score a basket. Brunson scored the Knicks’ first seven points of the game, getting free often in the pick-and-roll.
  • Josh Hart’s hard denials made it hard to get the ball back to Maxey, but the Sixers were still able to generate decent offense early. Embiid threw some very nice passes, finding a cutting Oubre and hitting Tobias Harris with this pass in transition.

    • Nick Nurse stuck with the adjustment he made in Game 3 — sticking with Cam Payne over Buddy Hield. He also through De’Anthony Melton out there for the first time this series. They weren’t ready to throw Melton on the Brunson assignment, but he deflected a pass which caused a turnover shortly after checking in.
    • While Brunson started off the game strong, his teammates were unable to follow suit. The rest of the Knicks shot 2-of-12 from the field in the quarter. The Sixers took advantage and held a 10-point lead after the first as a result.

    Second Quarter

    • In years past the Sixers have struggled with Embiid on the bench because they can’t maintain his level of defense. This year, it’s really been their inability to score that’s made the minutes he sits so lopsided. It took the Sixers nearly three minutes to get on the board in the second, and they didn’t record a field goal during this time.
      • While Maxey may have been too passive in the first half, he was still the only Sixer who was able to knock down a three for much of it. He was 3-of-4 from behind the arc while the rest of the team was 2-of-11.
          • The Knicks weren’t faring much better. They finished the half shooting 3-of-11 from deep. Sixer killer Miles McBride did get going, hitting a pair of threes right before the half as Philadelphia clung to a two-point lead.

          Third Quarter

          • New York mixed up their coverages a bit to start the second half, giving Josh Hart the primary Maxey assignment instead of OG Anunoby. Maxey scored five of the team’s first seven points out of the half, including a ridiculous and-1 on the baseline.
            •  After getting up by 10 again, the Sixers’ offense got a bit sloppy. They settled for a few jumpers and had several turnovers as a result of guys just not being on the same page as each other.
            • It was an ugly first half from deep, but the teams were trading blows late in the third, exchanging them on four straight possessions at one point. Embiid was also living at the line, picking up Isaiah Hartenstein’s third, fourth and fifth of the game during this stretch. Brunson ended the quarter with an and-1 of his own, giving the Knicks a one-point lead heading into the fourth.

              • Fourth Quarter

                The Sixers clearly wanted to be in a better spot before giving Embiid a rest, if they planned on resting him at all, as he was out there to start the fourth. Cam Payne was once again a breath of fresh air as he scored their first five points of the quarter.

  • Once again, second-chance opportunities really hurt the Sixers in the second half. They blocked two different shots on one possession but couldn’t corral it and the Knicks still came away with points. The Knicks finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds.

  • New York did a really good job of getting back to their original man off of double teams, and that threw off the Sixers’ offense. Philly kept hesitating catching swing passes off of doubles, and the defenders had plenty of time to recover. Their rebounding certainly didn’t help, but the Sixers’ offense just had nothing down the stretch. They did not record a field goal over the final 5:04 of the game.
  • It has been done before, but the odds aren’t great. Down 3-1, the next time the Sixers lose in this series, it will end their season.Game 5 of this series moves back to New York on Tuesday, though the time is still TBD.

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