Sixers
Instant Observations: Undermanned 76ers Battle Back Against Knicks Before Falling in Overtime

The Philadelphia 76ers battled against the rival New York Knicks before ultimately falling 125-119 in overtime on Wednesday night.
Tyrese Maxey finished with 33 points, six rebounds and six assists. Paul George totaled 26 points, three rebounds, six assists and three steals. While Maxey and George returned to the floor, the Sixers still had a lengthy injury report. Joel Embiid (left foot sprain), Caleb Martin (right groin soreness), KJ Martin (left foot stress reaction), Andre Drummond (left toe sprain), Kyle Lowry (right hip sprain) and Jared McCain (left knee meniscus surgery) all remained out of the lineup.
In regards to Embiid, who is missing his sixth consecutive game, head coach Nick Nurse continued to say he is day-to-day. Embiid has been deemed day-to-day with his latest foot injury ever since he re-aggravated it against the Brooklyn Nets on Jan. 4. Nurse added before the game, via PHLY Sports’ Kyle Neubeck, he is “hoping [Embiid] is going to be at practice on Friday and ready to go for the next one.” The Sixers have two days off before beginning a back-to-back on Saturday with a road matchup against the Indiana Pacers.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 38 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Mikal Bridges added 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting. Karl-Anthony Towns (right thumb sprain) and Mitchell Robinson (left ankle surgery) were the lone players out for New York.
Here are some instant observations from the tight loss to the Knicks:
Likes:
– While the Sixers’ offense as a whole put together another putrid performance, George’s play was one of the few bright spots. He functioned as the team’s clear top scoring option against New York. George attacked early and often, consistently looking to use his quick trigger to get shots up over the Knicks’ defense. His first bucket of the game came on a 4-point play where he took advantage of an effective screen to get just enough space to launch his shot up.
.@Yg_Trece with the 4-point play. pic.twitter.com/2oXSSkX7k4
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 16, 2025
George played with aggression and scored eight points in the first quarter. After going through a quiet stretch midway through this contest, George once again lit up the scoreboard in the final minutes of the third quarter. The nine-time All-Star scored 11 points in the final 3:58 of the third. His 3-pointer is still not falling at a high clip, but George has been able to find a lot of recent success dipping into his scoring arsenal from inside the arc. George has looked a lot more comfortable in recent weeks, leading to better production on both ends of the floor.
Despite his overall solid showing, George still went through too many periods where he was unable to get anything going offensively. At 34 years old, he lacks the explosiveness to beat defenders on drives to the basket. It will be tough for him to consistently produce at a high level when his jumper is not falling.
– Kelly Oubre Jr. quietly put together a solid showing against the Knicks. He excelled as a cutter, leading to multiple easy baskets around the rim. On the other end of the floor, he played with a ton of energy and crashed the glass hard. His efforts led to him finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds and two steals.
– Eric Gordon could not buy a bucket through October and November, shooting just 23.8% from 3-point range. However, he has turned a corner since the calendar flipped to December. Heading into this contest, Gordon shot 47.6% from beyond the arc in both December and January. His hot shooting continued against the Knicks, leading to him finishing with an efficient 14 points in 21 minutes.
– Justin Edwards needs to have a consistent spot in the Sixers’ rotation going forward. The Philadelphia native continued to impress with his time on the court, totaling 10 points, two rebounds, three assists and a steal off the bench. Edwards knocked down a pair of huge 3-pointers in the fourth quarter in addition to playing some tough defense. He is currently playing on a two-way contract, but his production in recent weeks should warrant major consideration on getting his contract converted to a standard deal.
Dislikes:
– The overall numbers have been fine for Maxey this season, but they fail to tell the entire story. He, more often than not, is stinking up the joint as a shooter. This matchup against the Knicks was no different. Maxey went into halftime with six points on 3-of-12 shooting. That type of production from Maxey would be vastly disappointing on any given night, but even more so considering the circumstances heading into this contest. The Sixers’ chances at salvaging this season are rapidly declining. With Embiid and multiple role players out, Maxey had very little room for error. He responded with another inefficient showing offensively.
Many of the causes for Maxey’s subpar play against the Knicks have been things he has struggled with all season. He has fallen into some bad habits offensively. After making major strides as a playmaker last season, Maxey appears to have regressed on that front. The 24-year old often locks into driving to the basket, taking ill-advised shots against multiple defenders instead of looking to find an open teammate on the perimeter. Even when he gets an open look from beyond the arc, Maxey is failing to take advantage. Going into this contest, he was shooting 33.6% from 3-point range this season. That would be his lowest efficiency since his rookie season in 2020-21. Based on his play this season, it is fair to say Maxey has become more of a low-efficiency volume scorer.
For as bad as Maxey played in the first half, he did a ton of things right to salvage his night in the second half. In addition to scoring 27 points in the final two quarters and overtime, Maxey made multiple plays in the final minute to force overtime. He made an impressive fadeaway jumper while getting fouled. With the Sixers down by two and seven seconds remaining, Maxey came from behind and poked the ball away from Brunson to get the Sixers the ball back. In the final seconds, Maxey then beat Precious Achiuwa to the rim and drew a goaltending call that tied the game and forced overtime. Unfortunately, Maxey and the rest of the team ran out of gas in the overtime period.
– The Sixers have shown they can be a solid half-court defense. However, they remain a brutal team at defending in transition. The Knicks punished them in transition, scoring 12 fast-break points in the first quarter alone. The Sixers continued to fail to hustle back, something that is exacerbated when they miss a ton of shots and turn the ball over. Even when they did get back in transition, they still got carved up due to poor positioning and the Knicks’ tendency to attack mismatches. Being this bad at simple things like defending the fast break at this point in the season is inexcusable.
– For the second consecutive night, an undermanned Sixers squad played with a ton of effort against a far superior opponent. It has not resulted in wins, but this team’s effort has to be admired. Unfortunately, they are well beyond the point of moral victories holding any value. The Sixers, after this loss, fell to 15-24 this season. The star trio of Embiid, Maxey and George have barely been able to play together. Time is ticking away on the Sixers’ chances of salvaging this season.