Jalen Brunson delivered when it mattered most, scoring eight of his 26 points in the fourth quarter as the New York Knicks held off the Philadelphia 76ers 108-102 on Wednesday night to seize a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
The Knicks closed on a decisive 12-3 run, tightening defensively in the final minutes to swing a tightly contested matchup that featured 14 ties and 25 lead changes. Game 3 shifts to Philadelphia on Friday.
“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. It puts a lot on this next game for sure, but that’s OK.”
Karl-Anthony Towns added 20 points and 10 rebounds for New York, though he was limited to 27 minutes because of foul trouble, as the Knicks found just enough late execution to take control of the series.
OG Anunoby, who exited with 2:31 remaining after hobbling off with a right leg injury, had 24 points. Mikal Bridges added 18 as New York won its fifth straight game overall. The Knicks’ average margin of victory over their 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 because of 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 remaining, then went 1 for 10 from the field with two turnovers the rest of the way.
“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, it’s huge. They missed some shots, we know that, but we made it hard on them.”
Oubre and Paul George each finished with 19 points. VJ Edgecombe had 17.
Philadelphia big man Joel Embiid missed the game because of ankle and hip injuries.
The 76ers took their biggest lead early, opening with a 15-8 run in which George scored 11 points. The Knicks responded with a 10-2 surge to move in front for the first time at 18-17, setting up a back-and-forth first half.
Philadelphia led 33-31 after the first quarter, 62-61 at halftime and 90-89 through three.
“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, Josh Hart answered an Oubre 3-pointer with one of his own to spark a decisive 9-0 run. The Knicks stretched their lead to 105-99 on Bridges’ 20-footer with 2:56 remaining.
The teams traded empty possessions before Maxey split a pair of free throws with 1:33 left. Brunson responded with two foul shots, and Maxey’s layup trimmed the margin to five. Hart and George then missed 3-pointers, and Miles McBride hit one of two free throws with 22.1 seconds remaining.
Maxey missed a 26-footer on Philadelphia’s final possession, and Brunson secured the rebound with 12.6 seconds left before dribbling out the clock.
DAILYSABAH
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