New York, NY- After a tough two-game road trip against the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks returned home to take on the Philadelphia 76ers.
Both teams were missing their star centers for the matchup. Karl-Anthony Towns is out with a knee injury, while Joel Embiid, also dealing with a knee injury, will miss his second straight game as he awaits doctor decisions on whether to be back this season or opt for season-ending surgery.
The Knicks needed big nights from the Villanova boys, Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson, and Mikal Bridges and they provided exactly that.
The Knicks came out firing in the first half, led by Mikal Bridges, who had 19 points, and Jalen Brunson contributed seven assists as the Knicks jumped out to an early 16-point lead.
However, in the second half, the 76ers looked like a completely different team. Getting contributions from their superstars Tyrese Maxey and Paul George combining for 39 points down the stretch.
Although finishing the game with 30 points, Tyrese Maxey had to work for his points tonight. He finished the game shooting 12-32 from the field while shooting 0-10 from beyond the arc.
“It’s hard to guard those guys individually… you try to make him work for his points and I thought Mikal did a great job of really working to make it as hard as he could on him,” said Coach Thibodeau.
Josh Hart was hustling all night for the Knicks, finishing the night with 17 rebounds and playing defense all night long.
“Josh is just tough… 17 rebounds, you know he’s everywhere with timely plays, the rebounds in traffic are special… those types of plays unite and inspire the team,” said Coach Thibodeau.
Although the 76ers came close to stealing this game away from the Knicks after going up four points with a couple of minutes left. Jalen Brunson came to the rescue once again, scoring nine points down the stretch to give the Knicks the win.
It seems like Towns could be making a return here shortly as Coach Thibodeau gave an update on his status after the game claiming “Karl seems like he’s fine.”
As the Knicks go back on the road, they will be in Memphis to take on the Grizzlies on Friday night; it would benefit them a lot to have their star center back in the lineup to take on this young and hot team down there in Memphis.
