Philly Special

The Knicks got their latest - and greatest - statement win of the season.

Good morning!

Did that really just happen? I think so. But did I write ~2500 words on the game just to fully convince myself it wasn’t a figment of my imagination? Most certainly.

Happy weekend, everyone.

Game 35: Knicks 128, Sixers 92

I don’t think ESPN is punking us…

In a New York minute…

Right off the bat, this looked like it was going to be a long night…for the Knicks, who went down by 10 early after their offense couldn’t get into gear. Down 26-16, noted offensive savant Deuce McBride hit four 3-pointers in the final three minutes of the first quarter, and the turnaround was on. That’s when McBride handed the shotmaking baton to his starting counterpart, and Jalen Brunson went nuclear with 16 in the second to help give New York a 20-point halftime lead. In the third, Philly’s defense flustered the Knicks - and Julius Randle in particular - holding them without a point for five and a half minutes, but New York’s defense never let the lead drop below a dozen. It was all a precursor for the fourth quarter, when a 20-1 Quentin Grimes-led Knick run snatched Philly’s soul and turned this into the biggest laugher of the year.

Three Things

1. The defense is back. It’s only three games, so we need to take the early returns with a grain of salt, but New York has rediscovered its ability to make life difficult for opposing offenses.

After holding the Sixers to their lowest point total of the season and under 100 for only the third time in 34 games, the Knicks sport the NBA’s stingiest defense since the trade for OG Anunoby.

Last night, they were aided a bit by some poor Philly shooting (26.1 percent from downtown on only 23 attempts), but the Sixers are near the bottom of the league in threes attempted and still manage to have a top-five offense. They also did a nice job on contests behind the arc, and were rotating with poise and purpose all night long.

Regardless of where New York’s opponents are shooting from, they haven’t been able to find any level of comfort against a defense that is now spearheaded by Anunoby, who started out guarding Maxey, but had his hands in everything. OG’s arrival has not only slotted everyone into their proper place, but has re-introduced Deuce McBride into the mix, who treats every defensive possession like it’s his last:

Speaking of Mr. McBride…