Game Recap: 2026 NBA Playoffs Round 2, Game 2 – NYK vs. PHI; W; PHI: 102, NYK: 108
A 2-0 series lead over the Philadelphia 76ers? Marvelous! OG Anunoby’s hamstring injury? Not so much.
Last night at the Garden, the Knicks defeated a Joel Embiid-less Sixers squad 108-102. Led by Jalen Brunson’s eight fourth-quarter points, the Knicks held Philadelphia to four field goals in the final frame, and they ended the game with a 12-3 run. Because of the Knicks’ shutdown defense, especially Mikal Bridges’s performance against Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers only scored three points in the final six minutes.
But with 3:03 remaining in regulation, Anunoby ran into Maxey and tweaked his hamstring. He then missed a dunk before pulling himself out of the game with 2:31 left. During his postgame press conference, head coach Mike Brown had no updates on his star’s condition.
If Anunoby’s situation sounds familiar, that is because two years ago, in the second game of the second round of the playoffs, Anunoby’s postseason came to a screeching halt because of a hamstring injury. The Knicks won that game, improving to 2-0 against the Indiana Pacers, but they eventually lost the series in seven games.
Fortunately — to the umpteenth power — Anunoby’s hamstring strain is very minor, and he has been ruled day to day. He may even play in Game 3 tomorrow. The Knicks probably could have handled losing Anunoby for the rest of this series, but anything beyond that would have jeopardized their championship dreams.
Anunoby has been the Knicks’ best performer this postseason. In seven games, he is averaging a career-high 21 points and eight rebounds with a +15.1 rating. Yesterday, his 24 points were the second-highest on the Knicks. Without Mitchell Robinson, against a Sixers team that quickly put the Knicks’ big men in foul trouble, Anunoby essentially became his team’s center.
Philadelphia announced Embiid’s injury long before game time, but Brown announced Robinson’s illness-based absence minutes before tip-off. Truthfully, Robinson may be a bit banged up, so Brown took advantage of Philadelphia’s limited supply of big men by giving one of his a day off.
Without Embiid, the Sixers were faster and stronger defensively, but their lack of depth caught up with them when they scored just 12 points in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia used three bench players the entire game, while the Knicks used six. Karl-Anthony Towns had a double-double, but he and Ariel Hukporti reached early foul trouble.
“We have to try to do something about [our foul trouble], because they’re killing us from the free-throw line in this series,” Brown said. “I know it’s only two games, but they had 34 [free throws in Game 1] and 28 tonight. […] Hopefully, it can get evened out a little bit more throughout the course of this series, but it’s tough to win a ballgame if you’re getting beat from the free-throw line like that versus a really good team.”
Officiating has quietly been an issue for the Knicks in this series. “I’m not sure what’s a bump and what’s not a bump,” Brown said. He was especially confused by the reasoning behind Towns’s fourth foul, which involved a bump that several Sixers players had committed without penalty. The Knicks have matched Philadelphia’s physicality, but they haven’t gotten the benefit of the doubt with contact plays.
“We have to try to keep leading with our chest and show our hands and hope they don’t call it,” Brown said. “They’re really, really good, especially Maxey. Man, he’s one of the quickest guys in the league with the basketball, and when he sees an angle, he’s going at you 100 miles per hour.”
For the Knicks, foul trouble was magnified by Robinson’s absence. However, under all circumstances, Towns must continue to exert his physicality and drive to the basket. He can overpower smaller players, and he is at his best when he incorporates his size and strength into his game plan. This is a skill he can ill afford to lose, no matter how strict the officiating.
“I don’t ever want to lose the physicality,” Towns said. “That’s done us well. I’ll look at the tape. I’ll get better, more disciplined. I don’t want to put my team in that position again, so I’ve got to do a better job.”
As good as Maxey was, the Knicks, especially Bridges, neutralized him. Maxey finished the game with 26 points in 47 minutes, leading Philadelphia without breaking the Knicks. Bridges forced Maxey, who averaged 30 points in seven games against Boston, to miss 14 of his 23 field goal attempts and commit six turnovers. He is averaging 19.5 points in this series.
Bridges was also a key offensive contributor for the Knicks yesterday. For the second straight game, he was efficient from the field, shooting 69.2% with 18 points. He added five rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block, never turning the ball over. Josh Hart only scored five points, so Bridges’s production was critical, especially on the glass.
“You’re gonna have to keep working and give multiple efforts, and the team defense is going to have to be great to even think you’re gonna slow [Maxey] down, because he’s a great player,” Brown said. “But Mikal did what he could, as well as everybody else behind him. And then on top of that, Mikal hit some big shots for us down the stretch.”
Whether it’s a 40-point beatdown or a fourth-quarter grind, a win is a win, and the Knicks have the advantage heading into Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4.
“It was just us executing, being disciplined. Finding a way to get a gritty win,” Towns said. “Something that, for better or for worse, hasn’t been in our cards the last four games.
“But this showed a lot about our locker room and our team.”
Game 3 is scheduled for Friday, May 8, at 7 PM (Prime Video).
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Knicks
