Knicks 111, 76ers 104: The bigger they are . . .
In a game that had some of everything, the Knicks emerged with all that matters: the win
Are you missing anything in your life? Can’t remember where you left your keys or your phone? Maybe you miss someone you knew and loved long ago, but haven’t seen since? If so, there’s a good chance you’ll find what you’re looking for at Madison Square Garden; that’s certainly the case for the Philadelphia 76ers. For even among the Yggdrasil of storylines branching out from the Knicks’ 111-104 Game 1 win, the biggest was New York’s rebounding. Anything the 76ers missed, the Knicks got their hands on, and in so doing got the early grip on this series.
Joel Embiid going to the locker room late in the first half following an apparent injury landing after a dunk would be the banner headline in many multiverses. Same for Jalen Brunson making only eight of 26 shot attempts. The Knick starters all posting negative plus-minus ratings doesn’t have the same heft as “Assassin Kills Kennedy,” but it’s no more mad a math than the calculus behind Oswald’s magic bullet. But in this dimension, the deciding dimension of the victory came on the glass.
Teams collect considerably more defensive rebounds than offensive; even the league’s worst-rebounding teams gather three to four times as many of the former as the latter. The 76ers had 24 defensive rebounds to the Knicks’ 23 offensive rebounds. That means a Knick miss was as likely to end up another possession for them as it was an end of possession. If you wish you could see that play out but playoff tickets are out of your price range, go to the nearest park or YMCA, find a small child shooting alone and play them one-on-one. Same experience for free.
Brunson had one fewer offensive rebound than the Sixer starting five. In 25 minutes off the bench, Bojan Bogdanović, instrumental in the second-quarter turnaround where the Knicks took control of the game, collected more defensive rebounds than every Sixer besides Tobias Harris. Mitchell Robinson had almost as many offensive boards (7) in 30 minutes as the entire Sixer team (9) in 240 minutes. If it feels like I’m repeating the same point, imagine how Philadelphia felt as it happened. Embiid gutting through what could be the final, fatal hours of his career is inspiring, same as Tyrese Maxey cutting up New York’s defense like scissors slicing silk. But a team that can’t reliably end opponent possessions or extend their own isn’t somebody bleeding and in need of a tourniquet. It’s a terminal patient; the only suspense left is calling the time of death.
In a season that saw the Knicks trade away four players 25 and younger, it was especially satisfying witnessing Mitch and Miles McBride, two of their three-youngest rotation players and two of only three players left who’ve been Knicks their entire careers, do their thing on both ends.
In addition to his heroic work against Embiid, Robinson hit two huge free throws late the one time the Sixers tried Hack-A-Mitch. While Maxey had 26 points while draining two-thirds of his shots against non-Deuce defenders, against McBride he scored just seven while missing two-thirds of them. In McBride’s 28 minutes, the Knicks outscored the 76ers by 37 points; in the 20 he sat, the Knicks were outscored by 30. Mitch’s plus/minus was just as wowsers.
The teams will adjust. The Knick bench won’t outscore the Sixers’ 42-7 every night. Harris, Kelly Oubre and Nic Batum will combine for something better than 3-of-10 from deep. Maxey will continue to find the diagonals in the defense like a bishop in chess. In the nearly 80% of Game 1 that Embiid played the Sixers were +14. It was a three-point game with two minutes to go; if the MVP can gut his way to just a couple more minutes, the outcome could flip completely.
Or Embiid is running on the last of his fumes and the Sixers won’t get another 37 minutes of brilliance on both ends from him the rest of the series. That, like their 0-1 series deficit, is their problem, as is the bitter irony of a franchise (in)famous for not trying to win for half a decade seeing the sole significant spoils secured from that shameful stretch breaking down the year he turned 30. It wasn’t supposed to be this way for Philadelphia – not so short, nor so soon. You wonder if they do lose this series what the future holds. What does a team with all the cap room in the world – Embiid is currently the only Sixer on the books next season – do when faced with building around the ticking time bomb in their 7-foot-2, 275-pound cornerstone’s knee?
That’s their problem.
Mitch just played 30 minutes for the first time since December 1st. There’s a better chance of Rick Brunson playing in this series than Jalen shooting 30% from the field again. Donte DiVincenzo going 3-of-10 won’t stop him from taking the next good look he gets. With 1:30 left and the Knicks up four, the ball found New York’s forward behind the arc. Last year that shot is RJ Barrett’s. This year it’s OG Anunoby’s. Coffin, meet nail.
Playoff pressure doubles after each game. The Sixers could treat Game 1 like house money. Now they face the possibility of being down 2-0 and heading home needing to win at least four of the next five games. The Knicks did what they do most days ending in Y: took care of business. And if you’re wondering how I could go to the very last sentence of this recap without mentioning Josh Hart, know it’s not an oversight of him, but a recognition of my own limitations. How does one define or confine the tao of a magical being who can look like Eddy Curry shooting from deep for 46 minutes while nearing Steph levels of improbable shotmaking the final 2:00? ¡Que mensch!
