The 76ers shot themselves out of Game 2 Wednesday night, and it may cost them their series against the Knicks. Philadelphia led 90-89 heading into the fourth quarter of what had been a back-and-forth affair that wound up featuring 25 lead changes.
The Sixers were 12 minutes from tying the series at 1-1 and instead walked out of Madison Square Garden down 2-0 after going ice cold late.
Fourth Quarter Collapse
Entering the fourth, Philadelphia had shot 30-for-56 (53.6%) from the field, including hitting half of its three-point attempts (12-for-24). With Joel Embiid sidelined, the Sixers had leaned on their shooting ability to edge into the lead over New York. That shooting abandoned them late.
In the fourth quarter, Philadelphia was 4-for-19 (21.1%) from the field and 1-for-10 from three-point range. Tyrese Maxey, who finished with a team-high 26 points, was 2-for-7 in the fourth, while VJ Edgecombe and Paul George were a combined 0-for-9 on field goals and 0-for-5 from deep. The team generated plenty of good looks, but they wouldn't go down.
Nurse's Post-Game Comments
"We played good enough defense to win that game, especially in the fourth," he said. "Holding them to 19 in the fourth, you've got to hope you can score more than 20 in a quarter."
That futility from the field allowed the Knicks to take over the game. A late 9-0 run led by two big buckets from Jalen Brunson all but sealed things as New York outscored Philadelphia 19-12 in the fourth quarter.
"I thought we had maybe four wide open shots in a row that didn't go," Nurse said. "We needed to keep the scoreboard moving. We played great offense, we just didn't shot make."
Player Reactions
"I think we got a lot of great looks. Wide open looks. We were just missing," rookie guard Edgecombe said. "We were pretty satisfied with the looks we were getting in the end in the fourth quarter."
"I think we made things difficult. I also think they missed some good looks. Got away with a couple," Brunson said. "But we strung some stops together down the stretch when we needed to, and created a five- or six-point cushion, and just kept that."
"Just keep shooting," Maxey said. "If you're open, you've got to shoot the ball."
Series Outlook
The Sixers did just that Wednesday night, but couldn't find a win. Now they're staring down a difficult road to get back into the series.
This team came back from down 3-1 to the Celtics in the first round. It can certainly do that again. But if they're going to pull off another comeback, good shots have to go in.