Category: Sports News

Tonight at Madison Square Garden, the Detroit Pistons (41-13) completed a three-game sweep of the Knicks (35*-21), 126-111.

The first half was physical and fast. New York gave away an early edge by missing 15 straight threes and failing to engage Karl-Anthony Towns. Meanwhile, Cade Cunningham powered Detroit to a 58-48 halftime lead. Towns opened the third with a nifty four-point play, but Detroit’s paint pressure and rebounding extended the margin to 90-79. In the fourth, the Knicks cut it to 11 late after trailing by 19, but by then, the outcome was never in doubt.

New York shot 8-of-35 from deep (23%) and lost the rebounding battle 44-38. Jalen Brunson led them with 33 points and six assists; Towns recovered from a two-point first half to post a 21-11 double-double; OG Anunoby scored eight on 3-of-13 but tied a career high with four blocks; Mikal Bridges had eight points on nine shots, and Josh Hart added 11 points in 28 minutes.

Landry Shamet supplied 15 off the bench and Mitchell Robinson chipped in seven points, six boards, two steals, and a block, but the second unit delivered no offense otherwise. Jose Alvarado and Jeremy Sochan defended well but combined for eight points.

For the victors, Cunningham finished with 42 points, 14 assists, and eight rebounds on 17-of-34 shooting; third-string center Paul Reed scored 18 points and seven boards; and Tobias Harris recorded 11 points and 10 boards.

Happy Lunar New Year, folks.

First Half

Even though Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart are serving suspensions, the remaining Pistons still brought pipes and hammers into MSG. Josh Hart took exception when hit from behind on a dunk, and the refs checked their shoelaces. He wasn’t the only complainer. Both sides bemoaned the excessive contact, but New York received more penalties by midway through the frame.

Early on, OG Anunoby missed two wide-open triples, but Detroit shot worse. The visitors made 1-of-10 as New York went up by seven points in a game that was not only chippy but speedy. The sneakers were slappin’, the perspiration was flyin’, and the dude with the sweat mop earned his paycheck. Landry Shamet came off the bench to spell Mikal Bridges. Soon after, Mitchell Robinson and Mohamed Diawara replaced Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby. No Jeremy Sochan yet. . . .

After Motown’s cold start, they made seven of their next eight to leapfrog New York on the scoreboard. Shooting 1-of-8 from deep in the quarter didn’t help New York. Around the three-minute mark, Jose Alvarado clocked in and received a cheer. Jose repaid the affection with a tasty fast-break layup. And the newest Knick, Sochan—possessor of the best diastema in New York sports since Michael Strahan—made his MSG debut for the final defensive possession of the period. When the bell finally rang, Detroit held a 28-26 lead.

Boatloads of contact continued in Q2. Meanwhile, Karl-Anthony Towns had taken just two shots total by the midway point of the period. With Duren and Stewart out, we were convinced Towns would explode tonight. It’s strange stuff when Mitch outscores KAT (7-2) in a half.

New York wasted opportunities and fell behind by six. Alvarado had another of his famous back-court steals, but Hart blew the layup; on the subsequent possession, Brunson botched a contested layup, and Mitch couldn’t corral the board. Alvarado contributed four misses to New York’s awful three-point shooting—they converted just 1-of-16 in the half. Give credit to Detroit for keeping the Knicks out of the corners, where they’re most dangerous.

Defensive intensity kept New York alive for most of the half, but it wasn’t enough. E.g., Brunson tried his best, but Cunningham was just too much to handle, scoring 24 in his first 19 minutes. The Pistons went on a 7-0 run over the final 1:20 of the half to take a 58-48 score into halftime. Brunson topped the Knicks box score with 13.

Second Half

Spotting Detroit 10 points? Not the best strategy. The second half started on a promising note, though, with a four-point play by Towns (plus three more buckets) in the first three minutes.

Every time the Knicks drove the lane—whether it was Towns, Anunoby, Brunson, or whoever—the Pistons collapsed and stuffed them. Consequently, the breakneck speed of the first half slowed due to an increase in foul calls, and New York began to get a more favorable whistle.

Anunoby did a good job guarding Cunningham, but when OG rested, the gates swung open.

Once again, the Knicks gave up too much ground at the end of a period. They fell behind by 13 down the stretch and went into the fourth quarter behind, 90-79. It would have been worse if Sochan—again playing the final minute—swatting back a driving Cunningham.

Brunson and Cunningham opened the quarter on the bench. The Knicks turned to Towns, Bridges, Hart, Alvarado, and Sochan, but early sloppiness stalled any push. Bridges threw it away, then missed a three-pointer, and Towns lost the ball after grabbing a defensive board. Meanwhile, the Pistons took a 19-point lead, capped by two Caris LeVert triples and a Daniss Jenkins’ bunny.

Midway through the frame, Brunson was back. He and Cunningham were dueling buckets. Coach Brown deployed Sochan again, gluing him to Cade. The newcomer had two steals and a block in five minutes. A line-up of Brunson, Shamet, Sochan, Anunoby, and Robinson was heavy on the defense, but Detroit’s was tougher. Brunson spun with a dribble right into Ausar Thompson’s arms. A potential Mitch dunk was blocked from behind by Paul Reed. And on one sequence, Harris and Cunningham both missed from deep, but Detroit’s relentless offensive rebounding brought the ball back to Cade for another attempt that finally found the net. With shenanigans like that, New York fell behind by 19.

With a minute-and-a-half left, Brunson hit a three to make the deficit 11, then stole the ball from Cunningham—but he bricked from deep, KAT blew the putback, Detroit scored at the other end, and all the air left the building. Ballgame.

Up Next

Matt Miranda’s comin’ at ya with a recap. Then the Houston Rockets come into MSG on Saturday. Rest up, Knickerbockers.

Box Score

* Should be one more, but Adam Silver robbed us.

All Times EST

Friday, Feb. 20

MLB - Spring Training

N.Y. Yankees vs. Baltimore at Sarasota, Fla., 1:05 p.m.

Chicago White Sox vs. Chicago Cubs at Mesa, Ariz., 3:05 p.m.

Kansas City vs. Texas at Surprise, Ariz., 3:05 p.m.

Arizona vs. Colorado at Scottsdale, Ariz., 3:10 p.m.

San Diego vs. Seattle at Peoria, Ariz., 3:10 p.m.

NBA

Cleveland at Charlotte, 7 p.m.

Indiana at Washington, 7 p.m.

Utah at Memphis, 7 p.m.

Dallas at Minnesota, 7:30 p.m.

Miami at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

Brooklyn at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.

Milwaukee at New Orleans, 8 p.m.

Denver at Portland, 10 p.m.

L.A. Clippers at L.A. Lakers, 10 p.m.

T25 MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

No. 18 Saint Louis vs. VCU, 7 p.m.

No. 7 Purdue vs. Indiana, 8 p.m.

No. 22 Miami (Ohio) vs. Bowling Green, 8:30 p.m.

_____

Pistons basketball is back – and Cade Cunningham is here to make an MVP run.

With Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart serving their suspensions from last week’s Charlotte game, Paul Reed and Tolu Smith were responsible for the 48 minutes at center.

Detroit started this one off looking they hadn’t played in more than a week while New York got out to a quick 9-2 run before the first JB Bickerstaff timeout. However, it didn’t take long until the owner of Madison Square Garden, James Dolan Cade Cunningham, decided it was time to put on a show. He had 14 of Detroit’s first 23 points and his only mishap was throwing a lob to Tolu Smith that only Jalen Duren could catch. The Pistons would take a 28-26 lead at the end of the first.

The second quarter featured two pretty assists early (and a dunk wedgie!) – one from Cade Cunningham through traffic to find Paul Reed for a dunk and the other from Ausar Thompson who put a two-handed rope into Tobias Harris’ chest for a knockdown corner three. Cade continued to get to his spots, finishing with eight more points in the final three minutes of the half. Detroit took a 58-48 lead at halftime behind 24 points from Cunningham.

New York clawed back and made it a 62-60 game until back-to-back Duncan Robinson threes made it 68-60. That’s when Cade turned his MVP mode on.

He had a sequence of eight straight points – bodied OG Anunoby for a layup, a midrange over OG, a poster on the entire Knicks team, and ended it with a heat check midrange. The only reason it didn’t continue was because he found Ron Holland for a wide open three. By the time it was the end of the quarter, Cade had 35 points and Detroit held a 90-79 lead.

Cunningham returned in the fourth and instantly found Javonte Green on the fastbreak with a two-handed bounce pass to give Woo an and-one dunk – it would give Cade his 10th assist of the night. Nobody on New York could guard Cunningham. At one point, they even tried recently acquired Jeremy Sochan and Cade absolutely cooked him with a stepback three for his 40th point.

To add to his MVP performance, he had three more assists before the final buzzer, including a lob to Daniss Jenkins and a needle-threader to Paul Reed on the roll. Detroit would finish with a 126-111 dominant victory over the New York Knicks.

I’m not exaggerating – this might’ve been the best basketball I’ve ever seen Cade Cunningham play. He finished with 42 points, eight rebounds, and 13 assists. He shot 17-for-34 from the field and 5-for-11 from deep. He always shows up when Detroit plays the Knicks, and with missing both key big men, Cade knew he had to put the team on his back and he delivered. It was a complete two-way performance as he scored at all three levels while also adding three stocks.

As good as Cade was, Paul Reed also deserves to be recognized tonight. He started in place of Jalen Duren and played 30 minutes. He finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and three blocks while shooting 7-for-9 from the field. Thank goodness for Bball Paul and his ability to be steadily consistent with inconsistent minutes.

I cannot recommend enough that you watch this beautiful performance on YouTube.

Give Cade the MVP trophy – tonight.

Go Stones.

The Knicks dropped the opener of their second half of the season against the Pistons on Thursday night by a score of 126-111, losing all three games against Detroit this season.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Things started off well for New York with Jalen Brunson welcoming his team back from the All-Star break by nailing a three-pointer to put the Knicks up early. Brunson was doing it all in the beginning, hitting his shots, getting to the line and dishing out assists like the one he had by finding Mikal Bridges for a deep two from the corner that caused the Pistons to call a timeout.

-- Meanwhile, Detroit struggled to get things going and started 1-for-10 from the field before Cade Cunningham hit a three, which seemed to be the catalyst the Pistons needed. From there, Cunningham took over and with the help of Tobias Harris and Paul Reed, Detroit had a 21-8 spurt that gave the Pistons a lead they held on to for the duration of the quarter.

-- New York kept things close after Jose Alvarado checked into the game, which drew a nice applause from the MSG crowd, and immediately made his presence felt both defensively and offensively. Still, Alvarado probably wishes he had one back with 26.4 seconds left in the opening quarter when he had an open lane on a fast break but decided to give the ball up to the trailing Brunson before running into a defender and getting called for an offensive charge. 

The quarter ended with Detroit up 28-26.

-- After trading baskets early in the second quarter to still be down by two, the offense for the Knicks just disappeared for nearly four minutes aside from some foul shots. But with the Pistons also struggling to find nylon during this time, New York's deficit remained steady. 

-- Shots on both sides finally started going in and after Brunson hit two free throws with just over a minute to play in the quarter to cut it to 51-48, it looked like the game would go into halftime in a similar spot. However, Detroit ended the quarter on a 7-0 run in 62 seconds and held its largest lead of the night going into the locker rooms at 58-48. Cunningham was the biggest star and led all scorers with 24 first-half points.

-- As for the Knicks, following the Pistons' poor shooting start in the early going, it was New York who couldn't buy a three-pointer all throughout the first half, going 0-for-15 from downtown after Brunson's make to start the game. Other than Brunson (13 points), no other Knick scored in double-digits.

-- That at least changed after the break, with Karl-Anthony Towns getting way more involved in the offense and helping New York get back to within two early in the quarter and scoring 12 points in the frame, although he was subbed out for four minutes and didn't score again in the quarter once coming back in.

-- Without Towns, Brunson took control of the offense but had to contend with Cunningham, who continued his incredible offensive performance and matched Brunson at every turn to help Detroit outscore the Knicks, 32-31, in the quarter and head into the fourth with an 11-point lead.

-- Desperate for help offensively, New York couldn't find it anywhere with OG Anunoby and Bridges combining for 16 points, although Anunoby did have four blocks on the defensive side. The biggest aid to Brunson's 33 points, other than Towns, who finished with 21 points, came from Landry Shamet, who had 15 points in 28 minutes off the bench. The Knicks shot 23 percent from three-point range.

-- Regardless, Cunningham stole the show with his 42-point, 13-assist and eight-rebound night, which was his best game against New York this season, in which the Pistons swept the season series, 3-0.

-- Jeremy Sochan made his Knicks debut and had two points, one assist, one steal and one block in nine minutes.

Game MVP: Cade Cunningham

Cunningham dominated New York from the jump and imposed his will whenever he wanted.

What's next

The Knicks host the Houston Rockets on Saturday night with tip scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 17 points, James Harden added 16 and the Cleveland Cavaliers routed the Brooklyn Nets 112-84 on Thursday night to extend their winning streak to a season-high six games.

The Cavaliers have also won five straight at home and 11 of their last 12 overall. It was the second straight game and sixth time this season they haven’t trailed in a game.

It was the start of five games in seven days for Cleveland. With a 102-67 lead at the end of the third quarter, head coach Kenny Atkinson rested his starters for the final 12 minutes.

Michael Porter Jr. had 14 points and Ochai Agbaji had13 for Brooklyn, which is 5-20 since Dec. 29.

Harden and Mitchell were in sync early. Harden got a steal off a bad pass by Brooklyn’s Noah Clowney and started a fast break. He lobbed a pass to Mitchell for an alley-oop that gave the Cavaliers a 14-3 lead.

Harden made his first six from the field, including three three-pointers. He also had nine assists and five rebounds. Mitchell was 7 of 12 from the field.

Cleveland was up by 18 points at the end of the first quarter. Jarrett Allen scored 10 of his 15 points in the first 12 minutes.

The Cavaliers shot a season-best 64.2 percent from the field in the first half (27 of 42) and had a 70-48 advantage at halftime.

Cleveland’s largest lead of the game and the season was 43 points (102-59) late in the third quarter.

Evan Mobley and Dean Wade returned to the Cleveland lineup. Mobley, the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, missed seven games due to a left calf strain and scored 10 points with nine rebounds. Wade had 10 points, including three three-pointers, after being sidelined for three games due to a sprained left ankle.

Up next

Nets: At Oklahoma City on Friday night.

Cavaliers: At Charlotte on Friday night.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Johnson had 32 points and 10 rebounds and CJ McCollum added 23 points as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 117-107 on Thursday night in the teams' first game after the All-Star break.

Dyson Daniels finished with 15 points, Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 14, and Zaccharie Risacher and Jock Landale each had 10 as the Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak with their third win over Philadelphia this season.

Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points and Rising Stars MVP VJ Edgecombe added 20 for the Sixers, who were without center Joel Embiid, who missed the game due to soreness in his right shin.

Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 17 points and Quentin Grimes scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half for Philly. Andre Drummond contributed 10 points and 14 rebounds as the Sixers lost their third in a row and for the fourth time in five games.

The Hawks built an 11 point lead with approximately six minutes remaining before the Sixers charged back and closed within 108-104 with less than three minutes left. Atlanta closed the game with a 9-3 run that included five points by Johnson, who shot 14 for 16 from the line.

The 76ers said Embiid experienced soreness in his shin while participating in a right knee injury management program over the break. After consulting with doctors, Embiid has received daily treatment, while progressing through on-court work and strength and conditioning.

Coach Nick Nurse said before the game against the Hawks that the plan is to get Embiid on the court on Friday and “see how he looks from there.” Nurse said he “don’t anticipate it being a long time.”

Embiid is averaging 26.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 31 games this season.

Up next

Hawks: Host Miami Heat on Friday.

76ers: At New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

The Washington Wizards emerged victorious 112-105 over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday in the battle of the East’s bottom feeders at Capital One Arena.

In a game with massive draft lottery implications, the Wizards took control for most of the contest. After a back-and-forth first quarter, Washington closed out the first half with a 17-6 run, taking a 59-47 advantage into the break. Tristan Vukcevic paced the Wiz with all 12 of his points coming before halftime.

Bilal Coulibaly came out motivated to start the second half, scoring or assisting on Washington’s first 11 points to help his team take a 17-point lead — the largest of the game. He also completed a pretty sweet pick-six for a slam.

The Pacers battled back with a 24-9 run to get within two points. A strong close to the quarter from the Wizards’ bench mob brought the lead back to 88-80 heading into the final period. Jaden Hardy, Alondis Williams, and Kadary Richmond all gave fans a glimpse of what they can do.

Washington nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, as Indiana retook the lead midway through the fourth quarter with a 17-6 wave. But the Wizards countered with a 14-0 stretch to seal the victory, buoyed by some big shots from Bub Carrington and Anthony Gill.

Seven different players scored in double figures in this one. Carrington, Gill, Kadary Richmond, and Jaden Hardy all tied for the team lead with 13 apiece.

The Wizards and Pacers do it all again Friday, with the loser leaving with the crown for the worst record in the East.

The Cleveland Cavaliers obliterated the Brooklyn Nets 112-84 in their first game back from the All-Star break. Let’s see who won the night.

WINNER – James Harden’s Creation

Advantage creation is probably the single most important trait in basketball. Can you beat a defense and get them into rotation? For James Harden, that’s as intuitive as it gets.

Brooklyn looked hopeless trying to contain Harden tonight. He picked them apart on every possession, dishing in the pick-and-roll, throwing lobs to his teammates, scoring at the rim, and nailing step-back three-pointers. Harden finished the first half with 13 points (5-5 shooting), 6 assists, and only 1 turnover.

Harden dissects the defense as good as anyone. His control of the Cavaliers’ offense kept them three steps ahead of the Nets all night long. And while his playmaking makes everyone around him better (especially Jarrett Allen), it’s important not to forget that Harden can score in bunches himself. This dual threat makes Harden the perfect co-partner for Donovan Mitchell. More on that later.

We’ve all seen Cleveland’s offense at its best when the ball is flowing. But that cascading effect of drive, kick, and relocate can only begin if someone causes the defense to break down in the first place. Harden has gotten the Cavs offense out of the mud, back on the track, and speeding to the front of the league.

WINNER – Keon Ellis

The Cavs have always needed a player like Keon Ellis. A fearless and athletic role player who can make things happen on both ends of the floor.

Within seconds of entering the game, Ellis put the ball on the floor, attacked a closeout and threw down a two-hand poster dunk. Shortly after, he scrambled to the corner and blocked a Brooklyn three-point attempt at its release. Later in the same quarter, Ellis buried a catch-and-shoot three-pointer.

I don’t think you can ask for much more than that.

“I’m not sure I’ve seen that in the league,” said Kenny Aktinson after the game. “Getting into the passing lane, he had three blocks tonight, it’s like, I knew that was part of the statistical profile, but to see it live is impressive.“

Ellis is a chaotic defender who has already shown a knack for disrupting plays. Whether it’s swiping down on drives, darting into passing lanes, or blocking unsuspecting shooters. All the while, he’s making an impact as a floor spacer and attacking off the dribble when he gets an opportunity.

WINNER -That Harden to Mitchell Lob

Did we mention something about Harden and Mitchell co-existing?

Early in the first quarter, we got our first Harden to Mitchell alley-oop. And, well, it was better than anyone could have expected.

I wasn’t sure what Harden’s plan was when he stole the ball and accelerated into the open court. It looked like Brooklyn’s defense might stop him at half court or force him into a difficult shot at the rim. But then, Harden threw the ball up into the rafters, and somehow timed it perfectly with Mitchell’s jump to guide him right to the rim for an alley-oop finish.

I can’t say enough about how difficult this pass was. Throwing a lob this gentle after bursting around a defender is the type of thing that only players like Harden are capable of doing at this level.

WINNER — Jarrett Allen (and Evan Mobley)

The Fro has dominated February.

Now, I want to be clear that Allen was already starting to dominate teams before Harden joined the team. This isn’t all because of The Beard.

But, having an elite pick-and-roll partner has only magnified Allen’s increased aggression. He’s been a beast in the paint for a full month now. Tonight, the Nets simply had no solution for him. Allen scored 15 points and earned 10 free throws in the first half.

Harden’s vision in the pick-and-roll has simplified everything. He’s delivering the ball to Allen on time and in motion. Throwing the ball into open space has forced Allen to be aggressive in going after it. From there, all that JA’s had to do is catch and go up with a layup or dunk.

“It’s almost like a quarterback leading a receiver, you catch it in stride,” said Atkinson.

The PNR is great, but Allen has done even more than that. He’s lurked in the dunker’s spot and been rewarded with dump-off passes. He’s buried his defenders in the post with deep-seals to punish mismatches. And, of course, he’s still a defensive anchor on the other end. Whatever you ask of him, Allen is doing it.

Atkinson said before the game that Allen has “opened his eyes” to new possibilities — and he wants to keep him as a focal point of the offense. With the way he’s played, I’m inclined to agree. It would be a mistake to rein him in now.

I also want to shout out Evan Mobley, who returned from a calf strain tonight. He moved well and found an immediate connection with Harden in the PNR. Similar to Allen, Mobley will benefit from having the ball force-fed to him while running to the rim. There’s less to think about when you’re catching with an advantage. Harden’s passing ensures Mobley can avoid aimlessly probing and instead dominate with his athleticism.

The Atlanta Hawks were back from the All-Star break, and they had a matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers. So far this season, the Hawks have had the 76ers’ number, and they were looking to add on that success in this matchup. The Hawks were healthy coming into the game, except for Jonathan Kuminga, who will be re-evaluated in a week.

As for the 76ers, they were without Joel Embiid.

Onyeka Okongwu used his vision early to find Jalen Johnson on the other end of the floor.

Dyson Daniels was in attack mode early in the quarter, and found some ways to get some easy points in the paint.

Both teams traded buckets throughout the entire quarter, and the Hawks led 28-26 going into the second.

The Hawks kept the ball movement going to start the second.

CJ McCollum did what he does best on this play, and it’s getting buckets.

The Hawks started to find a rhythm later down the stretch of the second, and it was what they were doing in transition that helped them pull away.

They kept piling up the points, and they had their biggest lead of 10 at one point in the quarter. Going into halftime, the Hawks led 60-53.

Okongwu got it started for the Hawks in the third with this nice layup.

The Hawks turned defense into offense on this play, and got an easy two points to extend their lead.

Zaccharie Risacher got up for this putback slam, and the bench got up as well.

The 76ers stayed around and made sure the Hawks didn’t pull away with their lead. Nickeil Alexander-Walker used his shiftiness to get this layup to go.

Going into the fourth quarter, the Hawks led 88-84. McCollum continued his solid night to start the quarter, knocking down this three-pointer.

Okongwu got this putback layup to go in.

Alexander-Walker put this three-pointer in to give the Hawks a double-digit lead.

Risacher got up again for another putback.

Of course, the 76ers tried to make their last effort to come back, but the Hawks were able to execute down the stretch on both sides of the floor to keep their lead, and ultimately win the game.

Johnson finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, McCollum finished with 23 points, Daniels finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Alexander-Walker finished with 14 points.

The Hawks will be back in action tomorrow against the Miami Heat.

So, who forgot to tell the Sixers the All-Star break ended?

Philadelphia dropped their first game after the break 117-107 to the Atlanta Hawks Thursday night.

Tyrese Maxey had some flashy highlights amidst a sluggish shooting night, leading the Sixers with 28 shooting 8-of-23 from the floor. VJ Edgecombe, off of strong first and fourth quarters, finished with 20 points and nine rebounds going 7-of-15 from the field.

Kelly Oubre Jr. also struggled from the field but did what he could from the line putting up 17 points shooting 4-of-13 from the floor and 9-of-11 on free throws. Jalen Johnson led all scorers with 32.

Joel Embiid missed his third straight game, this time with right shin soreness while the Hawks were without Jonathan Kuminga with a bone bruise in his knee.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• Maxey opened the game by darting to the rim, spinning around a defender to finish a layup, but cooled off missing his next four shots. Edgecombe made his first three shots of the night attacking off the dribble, but also had the ball ripped away from him on multiple drives as well.
• Despite the aggression from the Sixers’ backcourt, it was not the prettiest start with a stoppage in the game seemingly happening every 10 seconds. Edgecombe was the only player on the floor who looked remotely comfortable offensively with both teams hovering below 40% from the field.
• After going nearly five minutes without a field goal the Sixers’ offense was able to string a couple half decent possessions together. Trendon Watford was a big reason, getting himself on the board with a drive before collapsing the defense on another, leading to an open Maxey three. Giving up seven second-chance points had the Sixers in a hole, but Edgecombe closed the gap with a long buzzer beater that trimmed the Hawks lead to two.

Second Quarter

• Cam Payne checked in for his first Sixers minutes since the 2024 playoffs at the start of the quarter. He missed his first shot of the night but picked up three quick assists, all of which were setting up Quentin Grimes jumpers. He did a fine job of table setting while also avoiding being dunked through the rim by Corey Kispert on the other end.

• A big reason this game had an ugly feel to it was that the Sixers were not able to defend without fouling — they put the Hawks at the line 25 times in the half. Some of those were definitely “make him earn it” fouls by Sixers defenders who had gotten beat, which wasn’t the worst idea in the world given the Hawks missed five of their free-throw attempts.
• It was from the line that Atlanta did most of their damage, but Johnson did get going as the half closed. His length gave him an advantage over basically any Sixer that wasn’t Dominick Barlow as he put up 17 in the half. The Sixers’ offense looked rudderless, struggling to create any space off the dribble. On top of cold shooting, Maxey was making some uncharacteristically poor decisions with the basketball, lucky to only have one turnover. They went into the break trailing by seven.

Third Quarter

• Unfortunately for the Sixers, not much looked different to start the second half either. The Hawks continued to push their way to the basket while Maxey continued to throw the ball over the backboard. He did finish a potential momentum-swinging play when he got a give-and-go and slammed it hard over Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

• He was able to momentarily capitalize on that, hitting a stepback three on the following possession. The offense would stall again, going another four minutes without a field goal, but with Oubre continually getting to the line the Sixers were able to slowly chip away at the lead.
• Now on a standard contract, Jabari Walker was able to play in his first game since Feb. 3. He gave the Sixers a much needed shot in the arm when he picked off an errant pass right after burying a corner three, finishing the fast break by throwing a no-look pass to Adem Bona. They could just never string enough quality possessions together though. Maxey hit a quick three to give them a shot at a 2-for-1, but Grimes and Payne did their best to give the ball away on the following possession. That left the Sixers down by four heading into the fourth.

Fourth Quarter

• It makes sense why the Sixers struggled with Johnson from a physical standpoint, but their inability to stop CJ McCollum was much more concerning. They just bit on every single one of his fakes, helping the seasoned vet get to the line time after time while hardly breaking a sweat.
• He had really gone passive for the middle stretch of the game, but the Sixers were again at a point where Edgecombe was the only one who could buy a jumper to fall. A big problem, especially when he picked up his fifth foul with over five minutes remaining in the game. So many Sixers drives were just dead on arrival, driving into too many defenders that were too set and too tall to get around.
• Another thing the Sixers weren’t able to do all night was get out and run. They had just 13 fast break points on the Hawks’ first 12 turnovers. Two straight blocked shots allowed them to do so, the first by Andre Drummond and the second by Maxey. It wasn’t much, but with the Hawks not putting the game away those two fast break baskets got the Sixers and crowd right back into the game.

• Up by four, McCollum seemed to get away with a travel, nailing a floater to get the lead back up to six. Grimes followed that up with a bad midrange jumper, one that was heavily contested. After Johnson split a pair at the line, Maxey also took an ill-advised pull-up, which essentially put the game away for the night. This game was there for them to grab all night, they just couldn’t take it .