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Knicks overcome poor shooting, foul trouble to beat 76ers 108-102 in Game 2

Game 2 between the Knicks and 76ers on Wednesday night in Madison Square Garden was not a pretty game. At times, it was a downright ugly game with 43 fouls called, 31 turnovers, one flagrant foul, and one technical foul. Yet, when the final whistle blew, the Knicks had secured a hard-fought 108-102 win to secure a 2-0 series lead.

In many ways, this was not a game the Knicks should have won. They shot just 27% from beyond the arc, while the 76ers shot 38%. Jalen Brunson was only 9-for-21 from the field for 26 points with three turnovers. Foul trouble limited Karl-Anthony Towns to just eight minutes in the first half and 27 minutes in the game, and OG Anunoby seemed to get hurt with three minutes left and the Knicks up by six.

At most points in the regular season, that would have been enough to cause the Knicks to lose focus and let the game slip away, but not the playoff version of the Knicks.

Something happened to the Knicks after their Game 3 loss to the Hawks in round one of the playoffs. Maybe being down in the series finally crystallized how quickly this season could be over. Maybe they got a sense of the failed promise it would leave in its wake. Maybe they were just slow in adjusting to the elevated pace and physicality of the playoffs.

Whatever it is, something woke up inside the Knicks after that game, and this simply hasn’t been the same team since. It’s not just that they’ve won five games in a row. It’s not just that they’ve posted two of the most lopsided wins in playoff history. It’s that no matter what the opposition throws at them, they’ve been able to adjust their offensive approach and find a way to attack a different weakness.

On Wednesday, the Knicks had to adjust to a version of the 76ers that was operating at a faster, more frenetic pace. With Joel Embiid forced to miss Game 2 with ankle and hip injuries, the 76ers came out with their eye on fire, turning their offense fully over to their two young guards, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, the way they did early on in this season. From the jump, it was immediately clear that the 76ers would play faster without Embiid. On offense, they spread the Knicks out wide and didn't worry about making sure Andre Drummond had touches. They attacked the paint off the wing and either tried to finish at the rim or kick to shooters if the Knicks closed out. It’s similar to the style of offense the Knicks have been playing during their four-game winning streak.

As a result, Philadelphia made their first six shots of the game, including three threes, and raced out to a 15-8 lead. The 76ers had just three fastbreak points in all of Game 1. They had more than that by the end of the first quarter in Game 2 and had eight at the half. However, they would also finish with eight fastbreak points.

As they've done throughout this winning streak, the Knicks adjusted defensively. They cut off the 76ers' fastbreak attacks and pestered their ballhandlers with constant pressure. If the 76ers were going to run their offense through the perimeter, then the Knicks were going to force those guards to hold onto the ball despite somebody being all over them. It's a big reason that Maxey, who led the 76ers with 26 points and six assists, also had six turnovers on the day.

The Knicks also clamped down late in the game on Paul George, who was tremendous for the 76ers to start the game. George led both teams with five three-pointers, including two in the first quarter when he scored eight of the 76ers’ first 10 points of the game. At the end of the third quarter, George had 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting and had knocked down five-of-11 from three. By the end of the fourth quarter, George had 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting. In fact, the 76ers as a team did not make a field goal in the final seven-plus minutes of the game.

While the 76ers started hot and finished the game cold, the Knicks were ice cold from beyond the arc the entire game. In the Knicks’ four-game playoff winning streak coming into Wednesday, they had made 57-of-130 (43.8%) from three-point range. At some point, the Knicks’ shots were not going to keep falling at the rate they had been. That time was tonight. They shot 2-of-7 from three in the first quarter and continued to get and miss good looks throughout the game, finishing just 7-of-26 from deep.

With their shots not falling, they needed to find another way to win.

Early on, it seemed like that would be using Towns on the perimeter to attack a much slower Drummond. The Knicks’ big man hit two quick shots and dished out two assists in the first quarter, but then the fouls came. With a little over seven minutes gone in the first quarter, Towns picked up his second foul while challenging a Quentin Grimes drive. With Mitchell Robinson out for the game with an illness, Knicks coach Mike Brown had to turn to Ariel Hukporti again. The German big man quickly picked up three fouls of his own within two minutes of entering the game, and the Knicks had to turn to late-season free agent signing Jeremy Sochan as their center.

The fouls would continue to be far too big a story in this game. In fact, there were so many fouls that Madison Square Garden PA announcer Mike Walczewski seemed to lose his voice in the second half.

At the end of the first quarter, the 76ers had been called for seven fouls, and the Knicks had six. With three minutes left in the second quarter, the 76ers still had seven fouls, and the Knicks had 14. With 2:37 left in the second quarter, Adem Bona was called for a foul for running into Josh Hart from behind, and the Madison Square Garden erupted in a cheer so loud you’d think Brunson had hit a game-winner. By the time the third quarter ended, the 76ers had been called for 19 fouls, and the Knicks had been called for 17. All in all, the number of whistles created a fragmented and stagnant game that too often disrupted the rhythm of the offenses.

That was easier to see with the Knicks.

With their offensive hub, Towns, on the bench for long periods of time, the Knicks' fast-paced offense started to feel a little frenetic. Players cut into the same spots. Passes were hurried. Shots were frequently off-balance. Still, the Knicks keep pushing.

They abandoned using a big man altogether and used Josh Hart at the five. They used that small-ball lineup to continue trying to get out in transition. They were able to string together stops and turn them into quick fastbreak layups. Their shots from beyond the arc weren’t falling, so they kept attacking the basket, cutting hard from the wings and attacking a weak middle of the 76ers' defense. On the day, they had 15 points in transition to the 76ers’ six and 56 points in the paint to the 76ers’ 30.

With Brunson not shooting as efficiently early in the game, and Towns on the bench in foul trouble, the Knicks spread the offense around. They had nine players score in this game, and four players scored at least 18 points. Towns would wind up with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, continuing his per-minute dominance in the playoffs. Mikael Bridges wound up with 18 points and five rebounds, while OG Anunoby added 24 points, five rebounds, four steals, and two assists.

It was a tremendous team win for a team that has continued to rise to the occasion this postseason. It seems that their next challenge may be trying to find a way to win without Anunoby, who came up hobbled while cutting to the basket with a little over three minutes left in the game. He would collect himself and attempt a dunk on the same possession, but he quickly motioned to the bench, was taken out of the game, and headed immediately to the locker room.

While the Knicks didn't have information about the extent of Anunoby's injury at the end of the game, there are only two days before the teams take the court again on Friday in Philadelphia. If Anunoby isn't out there for the Knicks, it will be a huge obstacle to overcome. The wing came into tonight's game averaging 21 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 1.1 blocks, and 1.1 assists in seven games this postseason while emerging as one of the best two-way forwards in the NBA.

For a team that has proven they can change the way they attack in order to pull out a win, playing without Anunoby may be one of the biggest adjustments the Knicks will need to make.

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Cubs BCB After Dark: Would you risk trading for Tarik Skubal?

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 29: Tarik Skubal #29 of the Detroit Tigers pitches in the second inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on April 29, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images

It’s Wednesday night here at BCB After Dark: the hippest hangout for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in for a while. We always have a seat for a friend, new or old. There’s no cover charge. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last night I asked you what was your favorite home run of the season, so far? Fifty-eight percent of you picked Conforto’s walk-off, and that was to be expected. Another 22 percent picked Dansby Swanson’s two-run home run in the top of the ninth in Los Angeles that ended up beating the Dodgers. But in truth, the poll was just a good excuse to relive some terrific highlights of the 2026 season. So far, of course.

The Cubs won their eighth in a row tonight, 7-6 over the Reds in ten innings. It was their third-straight walkoff and their 14th-straight home win. I think that calls for Judy.

Here’s the part with the music and the movies. You’re free to skip that if you want. You won’t hurt my feelings.

Tonight we are honored to have jazz guitarist Julian Lage join us from Tokyo and the summer of 2025. Joining Lage is Jorge Roeder on bass and Dave King on drums.

Before I we go on, I want to acknowledge the passing of former Atlanta Braves owner (and manager!) Ted Turner. There are a lot of obituaries out there and I’m sure you can find one on your own. But I want to take a moment to thank him for the creation of Turner Classic Movies, which is the greatest gift anyone has ever given to the cinephile community.

While much of the credit for what TCM is today should go to the people Turner hired to run the place, including longtime host Robert Osborne, it was Turner’s vision that created it. Turner bought the rights to a whole library of films, mostly from MGM, to show on his TBS Superstation in the eighties. More films than he could possibly show on a channel that also had Braves games and television reruns. Although he rightly got criticized for some of the early stuff that he did with those films, such as the colorization debate of the eighties, eventually he decided these films needed to be seen somewhere. So in 1994, Turner Classic Movies was launched as a commercial-free, uncut movie channel. Yes, they showed big hits like Turner’s favorite film Gone With the Wind, but they also showed tons of more obscure films that had mostly been forgotten. Nothing has been more instrumental in the preservation and distribution of the history of cinema than TCM.

People smarter than me have said that you can get a film school education just by watching Turner Classic Movies, free with your cable or satellite subscription. If you ask me how I know so much about movies, I certainly have read some books and listened to the commentary tracks on the physical media I buy. I have a Criterion Channel subscription as well. But mostly, I just watch a lot of TCM. So thanks, Ted.

Moving on. Last night, I watched my first Nancy Reagan movie, the 1950 noirShadow on the Wall, directed by Patrick Jackson. I’ve seen plenty of films featuring Ronnie, but this is the first film I’ve ever seen with a future First Lady in it. Obviously Nancy’s career, under her maiden name of Nancy Davis, was not as extensive as Ronnie’s, who was a much-in-demand supporting actor during his career. But Nancy does a fine job in Shadow on the Wall, even if it’s not in a terribly challenging role.

To be clear, Nancy Reagan is not the star of Shadow on the Wall. The film stars Ann Sothern, Zachary Scott and Gigi Perreau in a potboiler noir about a man, David Starrling (Scott), falsely convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of his wife. The only witness who can clear his name is his eight-year-old daughter Susan (Perreau), who has unfortunately blocked out the memory of the whole event because of the trauma. Davis (and I suppose I should call Nancy Reagan “Nancy Davis” from this point on) is in a supporting role as the psychologist trying to help Susan overcome her trauma and recover her memory.

The setup of Shadow on the Wall is that David’s wife Celia (Kristine Miller) is cheating on him with the fiancé of her sister Dell (Sothern). David confronts Celia about the affair and Celia, wrongly thinking David is going to kill her (don’t ask), hits him over the head and knocks him out. Meanwhile, Dell has jealousy issues with her sister and the affair with her fiancé was the last straw. While David is out cold, Dell shoots and kills her sister. Little Susan sees all of this from the hallway, but the trauma of the event forces it from her memory.

As far as the police are concerned, Celia and David were the only ones in the room. David wakes up with no memory of what happened and assumes the police are telling the truth when they tell him he murdered his wife. He’s tried, convicted, and given the death sentence.

Davis shows up now as Dr. Caroline Canford, a child psychologist who tries to help Susan get through the trauma of seeing her mother murdered. In order to do that, she needs to get her to remember what happened. To be clear, Dr. Canford is not doing this to find out who really killed Celia, at least not at first. She’s just trying to get Susan through her PTSD (although she calls it “shell shock” in the terminology of the time). But eventually as Susan begins to remember more and more, the doctor starts to suspect that maybe David may be innocent and that only Susan can save her father’s life.

Meanwhile, Sothern’s Dell needs to stop Susan from regaining her memory. As the girl’s closest-living relative (other than her father on death row), she puts on the charm offensive to try to get custody of her, which would make it all that much easier for Dell to kill Susan. So yeah, Sothern has the really good role here—playing a psychopath who murders her sister, lets her brother-in-law take the rap for her and is now trying to murder her niece. She plays it well and certainly Dell has some qualms about murdering her niece at first. But she’s so petrified of going to the chair herself that any moral issues she has slowly disappear as she becomes a monster. Dell’s first murder was just a crime of passion. Her attempts to murder Susan are just cold-blooded evil.

Gigi Perreau has the only other really good part here as Susan. Yes, there’s a kind of artificiality to the way her character is written and she’s certainly too articulate for an eight-year old trauma patient. But that’s the way all kids in movies were written at the time. She’s better than most child actors of the era.

As far as Nancy Davis goes, she’s fine? Good, even? Her psychologist character really has only one emotional state, concern and curiosity. There’s not a lot of range here, and that’s on the script. But she’s certainly believable as a concerned child psychologist and she handles the mid-century psychologist tropes with ease. This was Davis’ first big film role and were I watching this in 1950, I’d come away saying that she’s got a future as a fine character actress. Maybe she did.

At no point did she ever tell Susan to “Just Say No,” in case you were wondering.

Watching Shadow on the Wall reminded how much the theories of Freud was a major part of mid-century culture. The entire plot of Shadow on the Wall is about repressed memories and working towards catharsis.

Shadows on the Wall is a decent noir, not a great one. If you like shadows in your noir, then they’re a major plot point here, as you might deduce from the title. But the biggest reasons to watch it is Sothern’s great performance as a murderess and because you want to see what kind of an actress Nancy Reagan was.

Shadow on the Wall is available on HBO Max.

The trailer for Shadow on the Wall. Since Nancy Davis was an unknown when this film was released, she’s barely in this trailer. You can get a quick glimpse of the future First Lady at the 42 second mark.

Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.

The Tigers got bad news as the co-Best Pitcher on the Planet™ Tarik Skubal is going to have surgery to remove bone chips from his left elbow. The Tigers are not putting a timetable on his return, but the normal timeframe on this is 2 to 3 months.

This is just another twist to one of the biggest storylines of the season. This is Skubal’s walk year and he was likely looking at a $400 million contract on the free agent market this upcoming winter. Because of that high number, many thought the wisest course of action was for the Tigers to trade Skubal last winter rather than let him leave this winter for just a draft pick. However, understandably the Tigers didn’t do that. They made the playoffs as a Wild Card last year and advanced to the Division Series. They lost that when Seattle won the winner-take-all Game 5 in the 15th inning. It wasn’t unreasonable to think that, with Skubal, the Tigers could make the playoffs again and have a decent chance to make it to the World Series.

Skubal’s injury puts a dent in those plans. As I write this, the Tigers are a game under .500. Of course, in the weak AL Central, that puts them in a tie for first place. As long as the Tigers are in spitting distance of the playoffs, they’re not going to trade Skubal at the deadline. Fangraphs gives them a 57 percent chance of making the playoffs, although I don’t think that number takes the Skubal injury into consideration.

But let’s assume that the Tigers do fall out of the playoff hunt in July and they decide to trade Skubal. There’s no guarantee of that, but it’s possible. The problem is, it’s unlikely that Skubal will be back on the mound before they have to make that decision. Yes, if Skubal comes back in exactly two months, that would have him return in early July with three weeks to go before the deadline.

The problem is that there is no reason to think Skubal will only be out the minimum. In fact, it’s in both the Tigers’ and Skubal’s best interests to make sure he’s 100% before he takes the mound. For the Tigers, if they have any chance of making some noise in October, they need Skubal at full strength for the playoffs. He gives them a chance to win any series, but only if he doesn’t re-injure himself trying to come back early.

For Skubal, he’s got about 400 million reasons to make sure he doesn’t re-injure himself before he hits the market this winter. He also wants to look good in every start he has left in Detroit.

So assuming that the Tigers decide to trade Skubal and assuming that he doesn’t make it off the injured list before the trade deadline, are you still willing to give the Tigers a haul for Skubal? This assumes that the medical prognosis is that Skubal is likely to return to the mound sometime around Labor Day, or at least before the playoffs. Of course, with injuries, there are no guarantees.

So the risk of trading for Skubal is that you have to give up multiple Top 100 prospects for maybe a month of the regular season and the playoffs of the co-Best Pitcher on the Planet™. The upside is that Skubal returns to what he was before the injury and he becomes the ace the team needs in the playoffs. He starts a few must-win games and the Cubs’ chances of winning the World Series goes way up.

The downside is that he comes back and he’s not the pitcher that he was before surgery. Or worse, he doesn’t come back at all or he comes back and injures himself again and doesn’t pitch in the playoffs. Then he leaves for a $400 million contract with the Dodgers or Yankees when the season ends. The Cubs farm system gets stripped for a bag of magic beans.

Any team that trades for Skubal is going to be buying what’s behind door number three without knowing if it’s a new car or a zonk.

It’s impossible to guess what it would cost in trade capital to acquire Skubal without knowing how his recovery is going. But the Tigers aren’t going to give him away cheap. The price, I would think, begins with two top 100 prospects. For the Cubs, that means something like Jaxon Wiggins and Pedro Ramírez. Or maybe Josiah Hartshorn and Jefferson Rojas. Since those players are closer to the bottom of the top 100 lists than the mid-section, there might be another throw-in prospect, but let’s just take it as two top 100 prospects for now. All this for a guy who is almost certain to leave after the season and for whom the Cubs will only be able to hope that he’ll be back to Cy Young form by October.

The cost would be high. The risk factor is high. The payoff is potentially huge. Would you make that kind of deal?

Thank you to everyone who stopped by tonight and all week. I appreciate every one of you who takes the time to join us. Please get home safely. Call a ride if you need to. Don’t forget any personal items. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next week for more BCB After Dark.

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Knicks 108, 76ers 102: “No matter who wins, this is such a p*** poor reffed game.”

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 6: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks drives to the basket during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers during Round Two Game Two of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on May 6, 2026 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

To quote SwissCheez, “another no call, surprising.” And Knicksyism: “No foul…” And rcnt123: “No matter who wins, this is such a piss-poor reffed game.” Excessive complaining about lopsided officiating is generally considered uncouth, especially if your team wins. Hence, we apologize for what follows.

New York made history on Monday. In defeating Philadelphia by 39 points, they became the first NBA team to win three straight playoff games by 25 or more. Tonight, a not-so-invisible hand seemed to be at work, ensuring that Game Two of the Eastern Conference semifinals would keep eyeballs glued longer. The skeptics among you will retort that Philly collected three more fouls tonight, but the whistles didn’t even out until well into the second half. Yet despite the thumb on the scale, the hosts trailed by only one point at halftime, 62–61, and by one after three quarters, 90–89. The game had 25 lead changes, but down the stretch, New York’s talent shone through, the Cheesesteaks were gassed, and the Knicks won, 108–102.

Each team was down a big man tonight. Philly started Andre Drummond in place of Joel Embiid, nursing a sore ankle/hip, and illness sidelined New York’s Mitchell Robinson. Both players underwhelmed in the previous game. Both will surely play larger roles as this series grinds on.

Through the initial frame, the score swung back and forth. The hosts inched ahead, but poor long-range shooting and one-and-dones allowed the guests to mount an 8-0 run. New York responded with a 10-2 stretch. And so on.

All-Star veteran Paul George (19 PTS, 5-13 3PT), playing his 123rd playoff game, scored 11 of Philly’s first 13 points. Meanwhile, one of New York’s All-Stars, Karl-Anthony Towns (20 PTS, 10 RBS), took his lumps. First, Towns knocked knees with VJ Edgecombe (17 PTS), and then Kelly Oubre, Jr. (19 PTS) karate-chopped him on a drive. The whack was reviewed and deemed a flagrant foul in a rare gesture of goodwill by the umpires. (KAT made a free throw and then cashed in the possession with a finger-roll layup.)

Philly’s coach Nick Nurse schemed to put Towns in foul trouble and succeeded. Picking up his second at the 4:30 mark, Karl was swapped for Ariel Hukporti. Nurse had a scheme for Jalen Brunson (26 PTS, 9-21 FG, 41 MIN), too. The captain scored 14 points in the first quarter of Monday’s blowout; tonight, Oubre and Edgecombe took turns guarding him and held the captain to nine points in the opening period. After multiple contested misses, Jalen finally connected on a field goal (a 25-foot pull-up) with 1:30 left.

Before the quarter ended, Hukporti collected his third foul (in four minutes). Mike Brown had to dust off Jeremy Sochan, who mercifully kept his hands to himself. At the break, the guests led 33-31 thanks to making 6-of-9 from downtown.

Just when we thought Karl was cured. . . . In the first minute of Q2, Towns committed a forehead-slapping foul on Tyrese Maxey (26 PTS, 9-23 FG, 47 MIN). That sent the Knick to the bench again, right after scoring on a sweet floater. Josh Hart (7 RBS, 6 AST, 3 STL) replaced him, giving New York a center-less, small-ball lineup.

The refs definitely worked hard to keep this game competitive in the first half. Tony Brothers et al. whistled 14 fouls on New York and 10 on Philly. On one damnable sequence, the Knicks grabbed two offensive boards while missing three shots, and in that muddy mess, Drummond committed at least one foul that went uncalled. Close games are better for business, obviously.

Even with Maxey cooking, the Sixers sinking treys at an efficient clip, and the refs playing favorites, the Knicks kept the game close. When Hukporti recorded foul number four (at the 4:47 mark), Brown had to go small again with Brunson, Landry Shamet, Mikal Bridges (18 PTS, 9-13 FG), Hart, and OG Anunoby. This quintet promptly scored six points and knotted up the game at 54 apiece. Anunoby, playing the best playoff basketball of his career, finished with 24 points, five rebounds, four steals, a block, and a team-high +12.

On a subsequent possession, Josh got clobbered, yet managed to sink his layup (no whistle). Then, Brunson got whomped by Adem Bona and missed a layup (not a chirp). When Bona steamrolled Brunson with four seconds left, Jalen took New York’s first free throws of the second quarter. Read that again.

At intermission, Philly held a one-point lead. Through the half, the Knicks had made 53% of their shots, despite hitting just 25% from deep. Their biggest advantage was in the paint, where they were winning 38-16. The Sixers had hit 49% and 47%, taken 20 free throw attempts to New York’s 12, and outrebounded the Knicks 22-16. They’d also coughed up the rock 10 times (to New York’s six) and managed just six fast-break points.

In Game One, Maxey scored 13 points total on 3-of-9 shooting. By midgame tonight, he had shot 6-of-14 for 19 points (15 in the second quarter) and made 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. For the Knicks, Brunson had 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting.

To start the second half, the refs wasted no time calling Hart’s third foul, for what appeared to be a clean strip. My grandmother used to say, “The only way to beat a crooked ref is to make your shots and crash the glass.” The Knicks did their best to follow those instructions. It did feel like supernatural forces were working against them, however. Continuing a no-call theme, Brunson got fed through a wood chipper on a drive that tied the game at 79. Adem Bona (Drummond’s back-up) had to literally bonk Towns on the head to be penalized. Towns made one of two, putting the good guys up again. That was Karl’s last point of the quarter, though, as he got tagged for a foul immediately after and returned to the pine.

In the highlight of the night, Drummond used a broom handle to try four times to poke a stuck ball free. Towns calmly took the broom and bopped it free. That got the loudest cheer of the night.

Late in the quarter, Hart collided with OAKAAKUYOAK Quinten Grimes (7 PTS, 1-4 FG, 23 MIN), suffered a thumb injury, and had to leave the court. With Hart injured and Towns and Hukporti both carrying four fouls, the Knicks were disadvantaged and down 90-89 heading into the final frame.

No sweat. A warrior to the core, Hart returned to the court to start the fourth. At the midway point, with Philly answering every Knicks score, it was Hart’s three-pointer that tied the game at 99. A minute later, fellow former Wildcat Jalen Brunson drilled a 17-footer for the lead. Dominick Barlow provided a lift off the bench, and Philly had their chances, but bricks by Maxey (two), Edgecombe (two), and Oubre kept them down. Captain Clutch swished a turnaround jumper, and after a broken-up, sloppy sequence, the oft-maligned Mikal Bridges hit a long fadeaway to give New York a six-point lead, their largest yet. (Bridges deserves his flowers for his play in the series so far.)

Maxey played all but one minute of the game. It showed. He had hit 36 straight postseason free throws before missing one in the first half. In crunch time, the exhausted guard missed at the stripe, and Towns—the biggest man in the lane—easily wrangled the rebound to preserve a five-point advantage. At the other end, Cap made two freebies. Up seven, one minute left.

Also tired? Paul George. After hitting so many threes in the playoffs so far, he airballed from deep with his team down by five. Mike Brown called a timeout with 25 seconds left. After Miles McBride made a free throw, Maxey missed from 25 feet, and Brunson chased down the ball to close out the game.

Up Next

The series reconvenes on Friday in Philly. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.

Box Score

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OG Anunoby exits Game 2 early in immense Knicks injury concern

An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby #8 drives to the basket as Philadelphia 76ers guard Vj Edgecombe #77 gives chase during the third quarter, Image 2 shows Two basketball players in a white uniform and a red uniform colliding on the court
OG Anunoby

Just when it seemed like this spring had limitless potential, a roadblock has been thrown the Knicks’ way. 

OG Anunoby, in the midst of a brilliant postseason, suffered what appeared to be a right hamstring injury in the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ 108-102 Game 2 victory over the 76ers at the Garden. 

Anunoby departed with 2:31 remaining and didn’t return. He wasn’t seen on the bench afterward or in the locker room following the win. 

“He looked like he was hoppin’,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. 

New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby drives to the basket as Philadelphia 76ers guard Vj Edgecombe gives chase during the third quarter on May 6, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Brown didn’t have any information on the injury. The severity is unknown at this time. Anunoby went up for a dunk with 3:03 remaining, and Paul George blocked the shot.

He looked to be in discomfort on the cut to the basket. 

Asked about his teammate’s uncertain status, Jalen Brunson said: “I’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. I don’t know too much.” 

Before he got hurt, Anunoby was enjoying another big game, producing 24 points along with five rebounds and four steals. Entering the night, he was averaging 21 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocks in the playoffs. He was also shooting an absurd 59.4 percent from 3-point range on 4.6 attempts and the Knicks were outscoring the opposition by 20.6 per 100 possessions with Anunoby on the floor. 

Losing him for any period of time would obviously hurt. He is the Knicks’ top defender and has become a critical piece on the offensive end. 

“He’s one of the best two-way players in the league, and it’s tough to replace that,” Miles McBride said. “You don’t replace it with one guy. Everybody’s going to have to step up.” 

Two years ago, Anunoby suffered a hamstring injury in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Knicks led that series 2-0 at the time and wound up losing in seven. Anunoby returned in the seventh game, but he was a nonfactor, clearly still injured. They obviously hope history doesn’t repeat itself. 

The Knicks would likely go one of two ways if Anunoby misses time, either starting Miles McBride in a small-ball lineup or going with Mitchell Robinson at center and Karl-Anthony Towns at power forward. 

“Extremely comfortable,” McBride said, when asked about the possibility of an increased role for him. “I feel like the coaching staff trusts me, I know my teammates trust me and I trust myself overall. So if that happens, I know I’ll be ready.”

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Only the Knicks can stop the Knicks in NBA's Eastern Conference playoffs

NEW YORK — It’s the second quarter, and Karl-Anthony Towns is perched on his padded seat at the end of the New York Knicks' bench. He’s hunched over, staring at the floor. He’s shaking his head now, burying it in a towel. He mutters to himself.

It’s the second quarter and Towns is in foul trouble.

***

Towns is back. It’s the third quarter now, and he hasn’t missed a shot. He has embraced his new role as point-center, a role that has helped the Knicks become the most dangerous team in the East. Towns has been slashing to the rim, zipping passes to his teammates when the defense collapses on him. He has been lacing trail 3s.

But Towns picked up his fourth foul, so he’s back at the end of the bench, towel in hand, shaking his head.

***

It’s very late in the fourth quarter, and Towns is checking out of the game for the last time. Coated in sweat, he’s extending his hand out to courtside fans. He stops to dap up coach Mike Brown. He heads to the end of the bench and hugs Jose Alvarado.

After just missing out on what would’ve been his third triple-double of the playoffs, Towns and the Knicks scrapped their way to an uneven 108-102 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers Wednesday, May 6. Now with a 2-0 lead in the conference semifinals, this game proved two things:

  • No team in the world has been playing better basketball than the New York Knicks.
  • The only team that can stop the New York Knicks in the East is the New York Knicks.

Entering Wednesday night, they had won their previous four playoff games by 135 points, most ever in NBA postseason history. They also became the first team in NBA history to win three consecutive playoff games by at least 25 points.

They have continuity and balance. They have a trio of demons in OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart, the architects of the best perimeter defense in the East. They can ignite on offense with Towns and Jalen Brunson.

But New York falls into foul trouble frequently. There are times, particularly late in close games, when the ball can stagnate on offense in the hands of Brunson.

This is all to say that, right now, the Knicks are the team to beat in the East. What’s more: this New York squad is the best this city has seen in a quarter century and its best bet to break a 52-year title drought. But to do that, the Knicks need to avoid the self-imposed mistakes, the avalanche of undisciplined fouls.

By the 5:47 mark in the second quarter Wednesday night, the Knicks had already committed 5 team fouls to put Philadelphia in the bonus; the Sixers, at that point, hadn’t committed a single infraction.

Yet, despite the disparity of free throws, New York entered halftime down by only one point.

In the second half, the Knicks responded and played smarter. They didn’t fall for the bait and adapted to the style of officiating, avoiding careless swipes at the ball. More importantly, they settled into their regular offensive rhythm.

Towns finished the game with an ultra-efficient 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting and nearly recorded his third triple-double of the postseason, adding 10 rebounds and 7 assists.

Brunson led all New York players with a steady 26 points. Anunoby added 24.

Now, this series flips Philadelphia, where the 76ers may get the return of star center Joel Embiid. For New York to close Philadelphia out, it will need its players to be available and on the floor and it will need to stick to its identity.

Because as currently constructed, there’s no other squad right now out East that can threaten this team.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Knicks, leading 76ers 2-0, are clearly best team in Eastern Conference

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Yankees' Ryan Weathers scratched from scheduled start vs. Rangers due to illness

The Yankees will not have their scheduled starter for the series finale against the Rangers on Thursday.

Manager Aaron Boone announced after Wednesday's loss that Ryan Weathers is scratched due to an illness. A new starter was not announced. 

Boone said Weathers was ok and is now set to start Monday. 

Ryan Yarbrough threw 29 pitches across 1.2 innings on Wednesday, while Paul Blackburn, another long reliever, last pitched Monday against the Orioles after tossing 17 pitches in 1.0 IP. The Yankees, whose bullpen has been taxed over the last few days, will have to try and piece it together before heading to Milwaukee for a three-game series with the Brewers.

The Yankees could also call up another pitcher and option Yerry De los Santos, who pitched 3.2 innings on Wednesday.

Weathers is having a solid start in his first season with the Yankees. In seven starts, he's pitched to a 2-2 record and a 3.03 ERA. He's struck out 45 batters across his 38.2 innings.

In his last start, Weathers allowed just one run on three hits and two walks in five innings in the win against Baltimore.

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Yankees produce rare stinker as Will Warren shelled by Rangers

An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Will Warren struggled for the Yankees against the Rangers on May 6, 2026, Image 2 shows Rangers center fielder Evan Carter celebrates a home run against the Yankees, Image 3 shows Aaron Judge homers in the sixth inning against the Rangers

Will Warren, who had not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his seven outings this season, surrendered three in the third inning alone in start No. 8. 

Warren, whose season high for walks was three, matched that before the end of the fourth inning. 

The Yankees offense, which had scored at least seven runs in each of the previous five games, was held to one run on three hits. 

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The Yankees offense, which entered play leading the American League in walks, did not draw a walk in eight innings against Nathan Eovaldi, reaching a three-ball count just once (Trent Grisham, in the team’s first at-bat). 

For both pitcher and team, Wednesday became something rare in the strong early going of the season: a dud. 

Warren’s location was amiss and the Yankees offense missed plenty against Eovaldi in a 6-1 loss to the Rangers in front of 40,269 in The Bronx on a night that was pleasant before rain arrived late. 

“It’s going to happen,” Aaron Boone said about Warren, who mixed in one poor start with six solid ones, but the manager could have been talking about his offense as well. 

The Yankees (25-12) dropped just their third game in their past 18 and will turn to Paul Blackburn — and not Ryan Weathers, who was scratched with an illness — for Thursday afternoon’s rubber match in hopes of avoiding their first series defeat since April 10-12, when they were swept at Tampa Bay. 

Will Warren struggled for the Yankees against the Rangers on May 6, 2026. Robert Sabo for NY Post

Warren allowed six runs on seven hits and three walks in four innings, swelling his ERA from 2.39 to 3.46 in less than 90 minutes. Every start matters for Warren, who is believed to be competing with Weathers to keep a rotation spot when Gerrit Cole returns in the next few weeks. 

The young right-hander again had stuff good enough to swerve around bats, seven of his 12 outs coming from strikeouts, but he did not bait Rangers hitters to chase outside of the strike zone enough and watched as four strike calls were overturned through Texas challenges. 

Rangers center fielder Evan Carter celebrates a home run against the Yankees. Robert Sabo for NY Post

“Just not real sharp with what I thought was good stuff again,” Boone said of Warren, who fell behind in counts too many times, a problem that became apparent immediately. 

In the first inning, Warren threw three straight balls to Corey Seager. He then grooved a 3-0 fastball that was reversed to the short porch, a solo home run that gave the Rangers a lead they would not return. 

They added on from there. After an eight-pitch walk to Brandon Nimmo, whom Warren could not put away to begin the third, Ezequiel Duran drove an RBI double into left-center. Later in the inning, Evan Carter saw a 2-1 sweeper sweep across the middle of the plate and hooked a two-run homer off the facing of the second deck in right. 

“When you’re behind in the count, I think you’re trying to limit damage,” said Warren, who matched the most runs allowed by a Yankees starter this season. “Therefore you get finer, and you miss a little bit.” 

Three of the first four batters reached in the fourth — Andrew McCutchen and Nimmo on walks — before a Duran sacrifice fly and a well-placed Seager single up the middle became the last of the damage against Warren. Warren, who had allowed five earned runs in his past four starts, was pulled after the six-spot. Yerry De los Santos (3 ¹/₃ scoreless innings) impressed quickly in the hours after his summons from Triple-A. 

The entirety of the Yankees’ offense was home run No. 15 for Aaron Judge — his third in four games, sixth in 10 games and 12th in 23 games — in the sixth inning. 

Aaron Judge homers in the sixth inning against the Rangers. Robert Sabo for NY Post

Otherwise, Eovaldi — the former Yankee and frequent Yankees killer, entering with a 3.05 ERA in 25 games against the club — looked like vintage Eovaldi, throwing 72 of his 101 pitches for strikes. 

“He kind of stays unpredictable,” Boone said of Eovaldi, who kept the Yankees guessing and relied heavily on a splitter, curveball and cutter to strike out eight in his eight innings.

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17-19 – No complaints as Rangers, Eovaldi handle Yankees 6-1

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 06: Corey Seager #5 of the Texas Rangers looks on after hitting a solo home run during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on May 06, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Texas Rangers scored six runs while the New York Yankees scored one run.

After much consternation over the last few days (weeks? months? years?) about the offense, the Rangers had a few ingredients going for them tonight that left us with a better taste in our mouths.

For one, they had Nathan Eovaldi on the mound and he seems to have New York’s number. Sporting a 1.59 ERA over seven starts against the Yankees during his tenure with Texas, Eovaldi was practically as masterful as his win over New York from April when he went seven shutout innings.

Tonight, with the mood waning as the road trip trudges on, Eovaldi provided a pep in Texas’ step as he went eight innings of one-run ball on three hits with zero walks and eight strikeouts. The only blemish on his evening came when Aaron Judge won a sixth inning battle and swatted a solo home run. That’ll happen to anyone.

When that did happen, the Rangers were already up 6-0. Thanks to home runs from Corey Seager and Evan Carter, and with Brandon Nimmo and Ezequiel Duran doing work at the top of the lineup, the Rangers scored all six of their runs off New York starter Will Warren before the end of the fourth to muddy Warren’s previously sparkling 2.39 ERA coming into tonight’s game.

After surprisingly becoming something of the poster child for the club’s early season woes at the plate in what is surely one of the longest slumps in his career, Seager led off the scoring with a solo home run in the first. Carter followed with a two-run home run that capped off a three-run third inning. Four runs was plenty for Eovaldi and Texas still added a couple more in the fourth when they finally capitalized on a bases-loaded situation.

As an aside, this was the sort of game that ABS was made for. Tonight’s home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott has often been an ump tracking era darling. In fact, he was the top home plate ump during the 2023 season (despite missing ten calls against Texas during Game 2 of the 2023 World Series, the only game in the series that the Rangers lost) and is considered one of the better balls and strikes callers.

Tonight was not Quinn’s night however and both teams knew it. With Wolcott in desperate need of a recalibration, the teams made use of baseball’s shiny new toy to help prevent the game from going sideways. The Rangers and Yankees combined to contest nine of Quinn’s calls with Texas going 5-for-7 before running out of challenges in the eighth.

I shudder to recall the before times. Both 24 hours before when the Rangers couldn’t score runs and before when a bad night from the guy behind the plate could ruin a baseball game.

Player of the Game: Eovaldi is obvious and Seager, Carter, and Nimmo deserve notice but I’ll also highlight former Yankees prospect Duran for doubling in the game’s second run, hitting a sac fly, scoring a run, drawing a walk, and stealing a base from the 2-hole.

Subbing in for the injured Josh Smith, Duran has been one of the more productive bats in recent days and has seen his OPS rise to .833 on the year, the best non-Josh Jung mark that the Rangers have in the first week of the season’s second month.

Up Next: It’ll be breakfast with the Rangers for tomorrow’s series and road trip finale from the Bronx as LHP MacKenzie Gore is set to take the mound for Texas in the rubber match against RHP Ryan Weathers for New York.

The Thursday morning first pitch from Yankee Stadium is scheduled for 11:35 am CDT and you can find it on the Rangers Sports Network.

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Knicks put clamps on 76ers in fourth, take 2-0 series lead with 108-102 Game 2 win

The Knicks tightened the screws on the Philadelphia 76ers in the fourth quarter to win a back-and-forth battle to grab a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Semifinals with a 108-102 win in Game 2 on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Sixers, playing without Joel Embiid (hip, ankle), totally lost any semblance of offensive rhythm they had in the game’s final period, going 4-for-19 (21.1 percent) from the floor.

New York outscored the visitors 19-12 in the fourth and closed the game on a 12-3 run over the final 6:50 of action.

Here are some takeaways...

- After a blowout in Game 1, neither team managed to build much of a lead through the first three quarters, with the largest lead being seven for the 76ers and three for the Knicks. New York opened the fourth by committing three turnovers and a missed jumper in four possessions, before Miles McBride connected on his first jumper in four attempts to tie the game as Philly started cold (1-for-6).

The story of the Knicks may be the key players always popping up at just the right time: First, Jalen Brunson's jumper and OG Anunoby's layup to give them 20 and 24 points, respectively, forced a Nick Nurse timeout with the Knicks back in front. Then Josh Hart, who had struggled all night, connected on his first three, stemming a 5-0 Philly run. After four straight empty possessions for Philly, Mike Brown called a timeout with 4:01 to play and his side up two. 

A Brunson turnaround jumper and another Sixers' missed bucket (3-for-16 in the quarter) led to another Brown timeout with 3:14 to play. After the Knicks nearly turned it over and missed a dunk, Mikal Bridges, who was having a great game, hit a jumper to give him 18 on the night and a 9-0 lead. The Sixers ended the drought with one from the line, but Brunson answered with two of his own with 66 seconds to play. And despite a few nervy moments, the visitors never found their legs.

- Foul trouble was an issue for Knicks’ big men in Game 1, and that repeated itself in the first: Karl-Anthony Towns picked up his second foul with 4:29 left in the first, forcing him to the bench with seven points and two assists. Ariel Hukporti entered (as Mitchell Robinson was unavailable due to an illness) but picked up three fouls of his own on the defensive end and had to sit with 46.7 to play in the first. (Jeremy Sochan got a cameo to close the period.)

And 46 seconds into the second quarter, Towns stuck a leg out against a driving Tyrese Maxey and went to the bench with his third foul. That put Anunoby at the five, and the Sixers’ Adem Bona took advantage with three offensive rebounds before Hukporti checked back in as Philly kept a slight lead. It wasn't long for Hukporti to pick up his fourth foul on a terribly silly one, 80 feet from the basket, and he hit the bench with 4:47 left in the quarter with Anunoby back at the five.

- The Sixers' ability to draw fouls was something the Knicks' head coach was concerned about heading into the contest after the Sixers attempted 34 free throws in Game 1. The Sixers picked up where they left off with 20 in the first half (converting just 14 of them). The Knicks, who went 9-for-10 from the line in the first, didn’t make a trip to the line in the second until a loose-ball foul with 3.9 to play. The Sixers managed to play 9:23 of the quarter without a foul. The foul count through the first half was 14 for New York (plus a Hart technical) and 10 for Philly.

The tight officiating continued in the third, with Hart picking up his third foul on what looked like a clean pick of Paul George. But Andre Drummond, in for Embiid, picked up two quick ones and forced him to the bench with four. Bona was forced to sit with under five left in the third after Towns got him for his fourth and fifth fouls of the game.  

The Knicks held the Sixers to just four free throw attempts in the third, but the deficit was unchanged from the half. There were just two free-throw attempts (both by Philly) through the first 11:27 of the fourth before Maxey went 1-for-2 at the line late. Philly closed 21-for-28 from the free-throw line. New York was 21-for-25, with the visitors out-fouling them 23-20.

- Towns played just 8:17 in the first half due to the fouls, with nine points (3-for-3 shooting, 3-for-4 from the line) with one rebound, two assists, and a steal. He entered the third with an impetus, connecting on his first three attempts, on his way to scoring 10 points in the first five minutes, while drawing three fouls. Towns picked up his fourth foul on a play without much contact with 4:31 to play in the third, and, despite arguing with Brown, was subbed out. 

He finished with 20 points (6-for-8) with 10 rebounds (two offensive), seven assists, and was a plus-6 in 27 minutes.

- Brunson started slow, missing his first three attempts, before connecting on a three, two at the line, and a baseline jumper to get off the snide and finish with nine points and three assists in the quarter. He finished the first half with 16 points on 5-for-12 shooting. 

He finished with a team-high 26 points (9-for-21) with six assists and was a plus-7 in 41 minutes.

- Bridges, who has had quarters of passivity, had 16 points (8-for-11 shooting) with two rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block, and had at least three field goal attempts in each of the first three quarters. 

He finished with 18 points (9-for-13) as he slipped to the periphery a touch in the fourth, but still came up huge, adding five rebounds and two assists, and was a plus-7 in 38 minutes.

- Both teams were looking to push the pace, and that led to some turnovers (four for the visitors and two for the home team), but the Knicks were the only team to score off those miscues (5-0) in the first six minutes.Anunoby continued his two-way dominance with two steals and put in his seventh point to give the Knicks a lead, 18-17, erasing a one-time seven-point deficit seven minutes into play. He popped up with another such instance late in the third, grabbing two offensive rebounds in the same possession, which ended with him hitting from three. 

The Sixers' offense was much improved from the first contest, but the turnovers hampered them as the Knicks punished their mistakes with 13 points off 10 turnovers in the first half, which helped keep it a one-point game at halftime. New York outshot Philly in the first half, 53.3 percent from the floor (24-for-45) to 48.8 percent (20-for-41), but the visitors owned the outside: 47.1 percent (8-for-17) to 25 percent (3-for-12).

The Knicks finished with 23 points off the Sixers' 18 turnovers. And held the Sixers to just nine points of their 13 turnovers. After the good first half, Philly went 5-for-17 from deep in the second. New York went 4-for-14.

- In Embiid’s absence, the Sixers were spreading the floor and taking advantage of the space. George really picked up the slack on the offensive end, connecting on his first four shots for 11 points. And Kelly Oubre Jr., who had been struggling from three, connected on his first two from the corner, as Philly was 6-for-9 from three for a 33-31 first quarter lead. 

George found the touch again in the third with two more from deep. George finished with 19 points (7-for-18), six rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks and was a minus-4 in 43 minutes.

Maxey started slow (1-for-4) in the opening quarter, but he righted the ship in the second, hitting four of his first four five to give him 15 in the game just four minutes into the second. Maxey finished with 26 points (9-for-23) with six assists, three rebounds and was even in his 47 minutes.

- Towns was left sprawling twice in the game’s early goings. First, when he picked up his first foul with an illegal screen and knocked knees with V. J. Edgecombe. Two possessions later, Towns took a huge shot to the head and neck area as Oubre fouled him right at the basket. (The foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 1.) 

Game MVP: OG Anunoby

Anunoby finished with 24 points (9-for-17 shooting) with five rebounds, four steals, two assists, and was a team-best plus-12 in 37 minutes. He continues to be everything the Knicks need him to be at all the right times. Anunoby missed the game's final moments, but Brown did not have any injury update after the game.

Highlights

What's next

The series moves to the City of Brotherly Love for Game 3 on Friday's 7 p.m. tip.

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Will Warren throws first clunker of season, Yankees bats silenced in 6-1 loss to Rangers

The Yankees bats were shut down by Nathan Eovaldi and Will Warren had his first bad start of the season as New York fell to the Rangers, 6-1, on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.

New York had just three hits as Eovaldi has now allowed just one run across 15.0 IP in his last two starts, both against the Yankees.

Here are the takeaways....

-The Rangers took a first-inning lead for the second straight game. This time, Corey Seager launched a 3-0 pitch fromWarren and dumped it over the right field wall to give Texas a 1-0 lead. 

The Rangers threatened again in the second, with back-to-back two-out singles, but Warren got Andrew McCutchen to strike out to end the inning. Warren couldn't keep the Rangers off the scoreboard in the third, however, after he walked Brandon Nimmo to lead off and Ezequiel Duran drove him in with a double that split the outfielders. Three batters later, Evan Carter drilled a hanging sweeper over the right field wall to give the Rangers a 4-0 lead.

Warren just didn't have it, tossing 90 pitches (52 strikes) across four innings, allowing six runs on seven hits. He struck out seven but he tied a season high with three walks. 

It's the first time this season Warren has allowed more than two earned runs in a start. 

-On the opposite side, Eovaldi continued his personal dominance of the Yankees. Last week, Eovaldi pitched seven scoreless innings against the Yankees, allowing just four hits and one walk while striking out seven. Wednesday was more of the same. Eovaldi went 5.2 innings without allowing a run until Aaron Judge launched his 15th homer of the year, and now leads the league in homers. 

From there, Eovaldi continued his dominance, pitching eight innings, allowing just one run on three hits and striking out eight batters. Over his last nine games against the Yankees, Eovaldi has pitched to a 1.65 ERA, striking out 53 batters and walking only 11 across 59.2 innings pitched (h/t Katie Sharp).

-Yerry de los Santos was the first arm out of the pen, and he ate some much-needed innings. In his first game back after being called up, de los Santos pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, one walk and striking out five batters. 

Ryan Yarbrough followed de los Santos and delivered five outs without allowing a hit.

-Cody Bellinger continued his hot hitting, lining a single in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to eight games. He finished 1-for-3 with a walk.

-Jose Caballero went 0-for-2, with a hit by pitch. Eovaldi plunked Caballero with a curveball that hit him above the left elbow. The Yankees shortstop was looked at after he was in visible pain, but stayed in the game. 

Game MVP: Nathan Eovaldi

The Rangers lineup woke up, but Eovaldi didn't need much on this night.

Highlights

What's next

The Yankees and Rangers wrap up their three-game series with a Thursday matinee game at the Stadium.

Ryan Weathers (2-2, 3.03 ERA) will take the mound against Mackenzie Gore (2-2, 4.67 ERA).

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Washington Nationals make a statement with a 15-2 blowout win over the Twins

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 05: CJ Abrams #5 of the Washington Nationals hits an RBI single against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at Nationals Park on May 5, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The first nine Nationals hitters of the game were retired, and it felt like it would be another game where the offense would struggle. However, the Nats were able to flip some sort of crazy switch and put an absolute beating on the Twins. They scored 15 runs in a game where 6 Nats hitters had multi-hit games. 

This Nats team has been a real Jekyll and Hyde group to start the season. They can look flat and then just pounce suddenly. When you have guys like CJ Abrams and James Wood in the lineup, good things can happen in a hurry.

Speaking of Abrams, he was in the middle of everything tonight for the Nats. He went 3 for 5 with two doubles and a grand slam to cap off the win in the 9th. The Nats shortstop truly looks like he is blossoming into that star player we know he can be. We have seen hot starts from Abrams before, but I am not sure we have seen him this locked in for this long before.

You could have never guessed what the final score of this game was going to be after the first three innings. The lineup looked absolutely perplexed by Bailey Ober, the Twins massive soft tossing righty. He had Nats hitters guessing wrong every time in those first three innings. However, James Wood and CJ Abrams cracked the case in the fourth and the boys never looked back.

While the Nats were working to solve the puzzle that was Bailey Ober, Miles Mikolas was doing a good job keeping the boys in the game. This was Mikolas’ best start of the season. He pitched into the 6th inning and kept the ball on the ground all night long. The veteran’s velocity was up in this one and he was fooling Twins hitters not named Matt Wallner all night.

After a miserable start to the season where Mikolas looked truly cooked, he has done a good job steadying the ship. The Nats helped him get his confidence back in shorter spurts behind an opener, but now they are starting to let him loose. Hopefully this same approach can get Zack Littell back on track as well. Mikolas also got a nice reception from the home fans as he left the ball game, which was nice to see.

The pitching has been significantly better over the past couple of weeks. However, that has coincided with the offense taking an inevitable step back. Tonight, the Nats got the good pitching and the good hitting. There were so many heroes tonight that I will not be able to shout all of them out.

However, one guy I do want to mention is Brady House. There has been quite a bit of discourse in the Nats community about House over the past few days. He had not been playing as regularly, and his defense has been very suspect this season. However, he got his chance to play today and responded in a big way.

House went 2 for 5 with a double, a homer and three RBI’s. I will say that he got some absolute hangers tonight, but he did not miss them. The home run he hit to straightaway center was an absolute bullet. When he is at his best like he was tonight, House can hit lasers all over the yard.

Brady House has been known in the Nats world for so many years now, it is easy to forget that he is still just 22 years old. Will he be the Nats long term answer at third? I am not sure, he needs to clean a lot of things up. However, the youngster has plenty of talent and showed his upside tonight.

Overall, it was an unbelievable performance from the Nats. They will look to secure a series win tomorrow afternoon with Jake Irvin on the mound. Hopefully the offense did not get all the runs out of their system tonight. They are facing a struggling Twins starter in Simeon Woods-Richardson, so I hope the offense can take advantage of that. We also saw what happens when this offense can get to the underbelly of the Twins bullpen.

I have faith in the Nats getting the series win tomorrow, but that faith can be a scary thing. Whenever I believe in this team, they fall on their face and whenever I get down on this group they put up 15 runs like tonight. The 2026 Nationals are an absolute roller coaster, and I think it is a fun ride, but I cannot tell.

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Knicks claw past Joel Embiid-less 76ers in tense Game 2 victory

An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns #32, driving to the basket over Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George #8, in the 4th quarter, Image 2 shows Jalen Brunson celebrates hitting a 3-pointer during Game 2 against the 76ers on May 6, 2026, Image 3 shows Mikal Bridges #25 reacts after he slams the ball during the second quarter
Knicks win game 2

It had been a struggle and a slog all game. This was a whole different vibe than what existed the past few games. 

The Knicks had trailed after the first, second and third quarters. The 76ers were playing more freely — and more efficiently — without Joel Embiid. Jalen Brunson was having a clunker. 

Then the NBA’s best fourth-quarter team emerged. 

It’s something that had not been needed for some time. Two straight historic blowouts meant Knicks starters hadn’t played a single minute of the fourth quarter the past two games. 

There were no records this time. There was no extended garbage time. It was the first late-game test for the Knicks since the middle of the first round. And they aced it. 

With the game in the balance, the Knicks put their foot down and took over with a 108-102 win over the 76ers in Game 2 Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. 

Jalen Brunson celebrates hitting a 3-pointer during Game 2 against the 76ers on May 6, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

“It was just us executing, being disciplined,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “Finding a way to get a gritty win. Something that, for better or for worse, haven’t been in our cards the last four games. But this showed a lot about our locker room and our team.” 

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns driving to the basket over Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George in the fourth quarter. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

After the 76ers took a 3-point lead with 6:52 left in the game, the Knicks closed with a 12-3 run. Brunson had six of those points — on two jumpers and a pair of free throws. Josh Hart drilled a 3-pointer, Mikal Bridges hit a midrange jumper and Miles McBride had a free throw in that stretch. The 76ers, meanwhile, went 1-for-10. 

And the Knicks largely did it without OG Anunoby, who had been terrific but was in the locker room with a suspected hamstring injury down the stretch. 

In total, the Knicks outscored the 76ers by seven in the fourth quarter, holding them to just 12 points. Once the Knicks took the lead — which was the 25th lead change of the game, the most in a playoff game in 13 years — they never relinquished it. 

It was something unique so far this postseason. The Knicks had actually lost both close games they were in previously — Games 2 and 3 against the Hawks. All their wins had been blowouts. 

Without Embiid, it meant a faster and more connected 76ers offense, and the Knicks struggled with it. For three quarters, at least. 

Mikal Bridges reacts after he slams the ball during the second quarter. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Maxey had 21 points after three quarters, but finished with 26. Paul George had 19 after three quarters, and went scoreless after that. Edgecombe had 17 after three quarters and also went scoreless in the fourth quarter. Bridges’ defense, in particular, was excellent on Maxey down the stretch. 

“At the end of the day, it came down to who’s gonna get more stops in that fourth quarter,” coach Mike Brown said. “They missed some shots, we know that, but to have them only score 12 points in that fourth quarter is huge.” 

Brunson finished with a team-high 26 points — eight of which came in the fourth quarter — along with six assists. 

Towns was dominant — but the only thing that stopped him was himself. He picked up his second foul with 4:29 left in the first quarter, picked up his third foul less than a minute after checking back into the game to start the second quarter and picked up his fourth foul with 4:31 left in the third quarter. And he didn’t even have Embiid to deal with on the defensive end. 

It meant he was limited to 27 minutes. But when he was actually on the floor, the 76ers had no answer. He finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Eleven of those points came in the third quarter. 

And without Mitchell Robinson, who was out with an illness, Towns’ foul trouble meant minutes for Ariel Hukporti and Jeremy Sochan. But Hukporti picked up four fouls in seven minutes, forcing Brown to give Landry Shamet his first meaningful minutes — since the middle of the first round — in a small-ball lineup. 

Anunoby, before exiting, continued his superb postseason with 24 points on 9-for-17 shooting from the field. But it’s a major concern that he may now have to miss time. 

Bridges finished with 18 points, continuing his resurgence since his first-round benchings. Hart had just five points but added seven rebounds and six assists. 

Jalen Brunson after hitting a jump shot to give the Knicks a lead in the fourth quarter. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

“Most importantly, staying poised and staying composed,” Brunson said. “Just figuring out one play at a time, one stop at a time. Not looking too far ahead. When they make a basket, when they go up one, when we take the lead back, just focusing and paying attention to the details. 

“Find a way to make the next play on either side of the ball.” 

No Embiid meant the Knicks had no defensive weak link to torment. They shot just 26.9 percent from 3-point range as a team. The shot selection overall was worse. 

But they were at their best when their best was needed. That’s their specialty.

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Embiid-less Sixers show fight but run out of gas, fall down 2-0 with Game 2 loss to Knicks

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 6: VJ Edgecombe #77 of the Philadelphia 76ers handles the ball during the game against the New York Knicks during Round Two Game Two of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on May 6, 2026 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

NEW YORK — Shooting 4-of-19 from the field in the fourth quarter isn’t going to get it done.

The Sixers ran out of steam, falling 108-102 to the New York Knicks in Game 2, falling to an 2-0 series deficit.

Tyrese Maxey started the game great as a scorer but struggled taking care of the ball. He finished with 26 points shooting 9-of-22 from the field along with six assists and six turnovers. Paul George had another three-point heater to start the game but cooled off, going for 19 points shooting 7-of-18 from the floor along with six rebounds and four assists.

VJ Edgecombe was also great with the exception of turnovers, finishing with 17 on 6-of-13 shooting along with five rebounds, three assists and four turnovers. Kelly Oubre Jr. had 19 as well while Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 26.

Joel Embiid was ruled out earlier in the day with an ankle sprain and hip soreness. Mitchell Robinson was also a late scratch with an illness.

Here are some thoughts from MSG.

First Quarter

  • George was certainly feeling it to start the game. After the Knicks’ first miss he got up the floor quick, catching the outlet pass from Andre Drummond and setting up Kelly Oubre Jr. for an open dunk. He walked into a couple pull-up jumpers and buried them both. A turnover followed by a flagrant foul called on Oubre gummed up the Sixers’ offense a bit, but as soon as the ball found George again he buried two more threes.
  • It wasn’t the easiest start for Drummond, who picked up two fouls in his first six minutes of play. Four of the Knicks’ first six baskets of the game came right at the rim as he had his hands full with Karl-Anthony Towns. There were also a couple possessions early on where the Sixers’ defense was so keyed in on Brunson or Towns they lost OG Anunoby cutting wide open to the basket. Like Drummond, Towns was also called for a moving screen. Quentin Grimes was able to send him to the bench with two fouls, drawing the second on a drive.
  • The George heater was much needed, but no one needed to see a pair of open threes go down more than Oubre. On top of that he was also able to steal the ball from Brunson as the Sixers started off much better against him, forcing him to miss his first three shots. While the threes were falling for the Sixers, they shot 4-of-8 on twos, missed three free throws, and turned the ball over four times in the quarter. That meant Grimes’ three to close the quarter only gave them a slim two-point lead.

Second Quarter

  • Towns came back, but had to sit immediately when Maxey was able to draw his third foul. That put the Knicks’ big rotation in trouble with Ariel Hukporti also picking up three in less than four minutes of action. Speaking of, Adem Bona was one of several Sixers to look better to start this one. He had two impressive recovery blocks, one on Brunson and the other on Jose Alvarado.
  • As he needed to be, Maxey was much more aggressive to start — his seven free throws (one technical) in the first half were a big part of getting New York’s bigs in foul trouble. Some of the jumpers he was settling for were certainly tough looks but he was getting them to go. Defensively, the help he and the other perimeter defenders were showing on Brunson were making it much harder on him at any point in Game 1.
  • Drummond was already struggling in his second shift, allowing the Knicks to get their first four second chance points of the night. When the Knicks went to a center-less lineup they started running circles around the Sixers’ defense. They ripped off a 6-0 run that tied the game before Nick Nurse called a timeout and went back to Bona.
  • For as brilliant as Maxey was scoring the ball there were just too many passes he had in the first that were just a step too late. He accounted for three of the Sixers’ nine turnovers at the break. The Knicks’ defense had also forced the Sixers into a lot of tough jumpers, some of which didn’t come close to falling. Edgecombe was able to drill a three right before the half, but Bona bulldozed Brunson trying to crash the glass, picking up a brutal third foul of the night. Luckily, Brunson split the pair so the Sixers were able to cling to a one-point lead at the break.

Third Quarter

  • The passes the Sixers were trying to execute were real mid-February game level of sloppiness. Edgecombe’s inbounds to no one at the beginning of the second half at least wasn’t a live ball turnover, so they didn’t give the Knicks another fast break. The hot three-point shooting remained as Edgecombe and George each drilled one early in the half. Maxey was able to get a nice layup taking Brunson off the dribble.
  • Towns had a response just about every time, drawing fouls three and four on Drummond in the process. Bona checked in and picked up his fourth when Towns caught him with a rip through. A few minutes later a Towns drive was able to draw Bona’s fifth. Dominick Barlow checked in for the first time with a little less than five left in the third.
  • Offensively the Sixers were leaving too many points on the board for how much of a struggle it was to get stops. They still struggled to cut down on bad looking turnovers, and Grimes let a wide open layup slip through his hands when he couldn’t corral the pass to him.
  • The sloppiness caught up with their shotmaking ability as they went nearly four minutes without a field goal. It was snapped by Barlow being able to get open in the dunker. Edgecombe briefly re-took the lead with a three, but just after that happened George picked up his fourth foul of the night. Allowing two offensive rebounds in the same possession led to a huge Anunoby three. Another find of Barlow in the dunker and Grimes getting to the line pulled the Sixers back in front by one after an even quarter.

Fourth Quarter

  • The Barlow minutes continued to look great as Edgecombe was able to hit him on a roll to start the quarter. Despite the Knicks turning it over on their following two possessions the Sixers weren’t able to take advantage as George’s jumper had cooled off.
  • Coming off another missed midranger by PG, the Sixers desperately needed some defense and they got it when George was able to strip Towns, then Barlow was able to block an Anunoby three. After trading five points the Knicks gave the Sixers three empty possessions Philly was unable to capitalize on. Maxey and Edgecombe each missed wide open threes too — they just couldn’t make ‘em pay.
  • In the moment that felt like a massive missed opportunity, even more so when the Sixers again looked like they had run out of gas, despite a timeout happening after every other play down the stretch. The six-point lead the Knicks had been able to stretch it out to suddenly felt insurmountable as the Sixers went over five minutes without scoring.
  • The Sixers had one last gasp for air when Barlow nabbed a steal with 2:19 remaining, but gave it right away when Barlow turned it over on the ensuing possession. They forced a missed corner three and Maxey got to the line, but another split only allowed him to cut it to five. The teams traded baskets before a rushed George three missed with 25 seconds remaining, ultimately sinking them. A tough loss to stomach off the heels of the Embiid news.
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Every day, in every way: Phillies 6, Athletics 3

The Mattingly-resurgent Philadelphia Phillies (17-20), they of “8-2 in last ten games” fame, removed another monkey off their backs as they defeated lefty, Jeffrey Springs, and the Athletics (18-18) by a score of 6-3 on Wednesday night, their first victory against a left-handed starter in 11 tries this season.

It was Zack Wheeler’s first home start of the year and he put forth another quality effort, the third straight to open his 2026 campaign. He allowed three runs across six and a third innings of work.

The A’s led for eight innings before the Phillies offense erupted against Springs’ relief corps in the bottom of the eighth.

Kokomo’s own, Jack Perkins, walked Kyle Schwarber to begin the frame and erstwhile divisional nemesis, Jeff McNeil, committed his second and the A’s eighth-as-a-team error of the season on an errant throw to second on a fielder’s choice from a Bryce Harper grounder to put two men on with no outs.

A single by Adolis Garcia, his second hit of the night after a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth, loaded the bases. Edmundo Sosa, in turn, got his second hit of the night after swinging at all seven pitches he faced for a go-ahead two-RBI single. An RBI single by Brandon Marsh and an RBI groundout by Justin Crawford completed the four-run barrage.

Brad Keller loaded the bases in the top of the ninth via a single by McNeil and walks to Lawrence Butler and Nick Kurtz, but he got Jacob Wilson to swing for weak contact on the first pitch to end it.

Tim Mayza, Jose Alvarado and Orion Kerkering held the A’s at bay in relief of Wheeler.

The Phillies will take their third stab at a five-game winning streak as they go for the sweep tomorrow night. Andrew Painter will be opposed by A’s right-hander, J.T. Ginn.

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Glass cleaner: Karl-Anthony Towns dislodges ball behind backboard after Andre Drummond can't

NEW YORK (AP) — When the ball got stuck behind the basket in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday night, the New York Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns proved that if you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself.

The 76ers' Andre Drummond failed on a few attempts to dislodge the ball, drawing loud boos from the crowd at Madison Square Garden. Towns then took over and did it himself on the first try, getting raucous cheers from fans — including actor Timothée Chalamet.

Towns had just been fouled and the ball got stuck between the backboard and what appeared to be camera equipment mounted to the back of it. With the stick end of the broom that's used to clean the court, Philadelphia guard Tyrese Maxey first tried to move the ball before realizing a taller man was needed.

Drummond was unable to finish the job, so Towns — who had been waiting at the free-throw line to get the ball so he could shoot — eventually left his spot to get it himself.

A few minutes later, the ball got stuck in the exact same spot. A fan shooting for $75,000 from halfcourt launched his heave over the backboard and it landed there.

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