PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers are in a tough position. They are facing elimination following a 97-92 loss to the New York Knicks in Game 4 at home. The series shifts back to Madison Square Garden as Philadelphia looks to keep the season alive.
The Knicks do what they did down the stretch. They grabbed seven offensive rebounds for 11 second-chance points in the fourth quarter and they neutralized Joel Embiid. The big fella had one point and one rebound in the fourth quarter.
Tyrese Maxey had 23 points on 8-for-21 shooting with six rebounds and six assists, but it just wasn’t enough. Now? The Sixers have to fight for their lives in a raucous environment in New York.
“The message you send is it’s first to four,” said Maxey. “They have three already, so we have to go up there and fight for our lives. Fight for our season. That’s what it is.”
Maxey and the Sixers will have their chances. Philadelphia held a 61-51 lead with 7:59 left in the third quarter before a slew of mistakes allowed the Knicks back into the game.
Embiid and Maxey had a miscommunication on a couple of different offensive sets, and New York continued to chip away and battle.
“One of them was the outlet,” Maxey reflected. “One of them was with me and Joel, miscommunication. I was about to go back door. He thought I was coming up for the handoff. So that’s on both of us, and it’s funny that he just said that before I came over here he was like ‘Man, those three or four possessions where we turned the ball over came back to bite us,’ but we just moved on from it.”
The Sixers had their chances. Just as they did in games 1 and 2 in New York. Now, they have to get the job done to keep their season alive.
“I think we were still up I think 10,” Maxey continued. “I think (Donte) DiVincenzo, those two 3s that he hit was huge and the 3 in the corner. So it’s alright though. I mean, it is what is. We live to see another day. We know what we gotta do.”
Game 5 is Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
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