Joel Embiid on Sixers’ Struggles to Stay Locked In vs. Knicks

The Philadelphia 76ers weren’t kidding themselves on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. After they controlled the matchup against the New York Knicks early on with a double-digit lead, they were in danger of losing it by halftime. At the start of the second half, New York found a way to get out in front.

“They made their run,” said Sixers center Joel Embiid after the game. “Obviously, we didn’t get enough stops. We weren’t connected like we were at the beginning of the game. So, they made their run. They made shots. We weren’t aggressive enough, and they took advantage of our mistakes.”

In the first half, the Sixers shot better from all areas of the floor and won the turnover battle 5-2 as they outscored the Knicks in the first half of action.

Down the stretch, the Knicks turned the tables. Everything the Sixers did better in the first half, the Knicks succeeded in during the second half. That resulted in New York outscoring Philadelphia 57-44, cruising to a 108-97 victory over the Sixers.

While the Sixers have been on quite a roll lately, none of their previous wins mattered on Sunday, as their lack of intensity reared its head once again and left the team frustrated with the way they reacted to the matchup after getting off to such a strong start.

“I mean, we’ve just got to stay locked in as a team,” Embiid explained. “As a team, everybody that plays has to come in with intensity. It’s never easy.”

You could point the finger at the Sixers’ bench unit for Sunday’s struggles, as they produced just 16 points, along with accounting for significantly bad plus-minus numbers. But Sixers head coach Doc Rivers made it clear that the starters are just as responsible for the loss as they didn’t play well after the big first-quarter run.

Either way, the Sixers have to get it together right away, as the road doesn’t get much easier. After Sunday’s game, the Sixers will have two days off before they head to Boston to face the Celtics for the first time this season. That game will be a battle of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, as the Sixers and the Celtics are currently the third and first seeds, respectively.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.