Six Thoughts: Sixers Offense Stalls Out Late As Knicks Take 2-0 Series Lead

With Tyrese Maxey and Paul George running out of gas, the Sixers went nearly half the fourth quarter without making a shot, allowing the New York Knicks to stay in Game 2 and eventually take over for a 2-0 series lead as an injured Joel Embiid watched from the sidelines.

Here are six thoughts on Game 2.

George comes out strong

In wake of Embiid being ruled out on Wednesday afternoon, it was going to be monumentally important for the Sixers to get out to a confident start on the offensive end after the 39-point drubbing in Game 1, if only to prove to themselves that they could compete in this game.

Everyone was wondering how Maxey would respond to a passive outing in the first game of this series, but it was George who put the Sixers on his shoulders early in the game. He started the game with a look that was money for him throughout the first round, a jab-stepping mid-range jumper isolated on the left side of the floor.

His on-ball work and his off-ball work were equal, George punishing Karl-Anthony Towns for playing below the level in a side ball screen for a pull-up 3. After settling in with those two early makes, George didn't commandeer the offense, instead finding a pair of openings for catch-and-shoot 3s on that left side of the floor.

It was a much quieter second quarter for George, but he did settle the game down during a Knicks run with a mid-range jumper from the same spot he got his first score of the game.

How does Maxey respond?

When you're down Embiid, you have to be realistic about the task in front of Maxey. With the salary and accolades comes great responsibility. But you're going to have to live with some helter-skelter moments as the 6-foot-2 guard navigates traps on the perimeter and length on drives.

It wasn't a great start for Maxey, who was well off the mark on a pull-up 3 in transition and then briefly reliant on contested floaters.

To his credit, though, Maxey's approach was much better to start the second quarter. He immediately attacked Towns in the pick-and-roll and got him to pick up his third foul of the first half. It induced a stretch of small ball from the Knicks, which enabled Maxey to then attack the rim more aggressively for fouls. And once he got going, Maxey attacked like-sized matchups out of the post for jumpers.

Picking up that third Towns foul was particularly important to Philadelphia staying in the driver's seat for the entirety of the first half. With Mitchell Robinson out with an illness and Towns in foul trouble, the Knicks had no choice but to go smaller. That, in turn, helped the Sixers keep the Knicks off the glass.

The minutes piled up quickly

As even just the second quarter went on, you could see fatigue kick in for Maxey. It manifested in some bad decisions, like a wild shot in the paint that smacked the backboard and sent New York out in transition. Maxey also committed a really bad passing turnover, throwing the ball directly into a lane for a deflection that gave the Knicks a transition score.

The turnovers were a huge story in this game, Maxey leading the sloppiness with six of his own. Philadelphia has talked endlessly about valuing the basketball, treating every possession like it's a precious currency. The Sixers committed 18 turnovers in this game, giving New york five extra possessions in a six-point win. You can't have that and not scorch the nets from 3. Not without Embiid.

Head-scratching moments

Let's review. V.J. Edgecombe fouled Jalen Brunson 93 feet away from the basket with the Knicks in the bonus. Kelly Oubre over-chased a loose ball in the backcourt and was unable to recover it, leading to a five-on-four for the Knicks. In the second half, Quentin Grimes botched a catch on a baseline cut that would've beaten a double-team on George. The bad catch allowed the Knicks to recover and instead of Grimes getting a score at the rim, the Sixers came away with nothing because Grimes passed out to Oubre for a 3 that missed the mark.

Mistakes are inevitable. But you have to figure that there will be a extended run of time in which the offense stalls out. It's practically inevitable in a game without Embiid and Maxey playing almost 47 minutes. Philadelphia had every opportunity to win this game, but the turnovers and mental lapses leave you no margin for error. That the Sixers went five minutes and 52 seconds during the fourth quarter without a made shot, on top of everything else, was absolutely fatal.

Dominick Barlow steps up

With Andre Drummond and Adem Bona both stuck to the bench with foul trouble, Nick Nurse had little choice but to turn to Barlow. He didn't have the most robust 15 minutes of production. But Barlow being able to switch out on the perimeter slowed Brunson down and kept him quiet for a long stretch of the second half.

On top of that, Barlow made some nice passes out of the short roll and dove hard to the rim when he had openings to cut. He gave the Sixers' defense enough time, but the team-wide offense just never responded.

Shot quality

If everything looked easier for the Knicks, that's because it was. We can dissect the blown possesions, criticize the lack of depth in offensive structure and question the shots the Sixers got down the stretch of this game. What it comes down to is that the Knicks have the size to silence Maxey when they put two on the ball. They have the brick walls on the wings to make George settle for contested jumpers as the minutes pile up. This may not be a series to play through Embiid. But having his scoring prowess and ability to manufacture space and thus drive up shot quality were sorely missed in this game.

Add us as a preferred source on Google