Josh Hart Laments Knicks' Turnovers, Missed Opportunites in Ugly Loss to 76ers
The New York Knicks are scratching their heads after dropping a 79-73 decision to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.
Less than 48 hours after allowing only 74 points in a blowout win over Orlando on Friday ... a season-low in any NBA game this season ... the Knicks (37-27) immediately lost that record on a night that saw them lose 19 turnovers and fail to generate any offensive momentum despite another stellar defensive output.
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Josh Hart, who pulled in a team-best 11 rebounds in defeat, refused to mince words in the aftermath.
"We played like (excrement)," Josh Hart said in video from SNY. "We obviously didn't shoot the ball well, turnovers were bad ... We've just got try to flush it. We got them again on Tuesday. We got to try to come out and play better."
In addition to the turnovers, the Knicks shot a season-low 32.5 percent from the field, including a 9-of-40 rate from three-point range. Philadelphia, missing stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, sealed the deal with both a Kyle Lowry three-pointer and one last unforced error from the Knicks over the final two minutes.
Donte DiVincenzo's pass intended for Jalen Brunson sailed into the MSG seating area with just under 20 seconds remaining and the Sixers leading by five, closing New York's most futile offensive outing since 2018.
The Knicks' Sunday loss further tightened the Eastern Conference playoff race: while New York stayed in fourth place (partly aided by Miami and Orland losses) while Philadelphia (36-28) leaped into sixth.
Entering this week, the fourth and eighth spots in the East are separated by only two games and the 76ers immediately return to MSG on Tuesday night (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT) to close out their annual four-game set with the Knicks.
