All of a sudden, the Knicks are in a rut. All of a sudden, a potential Eastern Conference roadblock might have emerged as a matchup problem.
2026 has quickly brought on a bit of adversity for the Knicks.
They were flat and out of sorts for the second straight night, falling to the 76ers 130-119 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
It meant they dropped both legs of this back-to-back and have lost three-in-a-row, their first three-game skid since the end of October.
That was the only other time they had even lost two in a row this season.
Friday and Saturday were just their third and fourth losses at home all season.
After winning 11 of 12 games, including their NBA cup triumph, the Knicks are now 4-5 in their last nine games.
Two of those losses came to the 76ers at MSG, who certainly look capable of making some noise in the East.
Their young and explosive backcourt of Tyrese Maxey, an emerging star, and rookie VJ Edgecombe, the No. 3 pick in the draft, have given the Knicks fits.
On Saturday, Maxey recorded 36 points while Edgecombe added 26.
The Knicks had no answers for either of them, allowing them to penetrate into the lane at will and find quality looks from deep.
Teams with quick and athletic guards are the ones that have most bothered the Knicks this season.
The 76ers have two of the best.
When the Knicks cut their deficit to nine points a few minutes into the fourth quarter, Edgecombe blocked Mikal Bridges’ 3-pointer and subsequently went coast-to-coast, beating the Knicks down the floor for a wide-open dunk.
When the Knicks got back within 12 with 4:26 left, Maxey hit a stepback three.
When the Knicks were within 10 with just over a minute left, Edgecombe stole an inbounds pass, and after a timeout, got to the rim for an open layup.
They were relentless.
The Knicks should have gotten a boost with their top two big men in Karl-Anthony Towns (illness) and Mitchell Robinson (load management) returning to action.
But neither made much of an impact.
Towns had just two first-half points and finished with 21, many of which came late.
He spent most of the night complaining to the referees about a lack of a whistle — for which he earned a technical in the first quarter.
Jalen Brunson had a team-high 31 points, but his co-stars played more like role players.
Josh Hart’s continued absence is felt. The lack of his do-it-all impact and energizer ability is glaring.
Joel Embiid played at Madison Square Garden for the first time since becoming a Knicks villain during the 2024 playoffs.
This time, though, he returned less of an MVP-caliber superstar and more of a co-star along with Maxey and Edgecombe.
But, healthy again, he added 26 points and 10 rebounds, getting the better of Towns and Robinson.
The 76ers used a 9-0 run in the second quarter to separate, and by the third quarter, built a 19-point lead.
The Knicks made it interesting in the fourth quarter but never seriously threatened a comeback, never getting closer than seven points.
It doesn’t get easier for the Knicks, who next travel to Detroit to face the first-place — though now injury-riddled without Jalen Duren and Tobias Harris — Pistons for their first matchup of the year. It won’t matter who is out for the Pistons, though, if the Knicks keep playing like this.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
