Steve Popper: Scrappy Knicks go toe-to-toe with 76ers, hold on for victory
The Knicks' Josh Hart, left, and Jalen Brunson reacts to a three-point shot by Landry Shamet during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the 76ers on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Philadelphia. Credit: AP/Chris Szagola
PHILADELPHIA — While the Knicks have focused on what they are or what they can be, and whether that is anything close to the expectations that they brought into the season, the Eastern Conference path that seemed wide-open now seems like a slog through one street fight after another.
And on Saturday afternoon, they showed that maybe they indeed are tough enough to survive.
The 54-point win over the Nets on Wednesday was always going to come with the disclaimer that lottery-bound Brooklyn is not a strong indicator. And when the Knicks headed to the locker room at halftime Saturday, having witnessed what looked like a rejuvenated Joel Embiid, there was something to prove. They responded, dominating the third quarter, shutting down Embiid and escaping with a 112-109 win.
With loud chants of “Let’s go Knicks!” reverberating through the arena as if it were two years ago in the playoffs, the Knicks suddenly looked like that overachieving, hard-working team. They were first on the floor for every loose ball. They soared in for offensive rebounds and raced around the defensive end of the floor. For maybe the first time since the NBA Cup run, the Knicks looked as if they were intent on really being a contender.
“Just pure chaos, but we found a way to win,” Jalen Brunson said.
“That’s the best way I can describe it . . . Just our energy, the way we were playing both sides of the ball. We just came out with a certain mindset and pace that we have to continue to have.”
Karl-Anthony Towns was called for his fourth foul and went to the bench 1:36 into the second half with the Knicks down by three. Mitchell Robinson came in and his athleticism turned the game. The Knicks held Embiid scoreless in the quarter, allowed only 13 points and finished the period on a 25-9 run.
Towns was never a factor, picking up his fifth foul 25 seconds into the fourth quarter and fouling out 2:05 after returning midway through the quarter. The Knicks had to scramble to survive, building an eight-point lead in the final minute but needing a coach’s challenge with 33.3 seconds left to prevent the 76ers from having the ball with a chance to tie. An offensive foul on Brunson was overturned and ruled an away-from-the-ball foul on VJ Edgecombe. Brunson hit the free throw and OG Anunoby sank one of two from the line for a five-point advantage.
The 76ers cut it to three again and Anunoby was fouled with 9.9 seconds left, but that call was challenged, too, and overturned. That gave Philadelphia the ball with a chance to tie, but Tyrese Maxey threw up an air ball with 5.8 seconds remaining.
Brunson was fouled with five seconds left and missed both shots, but he poked the ball away from Embiid as the center started upcourt. Anunoby retrieved the loose ball.
Brunson finished with 31 points and Anunoby added 23 points and seven rebounds. Embiid, after a 10-for-12, 28-point first half, was scoreless until the final eight minutes, when he scored 10 to finish with 38.
But it was more than scoring that made the difference in this one. The Knicks showed energy and emotion, forcing five turnovers in the third quarter and winning the second-chance-points battle 26-4 for the game.
“I don’t know who started it first, but it’s infectious,” Anunoby said. “Playing with energy, flying around, just do whatever it takes to win.”
“When you’re a team that’s struggling to put together wins, you got to do the little things,” Josh Hart said. “You’ve got to have good attention to detail, good focus, good energy, and you’ve got to get all those 50-50 balls.
“So I feel like we did that, came out the right way in the second half, and then we didn’t close out the fourth how we wanted, but we got the win.”
Does a January game with a long way to go prove anything more than the blowout loss to Dallas on Monday or the one-sided win over the Nets?
It might, because the Knicks already had lost twice to the 76ers this season. The real test will come in the postseason, but the path suddenly appears much more challenging than it might have when the season began.
With Indiana, last year’s conference champion, languishing near the bottom of the standings without Tyrese Haliburton, and with Boston still awaiting a possible return of Jayson Tatum, the last two representatives of the conference in the NBA Finals were thought to be on a gap year. The 76ers were contending with the age and injuries of Embiid and Paul George. Toronto was an afterthought.
Right?
“It is good, but also it’s January,” Hart said. “You can’t get too high or too low. I think that’s the biggest thing. I think that’s where y’all can write whatever y’all want to write.
“Three games ago, we were turning into a lottery team, and now you guys are like, ‘Oh, they’re battling the East.’ So that’s for y’all to do. Us, we’re trying to stay level-headed and not get too high or too low.”
Notes & quotes: Guerschon Yabusele, who excelled last season with the 76ers and has not found a role this season, remains the most likely Knick to be traded before the Feb. 5 deadline. “It’s nothing that I can control,” he said. “Just try to be smart, preparing, as ready as I can. To go out there when my name is called and to give everything on the court. I’ve never gotten traded before or been in a situation like this. I don’t know what to do, but I just work hard and try to stay prepared.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
