On the first night of the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup, the Knicks and 76ers faced off in an epic clash for East Group A. Coming into the game, with both teams under .500, the stakes were high and the desperation to win was evident. In the end, however, the New York Knicks walked away with a 10-point win (109-99), moving up to .500 on the season.
It was a tight battle through the first three quarters with both teams going back on offense. The Knicks were able to build a small lead in the third quarter before the 76ers came crawling back to set the score at 78-75 going into halftime. In the fourth quarter, the Knicks were finally able to pull away for good and create a double-digit point lead in the final minutes which was never overcome.
The leading scorer for the Knicks was OG Anunoby, who dropped 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists on 11-16 shooting. Karl-Anthony Towns was the second-leading scorer with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists on 7-16 shooting. Jalen Brunson had an off game by his standards with just 16 points (4-14 FG), rebounds, and assists but Josh Hart helped make up for his struggles with a stat line of 14 points (6-8 FG), 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, in 37 minutes.
Meanwhile, for the 76ers, Paul George had arguably his best game in a 76ers jersey. He led the team in scoring with 29 points (10-19 FG) and also contributed 10 rebounds and 3 assists. Caleb Martin also had a decent game with 15 points and 4 steals on 6-9 shooting but it wasn’t enough to win with Embiid struggling as badly as he did. The 1x MVP had just 13 points (2-11 FG), 3 rebounds, and 5 assists, in 26 minutes.
Both the 76ers and the Knicks have title aspirations this season but it remains to be seen which team will be the last one standing, especially since they’re so evenly matched. Tonight, it was a perfect storm of elements that allowed the Knicks to put away the 76ers and it might say something more about each team’s trajectory going forward.
Joel Embiid Was Completely Flat
Even with the arrival of Paul George, the 76ers live and die by the play of Joel Embiid and that was especially true tonight with young guard Tyrese Maxey out of the lineup. But instead of rising to the occasion, Embiid struggled all night and finished the game with just 13 points (2-11 FG), 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 fouls in 26 minutes. Most of his points came from the free-throw line, where he shot perfect 8-8.
Without Embiid in his MVP form, the 76ers really had no juice offensively and shot just 37.0% from the field and 34.1% from three. The 76ers also had 13 turnovers as a team, no doubt partly due to Embiid’s struggles and his lack of chemistry with Paul George. In the past, Joel has always been the key to the 76ers’ success and they need him playing well if they’re going to go anywhere in the West this season.
Fortunately, this was still just Embiid’s first game back from injury and his first with his new All-Star teammate Paul George. The expectation is that things will get better with more time, but this is certainly not a good start for the Embiid/George era and they are quickly losing ground in the standings at 2-7.
Knicks Role-Players Stepped Up
Joel Embiid wasn’t the only star to struggle in this one, as Knick guard Jalen Brunson was also on a cold streak out there for the majority of the game. The difference with the Knicks is that they got enough from the other guys to balance the scoring load. The team shot 48.9% from the field and totaled 31 assists to the 76ers’ 18.
Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and OG Anunoby combined to drop 52 points for the Knicks while the bench scored 20 (including 15 points from Miles McBridge). So, while the Knicks are paying top dollar to stars such as Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson, we saw tonight how much of a difference role players can make when the top guys are having an off night.
Besides the Celtics, the Knicks might be the deepest team in the NBA this season and while their record doesn’t show it they have the talent to beat any opponent on any given night. We saw a glimpse of that tonight, but they’ll need that more consistently in order to keep up with the competition.
OG Anunoby Is The X-Factor For The Knicks
Karl-Anthony Towns was treated as the biggest acquisition of the summer for the Knicks, but OG Anunoby has been the early standout so far. This season, he’s been wreaking havoc on opponents with 15.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game on 47.2% shooting. Tonight he was even better than usual with 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists on 11-16 shooting and it opened up the floor for everyone.
This season, Anunoby is drawing comparisons to Kawhi Leonard with his two-way play on the wing and it could unlock a whole new world of opportunities for the Knicks. Against the 76ers, Anunoby was a constant pest defensively and his large frame, big hands, and powerful athleticism gave him easy looks all night long.
If Anunoby can rise to become another star-caliber player for the Knicks then we could be looking at a borderline superteam in the East. With more time to build chemistry and develop a system, the Knicks could easily go on a run and challenge other title contenders like the Celtics, Thunder, and Golden State Warriors.
In the end, only time will how the Knicks stack up to the NBA elites but they’re certainly in a better state than the 76ers, whose season has been defined by uncertainty in the first few weeks. If they can’t turn it around, some serious changes may be coming in the form of a rotation shift or major roster move.
The Knicks move on to game 2 of the NBA Cup tomorrow against the Chicago Bulls at 7:30 PM EST at Madison Square Garden. Then they have a set of games against the Nets on Friday and Sunday to close out three of their four matches in this early season home stand.
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