After beating the Boston Celtics in the first round, the Philadelphia 76ers seemed to be on a roll. However, following a 137-98 loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks, Paul George highlighted the impact of a seven-game series on a team.
During his postgame media availability, Paul George maintained that losing in such fashion and blaming the short turnaround between series is unacceptable. Still, the 76ers’ superstar had to acknowledge how the emotional fatigue from playing a seven-game series was a factor in the team’s performance on Monday night.
“I won’t use that [fatigue] as an excuse,” Paul began. “But [it’s] an emotional rollercoaster. You go from Game 7 and one day off, and then you head back into another matchup. There was some carryover of us trying to get up and get prepared for this next matchup. But we should have come out and done a better job. I won’t use that as an excuse.”
The 76ers went into Monday night’s matchup after a harrowing run through the first round. Although Philadelphia was down 3-1 early in the series, the team showed tremendous resilience, rallying behind Paul George and Joel Embiid‘s performances, to upset the second-seeded Celtics.
The effort, while commendable, undoubtedly left the 76ers in a vulnerable position going into the semifinals against the Knicks, who enjoyed ample rest before the matchup.
For the 76ers, winning Game 1 in New York was always going to be a long shot. However, losing by 39 points may raise some concerns for Philadelphia’s chances moving forward.
Paul George Praises The Knicks’ Shooting
While fatigue most certainly played a role in the 76ers’ loss, the manner in which it materialized was far more noteworthy.
The Philadelphia 76ers looked overwhelmed on the defensive end as the New York Knicks caught fire in the first half itself. Paul George noted the Knicks’ tremendous shooting display during his postgame press conference, stating:
“We had breakdowns tonight, but they also shot the s–t out of the ball. They were hot, they came out hot, they came out on fire.”
The Knicks notched 74 points in the first half, followed by another 63 in the second. Considering that they shot 53-84 (~63%) from the field and 19-37 (~51%) from three-point range, the Knicks seemed virtually unstoppable.
Despite this elite shooting performance, Paul George maintained an optimistic outlook toward Game 2 by reiterating:
“But it’s a game of adjustments, we’ll make adjustments. See what we need to get better at. They don’t get any extra points for going up big tonight. We’ll be ready for Game 2.”
Philadelphia’s shooting paled in comparison with New York’s. Although they shot a respectable 11-30 (~37%) from beyond the arc, the overall 30-73 (~41%) from the field became their undoing.
Paul George led all 76ers’ scorers with 17 points on 6-11 FG on the night, closely supported by Joel Embiid, who had 14 points and four rebounds. Considering that Philadelphia’s best scorer, Tyrese Maxey, only had 13 points and three assists on Monday night, it is safe to say that the 76ers can expect more from their stars moving forward.
On a positive note, a loss in Game 1 doesn’t seem to faze the 76ers, who seem to improve when faced with adversity. With two days of rest before Game 2 on Wednesday, May 6, Philadelphia should aim to regroup and regain its bearings.
