NEW YORK — Josh Hart, the astute and responsible pro that he is, wanted to make one thing clear after his New York Knicks took a 2-0 lead over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
“This team just came back from 3-1, so you can’t sit here and be happy about (where we are) or complacent,” Hart said. “There are 15 or 16 teams, ever, that have come back from 3-1, so we know what this team is capable of. We have to continue to be focused.”
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Spoken like a true professional. Hart, and his teammates, shouldn’t say or think anything else. New York, though, probably doesn’t have much to worry about — with one caveat: the health of OG Anunoby. The Knicks’ swingman, who might be the best two-way player on planet Earth right now, asked to exit the game with 2:31 left in the fourth quarter after grabbing at his upper leg and hobbling off the court.
Knicks coach Mike Brown provided no update after the game.
“I haven’t talked to anybody,” he said.
Assuming Anunoby’s injury isn’t serious — which is a coin flip at the moment — the Knicks should be able to get past Philadelphia sooner rather than later. New York isn’t a one-trick pony like the Boston Celtics, who have crumbled the last two postseasons as they launch 3s into the air, up big or down big, and don’t seem willing to do anything else. The Knicks beat the 76ers 108-102 despite being outscored by 18 points from 3, taking fewer free throws and getting outrebounded.
Per NBA.com, the Knicks rank first in field-goal attempts in the restricted area, fourth in efficiency and fourth in mid-range efficiency among remaining playoff teams. They’re also second in transition points per game, first in fast-break points and second, behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, in points off turnovers. All of that was on display Wednesday night.
New York missing 10 straight shots — like Boston did in its Game 7 loss — doesn’t feel possible considering the diversity with which it scores and how in sync both the offense and defense have been over their last five games.
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The 76ers don’t have anyone who can hold Karl-Anthony Towns in check. The Knicks’ big man has taken whatever he’s wanted when on the court; he just needs to stay on it. Towns struggled with foul trouble for most of Game 2 and still finished with 20 points (on just eight field-goal attempts), 10 rebounds and seven assists. Jalen Brunson’s off night equaled 26 points on 43 percent shooting. Mikal Bridges, who scored 17-plus points for the third straight game after failing to reach double figures in the previous three, seems like he’s found his second wind on both sides of the floor. Anunoby has turned into Kawhi Leonard with a better jumper in these playoffs. Hart has been the backbone of turning defense into easy offense.
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New York only lost the rebounding battle to Philadelphia by two in Game 2, and that’s with Mitchell Robinson (illness) being ruled out by the Knicks before the game and Towns only playing 27 minutes.
In a tight contest, New York was able to pull it out late by forcing Philadelphia’s non-superstars to step up, and they couldn’t. The Knicks blitzed Tyrese Maxey aggressively late in the fourth quarter, and his teammates missed shot after shot during a 1-of-9 stint that essentially decided their fate. Maxey looked exhausted as the game went on and scored just seven of his 26 points after halftime.
Without sidekick Joel Embiid, who was ruled out for Game 2 with ankle and hip issues that will make his status uncertain going forward, Maxey is Philadelphia’s lone player who demands attention from multiple defenders. As good as Paul George has been in the playoffs, he’s only taking jump shots, making him easy to defend one-on-one. VJ Edgecombe has risen at times but is still a rookie in the midst of the longest season of his life. Kelly Oubre has been fine. Quentin Grimes has given the 76ers very little through two games. Every other non-center on Philadelphia’s bench may as well be a contestant on “Who He Play For?”
“(Maxey) had 19 in the first half, and if you give a great player the same dose of coverage the whole game, he’s going to tear you apart,” Brown said. “We went to some blitzing, double-teaming him, and then we took it off and then put it back on. When you do blitz or double, you have to be OK saying if other guys make shots, and you lose, you pat them on the back, tell them good game and move on to the next one. It’s hard.”
It could have backfired, but it didn’t. It was the right call by Brown. The Knicks challenged Maxey and a team lacking depth to a battle of attrition and came out victors. In the fourth quarter, the 76ers looked similar to how they did for most of Game 1: overwhelmed and worn down. Philadelphia just doesn’t appear to have the horses to give it a serious go for another playoff series, especially if Embiid isn’t capable of playing or moving with any type of fluidity if and when he can lace them up.
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The Knicks are in a place where if one thing isn’t working, they have another thing they can fall back on. If Plan B doesn’t work, there’s a Plan C. The Celtics don’t operate with that optionality. The 76ers also look like they gave everything they have just to get to this point. Maybe that changes when they get in front of their home crowd, but the Knicks are also just the better team.
If Anunoby isn’t out for an extended period, the Knicks’ second straight Eastern Conference Finals appearance will arrive sooner than a lot of us thought.
But that’s still a big if.