Knicks’ packed schedule catches up to them in sloppy home loss to 76ers

The Knicks’ legs just weren’t there. 

And their monthlong tour de force experienced a rare hiccup as a result. 

Returning home for the first time since Dec. 7, they looked like a side on the back end of a busy and intense slate of games with plenty of travel. 

They turned the ball over 18 times, shot just 25 percent from 3-point range and fell to the 76ers 116-107 Friday night at Madison Square Garden. 

The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak and marked just their second loss in their last 13 games. It was also just their second loss at home all season. 

“These guys are human,” coach Mike Brown said. “But at the end of the day, we try to pride ourselves on being a no-excuse team. We’re gonna go out and play to the highest possible standard, or the highest possible level. Most times, we’ll probably have it, but tonight we didn’t. 

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“Chalk it up, hopefully, as a learning experience.” 

Down six with under a minute left, they had a chance to corral a loose ball and cut their deficit to one possession. But there was a miscommunication between Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, allowing VJ Edgecombe to grab it and dish to Tyrese Maxey, who drilled a corner 3-pointer for the dagger. It was that kind of night. 

Friday was the second leg of a back-to-back, having played and beaten the Pacers in Indiana on Thursday — where they traveled after nearly a week in Las Vegas for the NBA Cup semifinal and final. That Vegas trip followed a trip to Toronto. 

Sometimes, there are simply schedule losses. 

“Their last game was probably five or six days ago,” Hart said. “You always gotta give yourself grace. It’s an up-and-down season. I’ve been in games like this, games where you feel you can’t find it. When the game’s right there, and it’s just one extra-effort play, and you feel like you just can’t get that extra-effort play. It happens. It’s a long season.” 

The 76ers’ young and dynamic backcourt of Maxey — who has emerged as an All-NBA caliber star this year — and the rookie Edgecombe gave the Knicks fits. Their speed and explosiveness were evident against tired legs. 

Maxey recorded 30 points and nine assists, and Edgecombe added 23 points. They combined to score 10 of the 76ers’ last 13 points to put the Knicks away. 

It didn’t help that two Knicks starters — OG Anunoby and Hart — had uncharacteristically poor showings and that Brunson, though he finished with 22 points, had a rare bad shooting night, going 7-for-22 from the field and 1-for-7 from 3-point range. Anunoby did not score until 3:25 left in the game, and finished with just two points. He went 1-for-9 from the field. Hart had just five points. 

And that dynamic 76ers backcourt was key to all the Knicks turnovers, applying heavy ball pressure, and in throwing Brunson off his game. Brunson and the Knicks faced similar ball pressure against the Magic and Spurs in Las Vegas and handled it well. Friday, it caught up to them. 

“They got up into us and it bothered us a little bit,” Brown said. “We had 18 turnovers, the game was lost in the turnover game. We had 18 of them for 16 points, compared to their 11 for two points. Not every time they were in us we turned it over, but I think the cumulative impact of it or effect of it throughout the course of the game caused us to turn the ball over.” 

For just the second time in weeks, the red-hot Knicks were cooled down.