Duel between Tyrese Maxey and Jalen Branson in overtime

Seriously understaffed Philadelphia 76ers (15-24) concluded a difficult consecutive match with a match against the New York Knicks (27-15). The Sixers shook off a poor first half and forced overtime, but lost 125-119.

The current injury saga surrounding Joel Embiid is just the latest of several this season alone. His sprained left foot has now sidelined him for six straight games. The Knicks were without their star center, Karl-Anthony Towns. The best team becomes much weaker when one of the best guys is gone, as the 76ers know all too well.

The crowd at the Wells Fargo Center was a little different than downtown first round of last year’s postseason: the building was emptier than earlier in the season and in the playoffs, though New York fans did show up. And this game was close, just like the playoffs, but it wasn’t like that for most of the evening.

Maxie and George are coming back

Embiid sat back down and Nick Nurse said yes again an everyday question. Missing nearly two weeks with a day-to-day injury is an unusual occurrence that fits the bill for the 76ers pretty well. meanwhile, Tyrese McKay and Paul George returned to the starting line-up after a one-game absence.

Maxie was guarded by Mikal Bridges while George drafted OG Anunoby. Both benefited from the spacing and quick passing of Gershon Yabusele, who himself gave them some sort of structure in attack. But that didn’t automatically make them elite, as the Sixers still shot very poorly.

Đorđe drew a couple of fouls on jumpers, one of which was on a three-pointer, and an aggressive rush to the hoop. He didn’t shoot well from the field, but he was aggressive and took care of business early from the foul line. McKay wasn’t able to pressure the defense in the same way, only repeating some of PG’s night during the first half when they kicked poor goals.

The 76ers started Maxey by leaving him early in transition. The guy is fast and the Knicks just couldn’t make up the ground in the foot race. A few easy falls boosted his confidence. While his self-made jumper is still inconsistent, he has shown he can be effective as a downhill threat.

Five straight points from Maxey pulled the 76ers within one point in crunch time. He assisted Justin Edwards, who continues to establish himself as a prospect at the NBA level, on the game-tying three. Maxey made a perfect backhand layup from Brunson, giving the Sixers a chance for another possession with seven seconds left. He tied the game by blowing past Precious Achiuva. There were more shades of the playoffs as Maxey took the Knicks straight.

While falling into these holes shows the weaknesses of the 76ers, these flashes of brilliance show why people still can’t put all their faith in this team. Maxey finished his night with 33 points, six rebounds and six assists on 13-32 shooting.

He tries to contain Jalen Brunson

The 76ers let Brunson Burner torch them in last year’s playoffs. As in that playoff, he was without a colleague and a goal threat. Starting Jericho Sims made things a lot easier for Philly, though they still had a challenge guarding Brunson.

Maxey went after Brunson, though the Sixers were content to switch the ball on and off to stay in front of him, and quickly drew a foul. Less than three minutes into the game, Maxey picked up a second foul after picking up Bridges on the switch and Nick Nurse burned his challenge, leaving the star guard with two fouls and his team without a challenge for the remaining 45 minutes.

Brunson’s playmaking flashed early before he unleashed his jerky, two-foot mastery to score several swimmers. His nine early points complemented Bridges’ terrific off-the-ball scoring and Josh Hart’s expected 76ers torture in transition. These guys know a thing or two about playing good basketball in this area.

Even when Brunson hit the bench to start the second quarter, the Knicks broke through the 76ers’ defense with constant movement and a barrage of threes. Myles McBride, who seemed to like VFC given his elite shooting splits, chipped in with some big shots to the sound of “Deuuuuuce!” He proved his love of playing in Philly by getting a crazy layup on a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.

The 76ers gave Edwards a shot at Brunson, using the long, athletic rookie to disrupt his rhythm. Đorđe took over the task in overtime. Many Sixers got a chance at Brunson. But he gave everyone a job at some point, uncorking floaters and mid-range buckets en route to 38 points on 14-22 shooting.

While Brunson was doing his thing, Hart was picking apart the 76ers defense piece by piece can’t be ignored. His constant movement around the pitch, even in possession in the half, made him a pain to cover and required supreme attention away from the ball. He had his fifth triple-double of the season and led the game in rebounds (16) and assists (12).

Third quarter team?

The 76ers need to embrace the role of plucky, underachieving underdog in their games without Embiid. Even though they should be above it, they aren’t — and that’s the best they can do.

They did that in yesterday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, keeping it close for a good portion of the second half. The script remained in place against the Knicks, who squandered a 13-point halftime lead in the third quarter. Jeff Dowtin Jr. hit a 3-pointer to tie the game before the final 12 minutes.

In the first half, the Knicks just picked up the pace every time they had the numbers. Typically a slower, more methodical team like the Sixers, they are also well aware of when points are easiest to come by. They knew what they were doing by getting up the floor quickly against one of the absolute worst transition defenses in the NBA.

Another of New York’s strengths that was on full display was how well they took care of the ball. The 76ers’ MO is forcing turnovers on defense, but they didn’t start doing so at the level they’re used to until the third quarter. Once they did that, they were off to the races. They took the Knicks out of the game by taking and deflecting passes.

Sims pretty much gave the 76ers an extra player on the court. His bad snaps, bad hands and general poor awareness made him an easy target on defense. The Sixers’ comeback in the third quarter was almost entirely a parade of layups and free throws, some of which were the product of their defensive work.

The Knicks gave the Sixers painful flashbacks by dominating the offensive glass, and after halftime they were thrown off balance. That’s what kept them in the game as the momentum slipped away. Even more playoff shades! The more things change…

With New York able to recover a ton of turnovers and the Brunson-Hart tandem dominating down the stretch, the 76ers fell behind in the final minutes. A series of spectacular moves from Maxi leveled the teams, pitting them against each other for another five minutes. That overtime, however, went to Brunson, who opened up the driving lane for Anunoby, hit a 3-pointer and was fouled on the second. The Knicks never looked back.

On Saturday, the 76ers will begin a short road trip and continue their streak of playoff-caliber opponents with a matchup against the Indiana Pacers.