Without Joel Embiid, Sixers again forced into patchwork center rotation in Game 2 loss at Knicks

NEW YORK — In the fourth quarter of the 76ers’ tight Game 2 against the Knicks, Dominick Barlow found himself switched onto guarding reigning NBA Clutch Player of the Year Jalen Brunson.

Barlow had not played in Monday’s second-round opener until garbage time, and had been in and out of the rotation during the Sixers’ seven-game, first-round upset of the Boston Celtics. But that was the Sixers’ big-man reality in Wednesday’s 108-102 loss at Madison Square Garden — and, potentially, will be their situation moving forward — after star Joel Embiid was downgraded from probable to out with a sprained ankle and hip soreness.

That forced coach Nick Nurse to again tinker with his center rotation, opting for starter Andre Drummond (six points, eight rebounds in 15 minutes) and backup Adem Bona (two points, seven rebounds, two blocks in 16 minutes). Barlow (six points, two rebounds, two blocks, one steal in 16 minutes) then put together arguably the most consistently impactful stretch as the emergency small-ball option with the other two in foul trouble in the second half. Heck, even Paul George spent time guarding Knicks’ All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns down the stretch.

» READ MORE: The Sixers missed Joel Embiid, quiet second half from stars, and more from a 108-102 loss in Game 2

Prior to Wednesday’s game, Nurse categorized Embiid’s status as day to day, which could mean this was simply another temporary patchwork job. It also could be the coach’s future frontcourt options with the Sixers’ season teetering again, in an 0-2 deficit as the series shifts to Xfinity Mobile Arena for Friday’s Game 3.

“I know sometimes things are random,” Barlow said from the Sixers’ locker room after the game. “They told me that I was probably going to play today. It came in a spot I didn’t [expect], obviously, but I thought I played [well].”

Nurse said during his pregame news conference that Embiid woke up with “a bunch of soreness,” and was ruled out by the medical staff following the team’s morning shootaround. Though Bona, who had slipped out of the rotation once Embiid returned from his appendectomy in Game 4 of the Boston series, said he never “dropped the idea of the possibility of playing,” it became more “obvious” once the former NBA Most Valuable Player was officially sidelined.

Nurse flipped how he handled Games 1 through 3 against Boston, when Bona started against the more traditional center Neemias Queta and Drummond came off the bench against stretch big Nikola Vucevic. When Embiid missed regular-season games with a variety of ailments, however, Drummond typically started while Bona was the backup. Also altering Wednesday’s Game 2 matchup was that the Knicks were without Mitchell Robinson, who was a late scratch due to illness.

Drummond particularly struggled when the Knicks went small, with the 6-foot-7 OG Anunoby periodically shifting to center after Towns picked up his third foul in the second quarter’s opening minute. And whenever Bona entered the game, he again flashed the athletic, high-energy prowess and head-scratching moments that have defined his two NBA seasons.

Bona grabbed six offensive rebounds in 13 first-half minutes, including one when he dove on the ground to save possession and another that led to a VJ Edgecombe driving conversion at the basket in the second quarter’s final minute. But as Edgecombe splashed home a go-ahead three-pointer on the Sixers’ ensuing possession, Bona picked up a silly third foul by running over a Knicks player with less than four seconds before the halftime buzzer.

» READ MORE: Sixers gave everything they had in Game 2 loss to the Knicks, but find themselves in familiar straits

“I try to stay level-headed and [have] a cool mind,” said Bona, who also referenced the five fouls he accrued in less than four minutes of Game 1.

Then when Drummond picked up his fourth foul less than four minutes into the third quarter — and Bona was whistled for his fourth and fifth in quick succession — Barlow came off the bench for the first time at the 4:53 mark.

The 22-year-old immediately clicked back into his role, after starting 59 games as the versatile player who successfully parlayed a two-way contract into a standard deal. Barlow got the ball on the short roll and dished it to Kelly Oubre Jr., who drew Towns’ fourth foul. He threw down two dunks in less than two minutes of the third quarter, then opened the fourth with a cutting finish. He grabbed a rebound that led to a tie-breaking Tyrese Maxey jumper, blocked a corner three-point attempt by Anunoby, and dove onto the floor to collect a steal.

“I’m still a young player, but I feel like I have a decent amount of experience now,” said Barlow, who averaged 7.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists during the regular season. “Just use that to my advantage.”

But after Barlow committed a turnover by attempting to thread a bounce pass to Oubre, and Brunson got past Barlow and drew a foul on one of those switches, Nurse subbed in guard Quentin Grimes and moved George to the de facto center.

Embiid wore a black Sixers sweatsuit while watching his teammates from the bench, after Nurse said he was “disappointed” he could not play. The coach added that it takes a series’ first couple games to solidify personnel groupings against specific opponents, and that “hopefully we’re figuring out some options.”

Nurse now has plenty to evaluate after Wednesday’s unconventional big-man rotation. It could go down as temporary patchwork if Embiid returns Friday.

But this is also when the “stay ready” cliché is most critical. Because Barlow went from regular-season starter, to spot minutes in the Boston series, to guarding Brunson in the fourth quarter of a tight second-round Game 2.

“That’s just how it goes,” Maxey said. “You never know who can swing a series coming off the bench.”