Sixers lose big to the Knicks in Game 1; Jaylen Brunson goes off; MSG crowd goes after Joel Embiid

The Sixers trailed 33-25 after one quarter against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The stars of the series are winning their matchups so far. Joel Embiid scored eight points in the first quarter and sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the bench early with two fouls. He has not been efficient, shooting only 1 of 6.

Meanwhile, the Knicks' Jalen Brunson is already up to 14 points. The Sixers started with rookie VJ Edgecombe on Brunson. He slowed him down momentarily but the flood gates opened when Kelly Oubre Jr., and Paul George took a shift on him.

Who would guard Jalen Brunson was one of the big question coming into the 76ers' second-round series against the New York Knicks.

Rookie VJ Edgecombe got the call and has essentially face-guarded the Knicks start through the early minutes of the first quarter. He's also done the job on the other end, knocking down his team's first shot and hitting another three-pointer.

Edgecombe has proven himself as a defender all season, taking on tough assignments and using his athleticism to make things tough for some of the game's brightest stars.

The return of Joel Embiid and continued brilliance of Tyrese Maxey were the major swings in the 76ers' series win against the Boston Celtics.

They combined to average 54.9 points, 13.9 rebounds and 13.6 assists in the seven-game series, and as both players posted 30-point performances multiple times as their team battled back from a 3-1 deficit.

The Knicks are aware of the potent one-two punch that Embiid and Maxey pack. Asked how they expect to slow down the Sixers' stars, coach Mike Brown said his team will try to make Embiid and Maxey uncomfortable and hope that knocks them off their game at moments.

Rebounding was one of the 76ers' chief concerns in their first-round matchup against the Boston Celtics, a team playing large swaths of their series without a true big man on the court.

That will take on an even greater level of importance against the New York Knicks in this second round. In Karl-Anthony Towns (11.3), Mitchell Robinson (5.3) and OG Anunoby (8.7) have three big athletes who have rebounded at a high clip in the playoffs. And Josh Hart, probably the best rebounding guard in the league, has pulled down 9.2 rebounds per game this postseason.

Coach Nick Nurse discussed his team energy and effort when they struggled to finish defensive possessions with a rebound. And Tyrese Maxey took it upon himself to grab 10 rebounds in Game 5 and another 11 in Game 7 because he was "tired of giving up rebounds."

The 76ers released single-game tickets with a little surprise restriction on Sunday. And New York Knicks fans weren't happy about it.

The team decided to limit Ticketmaster sales to the greater Philadelphia area, shutting out fans from other states from making direct purchases.

Knicks fans neutralized the Sixers' home-court advantage in the 2024 postseason, and Joel Embiid made sure to mention it after his team's Game 7 win over the Boston Celtics. He implored Sixers fans not to sell to New Yorkers.

The 76ers will not wear their lucky white uniforms in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal matchup with the New York Knicks.

The Sixers wore white jerseys in all of their four wins against the Boston Celtics in the first round. In fact, after taking two wins in Boston in white, they even scrapped a plan to wear their iconic black throwback jerseys at home for Game 6. And later closed out the series in white in Game 7 as well.

Perhaps this is some form of gamesmanship from the Knicks, or maybe they're superstitious themselves. New York did win Game 1 of their first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks in home whites.

The last time the 76ers faced the Boston Celtics in the NBA playoffs, Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Tobias Harris were on the same roster, and it looked as if they had a good shot at defeating them in the second round of the 2023 postseason.

The Sixers took a 3-2 series lead into Game 6 in Boston at TD Garden and laid an egg. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey were the only players to score more than 13 points as the Sixers managed only 85 points in a nine-point loss. The next game was a Jayson Tatum classic. He scored 51 points and the Sixers struggled once again.

That roster has since been broken up, with Harden now in Cleveland (after a short stint in Los Angeles) and Harris in Detroit. All three players made it to the postseason this year and faced a decisive Game 7 to close the first round — and they all pulled off the win.

As 76ers players and staff filed into Madison Square Garden for Monday’s shootaround, coach Nick Nurse enthusiastically clapped.

Any jolt of energy is likely beneficial for this quick turnaround, after the Sixers won a dramatic Game 7 Saturday night in Boston and then traveled straight to New York for Monday’s Game 1.

How did reserve guard Quentin Grimes spend his Sunday off to recharge? "Laying in bed all day," he said, to sleep and call friends.

Quentin Grimes knows exactly what to expect from a Madison Square Garden playoff atmosphere. The 76ers’ reserve guard played his first two-plus seasons with the Knicks, including their 2023 run to the second round.

“I’ve been here. I’ve played here,” Grimes said before the Sixers’ Monday morning shootaround. “I know what it’s going to be like. Tyrese [Maxey] and them know what it’s been like, for sure. So we’re just trying to tell PG [Paul George] and some of the younger guys that it’s going to be pretty similar, if not better than [Boston’s] TD Garden.

“It’ll probably be an insane atmosphere, for sure.”

Despite the Sixers completing an improbable 3-1 series comeback with a Game 7 win over the Celtics on Saturday night, the national basketball media does not like the team’s chances of pulling off another upset in their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the New York Knicks.

All four members of ESPN’s Get Up like the Knicks to win the series. Former Duke and Chicago Bulls guard Jay Williams picked the battle-tested Knicks to win in seven games, but said the Sixers are the more talented team.

“The experience that the Knicks have had over the last several years playing together, those reps, I think, will matter down the stretch,” Williams said.

Jaylen Brown had some things to get off his chest when he sat down to host a Twitch stream on Sunday night, a day after the Sixers finished their improbable 3-1 comeback in the Eastern Conference first-round series and the team’s first series win over the Boston Celtics since 1982.

Brown, who scored 33 points in Game 7 against the Sixers at TD Garden, took aim at series officials during his stream on Sunday and made the claim that “flopping has ruined our game.”

Brown called out Joel Embiid specifically for embellishment.

This season, the Sixers and Knicks split their four regular-season matchups, though the last occurred in mid-February. And some key characters on both sides have changed since their last postseason showdown.

The Knicks made all-in blockbuster trades for All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns and wing Mikal Bridges, who helped them advance last season to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000 but often have become the subject of harsh outside criticism.

The Sixers, meanwhile, signed Paul George and drafted VJ Edgecombe, creating what Joel Embiid called a “much better team” that is “in sync” on both ends of the floor this time around. Coach Nick Nurse also commended the way the Sixers responded to Boston’s first-round punches, including two dreadful blowout losses and the palpable intensity of Game 7.

The overwhelming caveat while evaluating the matchup between the 76ers and the New York Knicks is whether Joel Embiid can remain healthy enough to play at this level for another series.

He alluded that he was “dealing with some stuff” — aka Bell’s palsy that paralyzed part of his face, along with the aftermath of knee surgery — during his last playoff series against the Knicks. This year, he is still less than a month removed from an appendectomy. During Game 7, Embiid was limping late in the game after Tyrese Maxey inadvertently fell into his legs, and television cameras caught him doing some elaborate full-body stretches while laying on the floor.

“I feel great. I feel amazing,” Embiid said again, after acknowledging after Game 6 that is what his brain has been telling him. “I was faking it [the previous injuries].”

The Sixers aren't the only team to comeback this postseason.

The Detroit Pistons also overcame a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Orlando Magic, winning their Game 7 matchup Sunday night 116-94.

Cade Cunningham had 32 points and 12 assists, while former Sixer Tobias Harris put up 30 points in the Pistons' win.

The Sixers will kick off their second-round playoff series against the New York Knicks on NBC, with tipoff scheduled just after 8 p.m. The game will stream on Peacock, NBC's subscription service.

Calling the game will be Noah Eagle, who handled play-by-play for Saturday's Game 7 win against the Celtics. Joining Eagle will be Grant Hill and Robbie Hummel, with Ashley ShahAhmadi reporting courtside from Madison Square Garden.

Sixers Pregame Live will air on NBC Sports Philadelphia+ at 7:30 p.m., featuring Amy Fadool Kane, Jim Lynam, and Marc Jackson. The trio will also host postgame coverage following the game.