Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers matched the Knicks shot-for-shot. Then, they went cold to close out Game 2.

NEW YORK — For three quarters, the Sixers matched the Knicks shot-for-shot, maintaining a one-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

But in the final period, the Sixers went ice cold from the field, going 4-for-19 from the field and ultimately dooming their chances of winning Wednesday’s Game 2. The Sixers fell, 108-102, at Madison Square Garden.

“We played good enough defense to win that game, especially in the fourth,” Nick Nurse said. “If you hold them to 19 in the fourth, you have to hope you score more than 20 in a quarter.”

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Nurse said he felt the offense in the fourth quarter was good enough, and that the Sixers’ shot-making was the problem. The Sixers passed out of double teams and generated quality scoring opportunities — they just missed most of them.

“I thought we got a lot of great looks, a lot of open looks,” VJ Edgecombe said. “We were just missing. We were pretty satisfied with the looks we were getting there in the fourth quarter.”

Nurse pointed to six consecutive empty possessions in the final frame that could have easily shifted the tide toward the Sixers if they’d hit their shots. Tyrese Maxey’s layup in the final minute was the Sixers’ only made basket in the last six minutes of the game. The Knicks went on an 9-0 run to go from down three to up six, led by two tough makes from Jalen Brunson.

Edgecombe took responsibility for the loss, saying that the Sixers missed their chances while Brunson made his. Edgecombe and Maxey also struggled with turnovers, giving the ball away four and six times, respectively.

The Knicks credited Mikal Bridges’ strong defense on Maxey as part of why he struggled in the second half, and the Sixers’ star guard said it was partially their defense and partially his own mistakes.

“A little bit of both, they did a good job of taking away certain passes that I like to make when I get trapped,” Maxey said. “It was a couple times we just didn’t execute our trap offense, the trap came and I tried to advance pass it, and then the guy didn’t come up, now we’re stuck in the air. I have to do a better job of just dragging it out and being more poised.”

In the second quarter, Maxey went downhill against the Knicks’ aggressive traps and double teams, splitting defenders and creating offense for himself. Maxey scored 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting and added three assists.

But after dominating in the second, Maxey took just two shots in the third quarter and made only one. He ended the second half with just seven points on 3-for-9 shooting.

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“I kind of jammed my finger in the second quarter, so I didn’t feel confident dribbling around a lot of the traps like I normally do, or splitting them, getting out the ball and trying to create actions,” Maxey said.

Maxey has been struggling with his right pinky finger dating back to last season, and reinjured it earlier this year. The injury caused him to miss over two weeks of the season, and is still bothering him — Maxey still wears a small splint over that finger during practices and games.

He played 47 minutes in Wednesday’s loss and had an even plus-minus in the six-point loss.

With Joel Embiid’s status for Game 3 uncertain, the New York’s defense will continue to treat Maxey like the Sixers’ top option on defense, drawing double teams and contesting his shots. He will need to create shots for teammates and facilitate like the Sixers tried to do in the fourth quarter. Maxey, and his teammates, just need to start hitting them.