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2026 NBA Playoffs Round 2: Knicks vs. 76ers Game 2 – It’s All Happening

The player who always gets hurt during the playoffs and makes sure that the Sixers never have a chance of winning a title is, shockingly, hurt.

The Knicks were overwhelming favorites in this game with a hobbled Embiid. With NO Embiid? Holy fucking shit!

Just eleven more wins to go, people!!!

Let’s fucking go, Knicks!

298 replies on “2026 NBA Playoffs Round 2: Knicks vs. 76ers Game 2 – It’s All Happening”

This is the trappiest trap game that ever trap gamed, but it’s almost too obvious at this point so we end up winning by 8 or so in a surprisingly competitive bout.

Oh yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised by a more competitive game, but, well, come on.

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I’m with Alan, the level of focus tonight will be revealing about our chances to go all the way. We need the team to be 100% focused at all times. LET’S GO KNICKS!

KAT really needs to be careful with fouling today.

Mitch being out makes the Embiid absence pretty important.

I’m reminded of the 1999 Finals, in reverse. (As everyone here knows) my beloved Knicks had made it from the East’s #8 Seed to the NBA Finals, where we met the Spurs.

We lost Patrick along the way, and it was fruitless to try and match the Spurs “twin towers” of Tim Duncan and David Robinson with Camby as our only big out there (6’11” but rail thin).

Still, in a five game series, Allen Houston and Latrell Sprewell were able to win one of the games with highly active guard play. I’m expecting Maxey and Edgecomb to offer the same tonight, showing off their admirable skillset. They’ll try everything they can to win this one.

So happy we have OG and Mikal out there to shut down the wings. Don’t play with your food, guys!

So there’ll be no old lady on Sixers defense tonight? I was starting to like her. LOL

Mitch being out sucks but the Knicks new combo 3 pc Wingstop should step up again

They’re gonna miss a shot at some point right?

No need to shoot all those threes. Sixers are struggling to defend the paint

Mikal has been reading KB! What are they saying? That i can’t get to the rim??

I much prefer the version of Bridges that realizes it is not that hard to hit open layups when you are a 6’8″ NBA player

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Going to be a lot of hard fouls tonite…

Well, we used to the same to Jordan, so i won’t complain. It’s a compliment, they know we’re the better team.

KAT foul trouble is basically our biggest risk factor tonight. Us being down KAT + Mitch is probably worse than them being down Embiid.

Edit: Also them making every single fucking three I guess

Knicks are playing pretty poorly, Sixers are hitting everything, and it’s a 5 point game assuming VJ hits his free throws. This will get better.

JB expected a foul that last play, gotta stop playing for a whistle.

Gonna be a huge issue if their trash guys hit their 3s.

We should still win, and comfortably, but the version of this Sixers team that can actually run a little bit on offense and doesn’t have an easy mark on defense looks much better than the Embiid centric version

Sixers can’t miss, we’re not playing well and we’re down 2 points.

I think we’ll be ok

The constant foul calling has ruined the rhythm of the game and Philly right now is getting the calls. Need to stay disciplined and regain composure

Maxey fucking going out of his way to bump on Towns while already falling, this is fucking ridiculous. Fuck the NBA

Towns is such a dumbass. Can’t believe he reverted to his normal form. Or maybe I can.

This is going to be a tough one. Can feel it in my bones.

Brunson is going to have to play a lot of minutes tonight.

They’re not letting the Knicks play defense. They’re blowing the whistle on everything

WTF with all these calls. It’s insane. I’ve never seen anything like this.

Jesús fucking Christ. This has become unwatchable. Fuck you Adam Silver

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Philly has had literally everything go their way and they only lead by 4 lol.

Can’t wait to send this team packing in the 2nd half.

I wish we were facing the Celtics just because we wouldn’t be having to watch this dogshit Philly puts up and calls basketball.

It’s gotten to the point where I expect a whistle every time a Sixer attempts a shot.

Silly me. I thought this game would be decided by basketball but it’s refs all the way down

This is more like it! Foreel though its crazy to have the foul discrepancy this blatant without Embiid playing.

Over/under on Sixers fouls this quarter?

Right now it’s zero

Insane.

Mikal Bridges being a walking dunk was not on my playoff bingo card

This is hard to watch with these refs. You knew they were going to get a friendly whistle this game but right now it’s crazy.

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The annoying thing is the inconsistency, Hart defended Maxey right now exactly like Alvarado did before on the turnaround jumper. Whistle the first time, nothing the second one. Either let them play defense or call everything for both teams equally.

The NBA rulebook is clear: the Philadelphia 76ers are to be given at least 40 free throw attempts per game, regardless of whether Joel embiid plays

I knew this game was going to be a lot tougher than the last one, but they better not blow this.

My second half adjustment would be to remind the refs that there’s no particular reason to give Tyrese Maxey the Michael Jordan whistle

I can’t believe they didn’t call a foul on Brunson on his last drive.

Knicks are going to win this game by like 7 points but it’s going to be an absolute slog to get there

Considering that we played 5 on 9 (the refs plus PG13’s PED dealer) that half, glad to only be down 1.

This is what the fucking NBA has become? A team complains that they’re not getting calls and Silver and the refs obliges them. This has happened multiple times against the Knicks (pacers, Sixers a few years ago). Any one with any sense can see how much these refs have influenced this game. It’s such bullshit.

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The key question here is can they sustain this pace? The refs got off to a hot start with 20 free throws awarded for the first half but they lack depth and their lips must be getting chafed from blowing the whistle so many times.

Moments like this are what make playoff basketball so compelling!

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Refs were terrible. We were extremely undisciplined on the defensive end. The Sixers shot the lights out. Hukporti killed us. Towns barely played. And yet, down by 1 at the half. Alright.

Our defense was shitty but so was the Sixers

Take it to em in the 3rd quarter

Our defense was shitty but so was the Sixers

Not having your centers available has something to do with it.

It turns out it wasn’t Huk versus Bona, it was Bona versus no one at center.

One thing about these Embiid-less Sixers is that they have 3 very good shot-creators in Maxey, PG13, and Edgecombe, and that’s part of the reason that they draw so many fouls. But they as a team are very turnover-prone.

O/U on how many minutes go by before KAT gets his 4th?

If you’re going to call a really tight game you gotta at least call it both ways. There were several plays in that quarter where the Knicks should have earned and 1’s based on how this was called at the other end.

I feel it is an underrated storyline that Paul George discovered that if you take PEDs, the consequences are:

1) you get the benefit of the PEDs
2) you get to take a sabbatical

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They can’t miss but they can’t guard us either. A few stops and we can take control.

The difference is that the Knicks are getting rim/easy attempts, the Sixers are hitting a bunch of tough shots.

This game is pissing me off. I’m going to have to start drinking a lot faster.

Honestly, not even being a homer, it’s just crazy how different the officiating has been between game 1 and game 2. Not great for the sport.

This feels like an old basketball video game where we’re playing a shitty team on the highest difficulty so the CPU just makes them make bad shots all day to keep the score close

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12-24 vs 4-16 from deep.

I suppose the Knicks deserve it given how well they’ve shot. It’s annoying that this comes in such a close game.

12-24 vs 4-16 from deep.

The 3 point shot has destroyed basketball for people that prefer merit over variance.

I guess we can’t stop Quentin Fucking Grimes from getting to the basket??

I’m not a WWE hater, watched it growing up and there’s a lot of scripted TV out there. But this thing where ESPN has to treat it as real is so weird!

If we lose, it’s on Towns. The one night we need him to play smart….snd he’s played like genius lately…but not today

Feels like they are so worried about Maxey that they keep getting in rotation and making it easier for the Sixers to penetrate.

Hmm, Hart hurts his fingers, any guess if he misses another three-point shot the rest of the playoffs?

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So frustrating, Knicks take a step forward, then gives it back with a bad play or a defensive breakdown

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They’ve had KAT for less than half of the game so far, and with no Mitch, it has messed up their defense.

OG’s scoring in the paint has improved dramatically since early in the season

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The no center lineups haven’t been great because of no rim protection and lack of strong rebounding. We’ve been successful when we’ve gone big

Apparently we can’t pass the ball correctly to KAT when PG is guarding him.

I’m watching basketball for over 60 years and I’m not sure I’ve ever been more frustrated by a game than this one. They just can’t get over the hump and take over. Dumb mistakes, bad calls, suspect shots. WIN DAMN IT

And this Barlow guy is kind of a nightmare

I’m really scared that the Sixers found something in him that will help them the rest of the series.

Forgot how nerve-wracking but somewhat exciting it is watching close playoff games…

The game is there for the taking, just got to score a few possessions in a row here.

I’m not looking forward to when Mitchell Robinson is no longer on this team, which will hopefully not happen until he retires.

I hope they, you know, run a play, rather then force Brunson to swish another insanely difficult shot.

Hart was very close to a backcourt violation there (I think the refs might have missed it).

I want our own Barlow

That was horrific. Move the ball. Don’t let yourself get trapped guys

The Sixers don’t seem to have ANY plays. That is huge for the Knicks right now, as they’ve had some sloppy plays on their end.

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Maybe Paul George’s steroids are like the treatment from The Substance and he was supposed to swap out at halftime. He really faded down the stretch.

The decision to just play it out down five was asinine. Thank goodness for their terrible gameplan.

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We are a dumb team, but theirs is apparently dumber.

The 4th quarter in a nutshell. But fuck it, I’ll take it!

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I’ve always believed the Knicks are the worst inbounding team in NBA history, and nothing in this particular game has me reconsidering.

Wow, I can’t believe Philly didn’t even try to foul Jalen there.

Phew… this looked like a trap game all along, but we survived it. That’s what champions do! 😉

Incredibly annoying game but a win is a win. Knicks looking like they’ll win in 5 or less—if OG’s hand is alright.

Maxey is a great player but he looks physically done. Played just under 47 mins tonight!

I need a cigarette, this was so stressful… now hoping OG (and Hart) are fine and onto game 3.

Refs did everything they could to steal that game for Philly but the Knicks somehow gutted it out! Just have to hope OG is good for game 3.

Seems like he came up a little gimpy, but not THAT gimpy?

With or without OG I don’t see Philly beating us 4 out of 5 games, so as long as our guy is good for the next round it should be chill

Yeah, for him to ask out suggests that it’s more than a tweak. Fucking goddamn shit, why can’t we ever get a break?

Philly definitely found something with Barlow. He was very effective tonight.

Damn. Hamstring with him can keep him out for several games.

Hate to say probably way more than that hammies are really nagging and tough to come back from. Ask Luka

If he can come back in a week we’re fine, but if not….

Yeah don’t care about this series Knicks should still beat Philly even without OG but without him vs Detroit we’re probably fucked.

Tonight Mike Brown will say “I haven’t talked to medical” and tomorrow it’ll be some random injury designation questionable for game 3

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You guys are too optimistic that the Knicks would survive this series without OG.

Mikal continues to give the finger to the KB doubters. He was sensational tonight.

Diawara is going to have to play and thank God Brown gave him 600 meaningful minutes.

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Hart is back to his no confidence in his shot…he better get his shit together

It didn’t look that bad to me.

It would not shock me if after some treatment he was OK for game 3, but up 2-0 just give him game 3 off and then see. No point taking any risks up 2-0 going to Philly.

I think Hart shoots better when he doesn’t have time to think, like when it’s late in the shot clock.

Hart was terrible tonight and played 44 minutes. Let’s not do that again.

Knicks shot 27% from three on fairly low volume and still beat them.

Mikal continues to give the finger to the KB doubters. He was sensational tonight.

As his strongest defender here I’m happy I was right. People are way too influenced by recency. Players his age don’t suddenly get way worse unless there are injuries or personal problems involved. The rest is role, needed adjustments, random noise, short term confidence etc

If OG is out, he’s going to have pressure on him to do even more. On that we’ll see.

Knicks not saying anything about OG makes me think it’s indeed serious.

Feels like we are cursed.

Diawara is going to have to play and thank God Brown gave him 600 meaningful minutes.

A certain lunatic coach never would have

We jump to the worst case scenario way too often. Wait until there’s actually bad news before assuming the news is bad.

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4 of the Philly 5 starters played 40+ minutes and they only played 8 players total. Knicks played 11 guys although Brunson and Hart both played over 40 mins.

As his strongest defender here I’m happy I was right. People are way too influenced by recency.

Sigh

As his strongest defender here I’m happy I was right. People are way too influenced by recency.

I think you could power a small planet on the sheer ironic power of those two sentences.

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Ali MacNeil did it again.

The party ended a little early tonight so she got the crew to go to Slainte on Bowery. By the time I got there she had buddied up with Jack Hughes and Tate McRae (who I had to google) who were sitting at the next table, and we all watched the 4Q together.

Jack watched me get anxiety about a game I wasn’t playing in the same way a human watches a monkey struggle to open a door.

Here is another possibility which could maybe be not so bad? Pretty please? Basically implying OG took a knee to his thigh (dead leg), and that’s when he started having issues. As a former hooper I can tell you that those hurt like crazy and debilitate you. But with some ice and rest you can recover quickly.

https://x.com/stolgic/status/2052218953317880015?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2052218953317880015%7Ctwgr%5Ee4c10f30e9c19220d2af97944e2e8bde8b134df4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsbnation.coral.coralproject.net%2Fapi%2Foembed%3Ftype%3Dtwitterurl%3Dhttps3A2F2Fx.com2Fstolgic2Fstatus2F2052218953317880015siteID%3D908c0092-886c-4b97-99ad-398f52c234a9frameID%3Dframe-id-16a1d5b3-81db-4c8d-a8ad-2668e591fda2-6ed11260-49c0-11f1-b5e3-bbb6d821a2d0

I was wondering how we’d deal with a tight game after 4 straight blowouts… that was such a satisfying win!

But the OG news is mega-concerning. We’ll win this series without him if we must but man, he was playing out of his mind!

Long way to go.

I didn’t see enough contact to feel comforted by that video. If anything, it might be more of a quad/hip flexor issue. He’s grabbing at the side of his thigh more than the back. But I’m sticking with hamstring for now.

Yeah Z I think you are probably right. Also if it was a dead leg he wouldn’t have motioned to come out so quickly after the bridges jumper. OG is really the key to this team. His leap this playoffs has been the X factor along with point towns at the top of the key.

I don’t have to google Tate McRae because she lives in my building and my teens get all giddy when she’s in the lobby with them and for the first nine or tens months here I’d have to ask them “who is that again?”.

I did have to google Jack Hughes.

I also googled Ali MacNeil. All that and Knicks too. You really did find god.

Healing Time: Most superficial bruises heal within 2 weeks. Severe muscle contusions may take four to six weeks. 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁

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