Knicks Fall Flat in the Second Half, Fall to the Sixers

By Daniel Feuerstein | New York, NY | October 20th, 2026

The New York Knicks opened their championship-defending season as they faced the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden. The crowd was excited; the players and the coaching staff were excited to get the new season underway, and the Knicks-Sixers rivalry started to flourish once again, with LeBron James and Jalen Brown with Philly and Andre Drummond moving up I-95 to join the Knicks. After a solid first halfthe Knicks fell apart in the second half and were stopped by Sixers as their opponents won the game by the final score of 106-100.

It was a loud building as Knicks fans were ready to pump up their team after raising their championship banner, after a bit of a slow start the Knicks finally got into gear and started to play their brand of basketball. But the Sixers made adjustments at halftime and started to improve their play. The Knicks had a poor third quarter shooting and then tried to rally in the fourth, but it came short within the final three minutes of the game. Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with 28 points, while Joel Embiid had a Double-Double with 13 points and 11 Rebounds.

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 21 points, both Karl Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond had Double-Double’s. Towns with 19 points and the second leading scorer on the Knicks with 12 rebounds. Drummond finished the night with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Jose Alvarado led the Knicks witth two steals that turned into points with a three in the first half. The Knicks bench played well with 32 points combined with the Sixers having 23 with two players converting.

First Half: The Knicks are off to a slow start, but got back in and took over

The Knicks were a little slow to get into the game from the opening tip after the celebrations of getting their championship rings and watching their Championship banner being raised to the rafters. But after the slow start, they got into gear and took over the game. New backup center Andre Drummond came to life when Karl Anthony Towns was hit with two quick fouls, and he already earned a Double-Double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Jose Alvarado once again played up his grand theft moniker when he stole the ball and drained a three-pointer. There was a bit of a physical and verbal skirmish between Landry Shamet and LeBron James, but everything calmed down before it could escalate. While the the Knicks, they couldn’t get ahead of them, the Knicks ended the half with a six-point lead before the third quarter began.

Second Half: The Knicks poor shooting and the Sixers defense pulls them ahead and the win

The Sixers started to improve their defense when the third quarter began. The Knicks were trying to attack the rim, but the Sixers made several big stops and made points on turnovers. Their three point shooting was horrible, but that didn’t matter as Joel Embiid, Lebron James and Tyrses Maxie made big stops and startedto go on the fast break to convert buckets.The Knicks shooting failed them in the third quarter, and when they tried to get back into the game and cut it to a one point defecit, the Sixers executed their shots and continuted to block the Knicks shots as they took the season opener at the Garden. The Knicks will now head up to Boston to face the Celtics and give Mitchell Robinson his Championship Ring.

KEY STATS:

PHILADELPHIA: 37 FOR 89 FG, 11 FOR 40 3PTS, 21 FOR 27 FT
NEW YORK: 35 FOR 94 FG, 11 FOR 33 3PTS, 19 FOR 27 FT
LARGEST LEAD: KNICKS BY 10 IN THE SECOND QUARTER
MOST POINTS: KNICKS WITH 33 POINTS IN THE SECOND QUARTER

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