What is the story about?
If anyone is looking for a silver lining, this has only enraged Celtics fans more.
The 2025-26 Sixers season has finally come to an end. They were destroyed 144-114 in Game 4 to the New York Knicks, completing the second-round series sweep.
Joel Embiid looked like the only Sixer ready to unload the clip for this game, he led the Sixers with 24 shooting a perfect 8-of-8 from the floor with five rebounds and four assists. Tyrese Maxey put up 17 shooting 6-of-16 from the field in 32 minutes of play.
Paul
George was truly disappointing for the first time these playoffs, going for seven points on 3-of-7 shooting. VJ Edgecombe wasn’t able to finish his spectacular rookie season on a high-note, having eight points, six rebounds, and seven assists shooting 4-of-14 from the floor. Miles McBride led all scores with 25.
OG Anunoby was out again for New York with a hamstring strain.
For one last time this year, here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
- Maxey was much more aggressive to start. He got to the basket for a couple of layups, but his first two three-pointers of the game didn’t fall. As if it didn’t already sound like Madison Square Garden South, threes from Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and McBride had DJ Ghost about to burst the speakers trying to play music loud enough to drown out Knicks fans. McBride buried two more to give them a double-digit lead and prompt an early Sixers timeout.
- Out of a timeout an overzealous double team left McBride wide open again, allowing him to easily make his fourth triple of the quarter. On top of not being able to get a stop, the Sixers’ inability to hit an open shot helped New York make it ugly quick. They missed their first six threes, nearly all of them pretty good looks.
- Frankly, nothing mattered on that side of the floor with the Knicks getting offense as easily as they did. They were only needing one screen or pass to get an open shot. They made nine of their first 10 threes and when they did miss another, the Sixers fouled the three-point shooter to put him at the line. That foul was committed by Justin Edwards just after he had checked into the game in Nick Nurse’s attempt to expand the rotation. The Knicks led by 19 after shooting 68% in the first.
Second Quarter
- Some progress was made with George knocking down a midrange jumper and Edwards getting to the line while the Knicks finally missed a three then turned the ball over. Two stops was as good as they could manage as Landry Shamet got open for another three and Josh Hart finished through contact for an and-1. All Karl-Anthony Towns had to do was get Embiid to step up on him to find an open pass.
- Even during a stretch that looked like the Sixers were trying to make things more respectable, the Knicks were still beating them in hustle plays. The Knicks grabbed 12 offensive rebounds in the first half, including four on a single possession.
- Just getting this out of the way here since we all know how narrative ball works. If there was one Sixer putting up a fight it was Embiid. The way his mobility worsened after the Boston series has made it so hard for their defense, but he was dragging the Sixers’ offense as far as he could. He made all six of his shots in the half to put up 19, limping the whole way through.
- A pretty good sign that this series just wasn’t meant to be for the Sixers was the fact that Hack-A-Mitch failed just about every time they tried it. They were able to get New York in the bonus before the two-minute mark, but Robinson hit both free throws. He missed both on the next possession after getting to the line organically, but got the offensive rebound. The Knicks pushed their lead to 24 at the break.
Third Quarter
- For the first time this series, Embiid drawing Towns’ fourth foul of the night did not feel like it mattered at all. Towns went to the bench in the middle of a strong passing performance — he had just picked up his 10th assist of the night, but the Knicks’ offense didn’t miss a beat without him.
- The karaoke cam has apparently become the staple of playoff blowouts, and it was brought out again after a devastating sequence from Brunson to extend the lead to 29. He danced his way around Barlow for a layup before the Sixers turned over the inbounds pass and he buried a corner three.
- In the “things could not possibly be going worse” category, Quentin Grimes cut wide open down the baseline for a lob, but he just couldn’t corral the pass. It was his second smoked bunny of the game. The Sixers were flirting with Game 6 Hawks territory all night as the Knicks lead extended to 39 after three.
Fourth Quarter
- The white flag had already started to be raised but the bench was fully emptied to start the fourth, their only goal now not to lose as bad as the Hawks. There are a lot of things to feel good about coming out of this season, and the Boston series may still be the best moment of the era. They really tried their hardest this round to make you forget that though.
- The last Sixer to make a basket announced by Matt Cord: Johni Broome just like we all expected. Joke aside, congratulations on a great career Matt. He was, for this blogger’s money, the best PA announcer in the NBA and will be missed at Sixers games going forward.
