Knicks go up 2-0 in East semis as Jalen Brunson outduels Tyrese Maxey in Game 2
- New York beat Philadelphia 108-102 on May 6 at Madison Square Garden, with Jalen Brunson closing strong as the Knicks grabbed a 2-0 lead. - Brunson and Tyrese Maxey each scored 26, but New York won the fourth quarter 19-12 after a late 9-0 burst in a game with 25 lead changes. - Joel Embiid missed Game 2 with ankle and hip issues, and the series now shifts to Philadelphia with the Sixers already chasing.
The Knicks did the simple part — they protected home court. The harder part was how they did it. Game 2 was tight almost the whole way, nothing like the Game 1 blowout, and New York still found the late answers. That matters because playoff series usually turn when a close game finally asks who can create something clean in the last five minutes. On Wednesday, that answer was still Jalen Brunson. ### Why did this game feel so different? Game 1 was a demolition. Game 2 was a grind. There were 25 lead changes, the score was tied early in the fourth, and neither team could really separate until New York put together a late 9-0 run. That’s the version of a playoff game that tells you more — not who can run away, but who can execute when every possession starts to feel heavy. ### What did Brunson actually do? Brunson finished with 26 points, same as Tyrese Maxey, but the timing was the point. He scored 8 in the fourth quarter and kept getting New York into workable shots when the offense threatened to bog down. His line wasn’t some cartoon explosion. It was more useful than that — steady creation, late control, and just enough shotmaking to tilt a one-possession game. ### Why wasn’t Maxey enough? Maxey had 26 points and 6 assists, and he basically carried the Sixers’ perimeter attack. But Philadelphia coughed up 18 turnovers, and Maxey alone had 6 of them. That’s the catch in a close road game — one great scorer can keep you alive, but empty possessions kill you when the margin stays this thin. The Sixers scored just 12 points in the fourth quarter. That was the real swing. ### How much did Embiid’s absence change things? A lot. Joel Embiid was ruled out before the game with a sprained right ankle and a sore right hip, after initially being listed as probable. Philadelphia could still score for stretches, but the fourth quarter is where his absence really show once. ### Was this just Brunson, or more than that? More than that. The NBA’s
