Knicks take 2-0 lead after Game 2 win; Brunson scores 26

The Knicks didn’t just beat the 76ers again. They won the other version of this series. Game 1 was a demolition. Game 2 was a knife fight — 108-102, with 25 lead changes, 14 ties, and no lead bigger than seven. That matters more than the final margin. Blowouts tell you one team had the better night. Close playoff games tell you who can keep their shape when everything gets weird. (sportsnet.ca) ### Why did this one feel so different? Because Philadelphia actually made New York work. The 76ers were without Joel Embiid, but they still dragged the game into the kind of possession-by-possession grind that usually tests a favorite’s patience. After the Knicks won Game 1 by 39, the obvious que(sportsnet.ca)dled the late-game details better. (sportsnet.ca) ### What did Brunson actually do? Jalen Brunson scored 26, but the bigger thing was when and how he scored. He steadied the offense once the game stopped flowing and turned into half-court wrestling. That’s the real playoff tax on lead guards — not just piling up points, but getting a team into so(sportsnet.ca)rst late. It just had Brunson keeping the possession from dying. (msn.com) ### Why was Anunoby such a big swing piece? OG Anunoby gave the Knicks 24 points and four steals, which is basically the ideal version of him. He doesn’t need the offense built around him, but when he scores efficiently and also wrecks actions on defen(msn.com)ls, deflections, and transition chances into points. (clutchpoints.com) ### What does 25 lead changes really mean? It means neither team ever got comfortable. This wasn’t fake drama created by a late run after one side controlled the first 40 minutes. The whole game kept flipping. Twenty-five lead changes was the most in an NBA playoff game in 11 years, a(clutchpoints.com)l separation. (sportsnet.ca) ### Where did the game turn? Late, when Philadelphia went cold for almost six minutes without a field goal. That’s usually where playoff games break — not with one huge highlight, but with a stretch where one team gets three or four empty trips in a row and the other team simply stays organized. N(sportsnet.ca)essions. That’s exactly what happened. (espn.com) ### Does Embiid’s absence change the read? Of course. Any game without Embiid has to be read through that lens. But the catch is that this result still helps the Knicks in a bigger way. New York already showed it could crush a compromised opponent in Game 1. Now it has shown it can out-execute the same opponent in a close one. Those are different tests, and the Knicks passed both. (sportsnet.ca) ### So what’s the real takeaway now? The series score is 2-0, but the more important shift is stylistic. Philadelphia made this a tense, narrow game and still couldn’t steal it. That gives New York a sturdier kind of control than a single blowout ever could. Basically, the Knicks have shown they can win when the game is easy and when it’s hard. That’s why this lead feels heavier than just two games. (nba.com)