After falling to the Philadelphia 76ers on Christmas, the Knicks have now lost three games in a row following an eight-game win streak.
This is not the most surprising loss as the 76ers are an extremely talented team. Despite this, the Knicks stars did not show up to give the team a chance to win, making for a relatively rough game to watch. The Knicks did hold the lead for most of the game, however, it quickly became clear that they were not going to win.
This is due in most part to the dual masterclasses from James Harden and Joel Embiid. Harden dropped 29 points, 13 assists, and four steals while Embiid dropped 35 of his own points and added eight rebounds.
The Knicks have struggled to defend opposing teams’ stars all season and this game was no different. Considering they play the Mavericks on the 27th, they’re going to have to try to find a way to slow down Luka Doncic.
James Harden and Joel Embiid were too much for Knicks on Christmas Day
It’s difficult to win against a talented team such as the 76ers when Embiid and Harden play as well as they did, however, the Knicks stars really didn’t help their case down the stretch.
The Knicks started the game off playing extremely well and this was the case for most of the afternoon as they held the lead for the majority of the game, however, when it mattered most, the Knicks were not ready to show up.
Throughout New York’s recent slump, not showing up late in games has become a bit of a habit, most notably in the team’s last game against the Chicago Bulls when both Jalen Brunson and Quentin Grimes missed key free throws.
Brunson, Mitchell Robinson, and Julius Randle all played extremely well for the most part and were quintessential in the Knicks’ success early on. Brunson dropped 23 points and 11 assists before going down with what seemed to be a hip injury in the fourth quarter. Randle scored 35 of his own points but as I mentioned before, he didn’t do much in the final moments of the game.
As for Robinson, he scored 10 points, snagged 16 rebounds, and blocked three shots. However, as the game went on it was clear that Embiid was simply too much for him to handle.
On the other hand, RJ Barrett had his first disappointing game in a couple of weeks and was honestly a big reason for the loss. He dropped 17 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists while shooting an extremely disappointing 6-of-21 from the field and 2-of-6 from behind the arc.
Barrett couldn’t hit a thing this game, whether it was a layup, a mid-range shot, or a three-ball. He struggled from everywhere and it was tough to watch. This wasn’t the most worrisome thing, as we have seen how Barrett has played this season outside of his five-game stretch in which he was sick.
Regardless, Barrett must keep up the consistency we have seen in recent weeks. Consistency has been the biggest downfall of Barrett’s career so far and it seemed like he was finally on the right path to turn things around.
Hopefully, the Knicks can begin to turn things around soon. They can only afford to lose so many games in this tough Eastern Conference. For this to happen, though, the team must be better at closing games out.
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