Knicks survive late chaos in Philadelphia, escape with 112-109 thriller

Coming off a franchise-record 120-66 demolition of the Nets, the Knicks knew the follow-up in Philadelphia would be a very different kind of test. It was. What followed was one of the most chaotic finishes of the season, a roller-coaster night that ended with the Knicks barely holding on for a 112-109 win at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

The final seconds alone felt like an entire game. After Jalen Brunson missed a pair of free throws with five seconds left, Joel Embiid grabbed the rebound and looked to ignite one last miracle. Instead, his desperate outlet pass was picked off by OG Anunoby as the horn sounded, finally bringing the chaos to an end.

“Just pure chaos, but we found a way to win. That’s the best way I can describe it.”

– Jalen Brunson

What made the ending so stressful was how close the game came to slipping away after it appeared safely in hand. With 43 seconds left, Landry Shamet drilled a three-pointer to push the lead to 110-102, a shot that felt like it should have sealed things. What happened next was not for the faint of heart. Tyrese Maxey answered immediately with a quick three. On the ensuing inbound, Brunson turned the ball over and was whistled for a loose-ball foul. VJ Edgecombe calmly knocked down two free throws, and suddenly it was a one-possession game again.

Things only got stranger. After a timeout, Brunson was called for another foul on the inbound, but a successful challenge flipped the call, earning a free throw and possession. Brunson made it. On the next trip, Anunoby was fouled and split the pair, making it 112-107 with 25 seconds left. Maxey attacked the rim and laid it in, cutting it back to three. Then Anunoby missed a short two and was fouled again, only for Philadelphia to win a challenge this time, keeping the ball and the chance to tie. Maxey’s three with 5.8 seconds left came up empty, Edgecombe fouled Brunson, and both teams were left holding their breath. The Knicks could have ended it, the Sixers could have forced overtime. Neither happened. The score stayed put.

Lost in the madness was just how well the Knicks had played for long stretches. The third quarter was one of the team’s best of the season. Trailing by four at halftime, the Knicks exploded with a 30-13 quarter, flipping the game completely and building a 94-77 lead early in the fourth. The arena was packed with visiting fans from New York, and for a while it felt like the momentum had fully swung.

That momentum wobbled when Embiid woke back up. After going scoreless in the third, he poured in 10 fourth-quarter points, adding to the 28 he scored in the first half. With 1:34 left, the Sixers had trimmed the deficit to 104-102. That was as close as it got. Instead of taking control, Philadelphia watched Anunoby and Shamet bury consecutive threes to restore breathing room.

Brunson led the way with 31 points and six assists, steering the offense through every twist of the night. Anunoby followed with 23 points and seven rebounds, while Shamet chipped in 12 points off the bench. Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 10 each, with Hart also pulling down 13 rebounds.

Towns’ foul trouble turned into a pivotal subplot. After picking up his fourth foul early in the second half, coach Mike Brown went to Mitchell Robinson, and the move changed the game. Robinson completely neutralized Embiid in the third quarter, holding him scoreless during the stretch that fueled the Knicks’ surge. Robinson finished with six points and 10 rebounds, six of them offensive, in 27 high-impact minutes off the bench.

Philadelphia leaned heavily on Embiid, who finished with 38 points and 11 rebounds. Maxey added 22 points and six assists, while Edgecombe and Kelly Oubre chipped in 14 apiece.

The win moved the Knicks to 27-18, a notable turnaround after a brutal stretch that saw nine losses in 11 games before the Nets blowout. This one was not pretty, not calm, and definitely not easy. But it counted all the same.