Knicks lose sight of little details in season-opening loss to 76ers: ‘We put ourselves in the hole’

After a disappointing loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on banner night at Madison Square Garden, Knicks head coach Mike Brown was clear about his disappointment in his team’s poor attention to detail.

“There were some things that we could’ve done better,” Brown began. “Our transition defense was not good with our starting group in the third quarter. All throughout the game, we looked like we were running in mud; whether it was in the front court or it was in transition, we were not good getting to our spots and putting pressure on Philadelphia the right way … That’s where the game was won and lost.”

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Facing their newly-revamped Eastern Conference rivals, who added LeBron James and Jaylen Brown to their already-stacked roster in the offseason, was always going to be a challenge.

It didn’t help, Brown said, that New York failed to execute in small ways up and down the court.

“If we’re going to play like we did, it don’t matter who it is. It’s going to be a long night for us,” Brown said. “We have to make sure we focus on the little things — Are we sprinting to the corner? Are we touching the paint and trying to spray it? When we do spray it, are we relocating and spacing the floor the right way so our teammates can now drive the basketball? … Those are the little things that don’t necessarily add up in the stat sheet that I didn’t think we were good at tonight offensively, and then just sprinting back defensively and making sure we build a wall.”

As a team, the Knicks shot just 37 percent from the field and 33 percent from the arc. They turned the ball over 15 times for 22 points, and they allowed 28 total fast-break points (19 in the second half alone).

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No one played particularly well individually either: OG Anunoby went 3-for-12, Mikal Bridges was 2-for-8, Deuce McBride went 1-for-5. After a historic effort in which he became the first Knicks player to record a first-half double-double in the season opener, Andre Drummond finished 5-for-13. Even Jalen Brunson, whose 21 points led the team, went just 6-for-19 (though he did knock down all eight of his free throw attempts).

“We have to…

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Publish date : 2026-10-21 04:05:00

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