All of a sudden, the Knicks are in a rut. All of a sudden, a potential Eastern Conference roadblock might have emerged as a matchup problem. 

They were flat and out of sorts for the second straight night, falling to the 76ers 130-119 Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Having dropped both legs of this back-to-back — just their third and fourth losses at home all season — the Knicks are stuck in their first three-game skid since the end of October. That was the only other time they had lost consecutive games during this campaign.

After winning 11 of 12 games, including their NBA Cup triumph, the Knicks are 4-5 in their past nine games and 5-5 since winning the Cup. Two of those losses came at MSG to the 76ers, who certainly look capable of making some noise in the East.

“We’re in an area that we’re not used to, where you’ve hit a little bit of adversity,” coach Mike Brown said. “I’ve never been part of a team that has not gone through adversity throughout the course of the year, whether we won it at the end of the season or we were in the finals or we had a halfway decent season. Every team is gonna hit it.

“Now for us, it’s about: How do we respond? How do we come out of it? This is a great opportunity for us to see what we’re made of while we’re going through this stretch.”

Tyrese Maxey goes up for a layup as Miles McBride defends during the Knicks’ loss to the 76ers on Jan. 3, 2025 at Madison Square Garden. Jason Szenes / New York Post

The young and explosive 76ers backcourt of emerging star Tyrese Maxey and rookie VJ Edgecombe, the No. 3 pick in the draft, has given the Knicks fits. On Saturday, Maxey recorded 36 points while Edgecombe added 26. The Knicks had no answers for either of them, allowing them to penetrate into the lane at will and find quality looks from deep.

Teams with quick and athletic guards are the ones that have most bothered the Knicks this season. The 76ers have two of the best.

When the Knicks cut their deficit to nine points a few minutes into the fourth quarter, Edgecombe blocked Mikal Bridges’ 3-pointer and subsequently went coast-to-coast, beating the Knicks down the floor for a wide-open dunk. When the Knicks got back within 12 with 4:26 left, Maxey hit a stepback 3. When the Knicks were within 10 with just over a minute left, Edgecombe stole an inbounds pass, and after a timeout, got to the rim for an open layup. They were relentless.

“Just the effort,” Bridges said. “The initial effort might be there, but just making plays after — the second effort is not there.”

Joel Embiid drives on OG Anunoby during the Knicks’ loss to the 76ers. Jason Szenes / New York Post

The Knicks should have gotten a boost with their top two big men in Karl-Anthony Towns (illness) and Mitchell Robinson (load management) returning to action. But neither made much of an impact. Towns had just two first-half points and finished with 23, many of which came late. He spent most of the night complaining to the referees about a lack of a whistle — for which he earned a technical in the first quarter.

Jalen Brunson scored a team-high 31 points, but his co-stars played more like role players.

Josh Hart’s continued absence is felt. The lack of his do-it-all impact and energizer ability is glaring.

Joel Embiid played at the Garden for the first time since becoming a Knicks villain during the 2024 playoffs. This time, though, he returned less of an MVP-caliber superstar and more on the same level as Maxey and Edgecombe. But, healthy again, he added 26 points and 10 rebounds, getting the better of Towns and Robinson.

Jalen Brunson drives on Joel Embiid during the Knicks’ loss to the 76ers. Jason Szenes / New York Post

Karl-Anthony Towns argues a call during the Knicks’ loss to the 76ers. Jason Szenes / New York Post

“Sticking together,” Brunson said of how the Knicks can fight out of their slump. “Not pointing fingers, not feeling sorry for ourselves or trying to find a quick solution instead of working through it for the long term. Just have each other’s backs, I think that’s most important.”

The 76ers used a 9-0 run in the second quarter to separate, and by the third quarter, built a 19-point lead. The Knicks made it interesting in the fourth quarter but never seriously threatened a comeback, never getting closer than seven points.

What’s happening on and off the Garden court

Sign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.

Thank you

The Knicks next travel to Detroit to face the first-place — though now injury-riddled without Jalen Duren and Tobias Harris – Pistons for their first matchup of the year. It won’t matter who is out for the Pistons, though, if the Knicks keep playing like this.

After their previous three-game losing streak, the Knicks rattled off five straight wins. This will be another test of their mettle.

“I hope history repeats itself,” Towns said. “For history to repeat itself, we gotta lock in and be ready for the next game. It’s not gonna get any easier for us.”