The final quarter of the 2025-26 Sixers\u2019 final game contained no suspense.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Knicks swept the Sixers out of the playoffs in blowout style Sunday, cruising to a 144-114 win at Xfinity Mobile Arena to clinch their second-round series.\u00a0<\/p>\n
New York\u2019s top scorers were Miles McBride (25 points) and Jalen Brunson (22 points). OG Anunoby missed his second straight game for the Knicks with a right hamstring strain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Sixers got 24 points from Joel Embiid and 17 from Tyrese Maxey. <\/p>\n
The next major date on the Sixers\u2019 calendar is the NBA draft, which will be held on June 23 and June 24. The team owns the 22nd overall pick.<\/a> The Sixers will then handle free agency. Kelly Oubre Jr., Quentin Grimes and Andre Drummond are among the notable Sixers set to become unrestricted free agents.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here are observations on the Sixers’ 30-point loss to conclude their season: <\/p>\n Dismal defensive start\u00a0<\/p>\n The Sixers had a textbook opening possession. Embiid was doubled and kicked the ball out to the perimeter. The Sixers swung it along to Maxey, who converted a driving lefty layup.<\/p>\n Beyond the arc, the Sixers\u2019 start was far less fruitful. The team missed its first six three-point attempts and they were largely open looks.<\/p>\n The Knicks had no such problems. Starting his second straight game in Anunoby\u2019s spot, McBride drilled four long-range jumpers in a row to give his team a 20-6 lead. The many Knicks fans in the arena made tons of noise.\u00a0<\/p>\n As was the case in the Sixers\u2019 39-point Game 1 defeat<\/a>, the team\u2019s defense didn\u2019t do much early to disrupt the Knicks\u2019 rhythm or force uncomfortable shots. Not the sort of defensive tone the Sixers wanted to set in an elimination game.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Knicks kept on running crisp, nearly can\u2019t-miss offense. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse burned a second timeout after Brunson canned a pull-up three over Embiid to build New York\u2019s lead to 17 points. The Knicks started 15 for 20 from the field and 11 for 12 from three-point territory.\u00a0<\/p>\n Embiid\u2019s efficiency one of the only positives\u00a0<\/p>\n Justin Edwards rejoined the Sixers\u2019 rotation, checking in wtih 2:42 left in the first quarter. On his first possession, Edwards fouled Jordan Clarkson on a three-point try.\u00a0<\/p>\n Landry Shamet\u2019s second three-pointer late in the first quarter expanded the Sixers\u2019 deficit to 43-23.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the Knicks began to misfire on a few jumpers, their offense continued to have its way early in the second quarter. The Sixers were regularly beaten off the dribble, on cuts and on offensive rebounds in embarrassing fashion. Nothing about their showing suggested that a dramatic turnaround might be possible in the game or the series. Threes from Karl-Anthony Towns and McBride plunged the Sixers into a 27-point hole less than 16 minutes into the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the Sixers\u2019 sparse positives was Embiid\u2019s efficient scoring. Playing through clear physical troubles<\/a> again, Embiid found his shooting touch and went 8 for 8 from the floor. He scored a team-high 19 points in the first half \u2026 and the Sixers trailed by 24 at intermission. \u00a0<\/p>\n The Sixers still haven\u2019t put it all together in the playoffs during the Embiid era. He had a bumpy ride with health once more <\/a>and the Sixers\u2019 depth issues became especially impactful after their draining seven-game series victory over the Celtics in Round 1.<\/a> Embiid is 32 years old and the Sixers haven\u2019t advanced past the second round since 2001. Embiid\u2019s exited in Round 2 in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n One last blowout loss <\/p>\n Neither of the Sixers\u2019 starting guards had good shooting days. As a duo, Maxey and VJ Edgecombe went 1 for 13 from three-point range. <\/p>\n The Knicks didn\u2019t stop their march toward the Eastern Conference Finals. After a Brunson driving layup, McBride intercepted Embiid\u2019s inbounds pass and Brunson buried a jumper in front of the Sixers\u2019 bench to put New York up 99-70. <\/p>\n The Knicks led by as many as 44 points.\u00a0Embiid subbed out with 4:10 left in the third quarter and there was no reason for him to return. <\/p>\n