Barbara Barker: Knicks face big challenge in Tyrese Maxey, 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey puts up a shot past Knicks forward OG Anunoby in the first half of an NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 3, 2026. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
It’s time to move on.
As good as it felt to get back in the win column, the Knicks have had more than enough time to move past the way they destroyed the Nets, 120-66, to end a four-game losing streak on Wednesday. As much as the Knicks needed a win like that, they can’t think too long about beating a bad team they were supposed to beat. They now need to focus on something bigger and better.
Hello, Philadelphia. Playing a team like the 76ers is exactly what the Knicks need to continue to grow. And if you don’t believe me, believe Josh Hart, who is looking forward to seeing if they can build on the momentum of Wednesday’s win in Saturday’s game in Philadelphia.
“It’s going to be a challenge, but we need challenges right now,” Hart said after practice when asked about facing Philadelphia’s explosive backcourt. “It’s the next step. We had a stretch where we were struggling. We also had a really good win the other day. And now it’s OK it’s Philly."
The Knicks (26-18) are 1 ½ games ahead of the 76ers (24-19) in the Eastern Conference but are 0-2 against them this season. Both games were at Madison Square Garden, meaning Philadelphia is responsible for a third of the Knicks' six losses at home this season.
The common denominator in both losses was that the Knicks couldn’t figure out a way to contain Tyrese Maxey.
In the 116-107 loss on Dec. 19, Maxey finished with 30 points, outdueling Jalen Brunson in the fourth quarter. The 76ers point guard scored 11 points in the final period; the Knicks' captain went 0-for-5 and was scoreless.
In a 130-119 loss on Jan. 3, Maxey scored 36 points, including eight straight in the fourth quarter. The loss came at the beginning of a rough patch the Knicks are still trying to put in the rearview mirror. Before the win over the Nets, they had lost nine of 11 games.
Maxey is not playing well only against the Knicks; he is averaging 30.1 points and 6.8 assists per game and shooting 47.1%. He was voted an All-Star starter for the first time in his career and will play alongside Brunson.
Knicks coach Mike Brown said it will take a team effort to contain Maxey and the rest of the 76ers.
“It can’t just be one guy stopping them, stopping those guys,” Brown said. “Because that’s impossible for anybody to do. I don’t care how good you are as an individual defender. With the amount of space teams are able to create and how tricky those guys and everybody else is when it comes to one-on-one situations in terms of drawing fouls and stuff like that, our team defense has to be on point throughout the course of the game.”
Mikal Bridges likely will be the primary defender on Maxey, and he echoed Brown’s sentiments about players helping each other out on defense.
“They’ve got a lot of talent over there,” Bridges said. “The thing is focus on ourselves and know to help each other on the defensive end. It’s never one v. one. It should be one v. five. Whatever guy's got the ball should see the guy on ball and four help defenders helping each other out. So just mainly focused on what we’ve gotta do to help each other and do our principles.”
It will be a team test, one that will give the Knicks an indication if their struggles of the past few weeks are truly behind them.
Said Hart: “We have a tough opponent now and we have to go out there and do the little things. If you beat a good team like Philly, then you can feel a little better about yourself.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
