It was one of the first points that Mike Brown talked about.
He had a lot to dissect after a 98-93 loss to the 76ers in Philadelphia, but the head coach was annoyed by the Knicks permitting 26 factors in the paint during the first half of their loss — and introduced it up, alongside with turnovers, to reporters following the recreation. The Knicks, by comparability, managed just 14. And while they responded in the second half and restricted the 76ers to just 10 factors in the paint across the remaining 24 minutes, their early lapses contributed to an early deficit that haunted them all through their loss to open NBA Cup play.
“They were getting in our paint left and right, right and left, and it was really, really easy doing it,” Brown said. “… If it’s a post-up game or something like that, OK, maybe, I don’t know. But to continue to have that ball driven in the paint, especially in the first half when they shot 5 of 17 or whatever it is from the 3-point line, was not good.”
Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers handles the ball against the New York Knicks on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. NBAE via Getty Images
This was new for the Knicks. Even after Friday, they were still only permitting 39.3 factors per recreation in the paint, which ranked second in the NBA and trailed just the Celtics (38.0) for the league’s greatest mark. But Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with eight factors in the paint during the first half, while LeBron James and VJ Edgecombe both added six.
Less than two minutes into the recreation, James reduce behind OG Anunoby, collected a move from Joel Embiid and completed a layup. Early in the second quarter, when the Knicks had some reserves in, too, ball motion allowed Maxey to get the ball on the wing, and a pump faux allowed him to drive previous Landry Shamet and end a dunk.
“It’s not just one thing,” Brown said, when requested about pick-and-roll communication main to paint protection points. “It’s a little factor here, little factor there, little factor there, and that’s why it provides up. We’re aggressive when we want to be, and that’s why all our video games that we’re in, we have a probability down the stretch.
“But trying to make sure we continue to do the little things throughout the course of the game is gonna be huge for us because we’re not doing it right now.”
LeBron James of the Philadelphia 76ers goes up for a rebound against the New York Knicks during an NBA recreation in Philadelphia on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
Even with out Mitchell Robinson, who signed with the Celtics in the offseason and is one of the league’s greatest offensive rebounders when wholesome, the Knicks entered play Saturday ranked second in the NBA in offensive rebounding share at 36.3 — trailing just the Warriors’ 37.5. In Philadelphia on Friday, the Knicks gathered 14 offensive rebounds in contrast to the 76ers’ 5, with Andre Drummond and Miles McBride main them with three each.
Since the begin of the 2024-25 season, the Knicks have only been restricted to 93 factors or fewer on three events during the common season — and all of these occurred last season. They were also held to 93 and 91 factors by the Celtics during the 2025 postseason. … Mikal Bridges, who completed third on the Knicks in scoring, tied his season excessive with 12 factors, but he’s still just averaging 6.2 factors per recreation to begin the 12 months.