Player grades: Sixers struggle to slow Jalen Brunson, Knicks in Game 1

NEW YORK -- The Philadelphia 76ers invaded Madison Square Garden on Monday night looking to get off to a good start in Round 2 against the New York Knicks . Following an emotional and historic rally from down 3-1 to defeat the Boston Celtics in Round 1, the Sixers were looking to carry that momentum to The Big Apple. However, the Knicks used a big second quarter to build a 23-point halftime lead and they never looked back.

Led by Jalen Brunson's 35 points, the Knicks blitzed the Sixers and took Game 1 by a score of 137-98 to take the 1-0 lead in the series. New York had a ton of success offensively as Philadelphia was unable to respond. The Sixers received 17 points from Paul George, 14 points and four rebounds from Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey had 13 points and three rebounds.

Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in with 12 points and five rebounds and VJ Edgecombe added 12 points. Here are the player grades following the loss: Tyrese Maxey: C-minus The 2-time All-Star guard had a tough time converting on his looks within the offense, but he was able to get to the foul line and knock down free throws in the meantime until he was able to find some rhythm with his shooting.

The Sixers were able to receive offensive production from others as they found ways to keep the scoreboard moving against this Knicks defense until Maxey was able to get going with some tough drives to the basket. When he was able to put his head down, that’s when he found success in the paint to give Philadelphia some offensive production. Overall, not a great night for Maxey in terms of his field goal percentage, or defensively, but he was able to get to the line.