Knicks overcome poor shooting, foul trouble to beat 76ers 108-102 in Game 2

Game 2 between the Knicks and 76ers on Wednesday night in Madison Square Garden was not a pretty game. At times, it was a downright ugly game with 43 fouls called, 31 turnovers, one flagrant foul, and one technical foul. Yet, when the final whistle blew, the Knicks had secured a hard-fought 108-102 win to secure a 2-0 series lead.

In many ways, this was not a game the Knicks should have won. They shot just 27% from beyond the arc, while the 76ers shot 38%. Jalen Brunson was only 9-for-21 from the field for 26 points with three turnovers.

Foul trouble limited Karl-Anthony Towns to just eight minutes in the first half and 27 minutes in the game, and OG Anunoby seemed to get hurt with three minutes left and the Knicks up by six. At most points in the regular season, that would have been enough to cause the Knicks to lose focus and let the game slip away, but not the playoff version of the Knicks. Something happened to the Knicks after their Game 3 loss to the Hawks in round one of the playoffs.

Maybe being down in the series finally crystallized how quickly this season could be over. Maybe they got a sense of the failed promise it would leave in its wake. Maybe they were just slow in adjusting to the elevated pace and physicality of the playoffs.