Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Maxey both helped turn difficult Wednesday nights into wins. Now Brunson’s Knicks visit a Philadelphia team that beat them 106-100 in the season opener and has won four of its first five games. New York is a 1.5-point favorite, with its improving results set against the deeper offensive threat we see in the 76ers.
Brunson has New York moving again
Brunson scored 38 points and handed out seven assists in the Knicks’ 133-127 win at Chicago. New York recovered from a second-half deficit that reached 19 points, then used a 10-2 fourth-quarter run to take control. Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points and 13 rebounds, while OG Anunoby scored 23.
That followed a 111-97 win over Detroit on Tuesday, giving the Knicks two straight victories after three losses to open the season. The two wins offered different kinds of reassurance: New York kept Detroit below 100, then found enough offense to survive a much higher-scoring game in Chicago.
Our A- defensive grade for the Knicks is their strongest assessment. It now faces a Philadelphia offense we grade A+, a more demanding matchup than a simple comparison of the teams’ records suggests. New York’s task is to make the Sixers work harder for their scoring without needing another 38-point Brunson performance to rescue its own night.
Philadelphia’s comeback came from several directions
Maxey scored 27 points in the 76ers’ 114-109 win at Indiana, including two three-pointers in the final 90 seconds. Joel Embiid supplied 21 points and 11 rebounds, Jaylen Brown had 20 and 10, and LeBron James added 13 points and 10 assists.
The finish was impressive because Philadelphia had made such a poor start after halftime. Indiana scored the first 17 points of the third quarter, and the Sixers shot 5 of 21 in the period before recovering in the fourth. That lapse is a meaningful warning alongside the late shot-making.
Brown is questionable for Friday with a knee issue. His availability matters after that 20-point double-double, especially when Philadelphia’s range of contributors is a central part of its appeal.
Our projections put Philadelphia at about 31 assists against New York's 27, with roughly 11 turnovers for the Sixers against 13 for the Knicks. That’s a favorable outlook for Philadelphia’s passing and ball security, though the Indiana game showed how quickly its offense could stall. At the other end, New York’s B- offense meets a Philadelphia defense graded C+, giving Brunson and his teammates a plausible route to keep pace.
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Winning and covering have told different stories
The Knicks have covered once in five games this season; Philadelphia has covered twice in five despite its 4-1 record. The comebacks showed both teams can recover from a bad stretch. Friday’s small spread still comes down to how their strengths match up.
The 227.5 total puts the scoring bursts in context
Four of each team’s five games have gone Under, but Wednesday’s performances point in different directions. New York’s Chicago game featured a high-scoring comeback and 127 points allowed. Philadelphia needed strong late offense after a third quarter in which its shots stopped falling.
At DraftKings’ 227.5 total, the Knicks’ strong defensive assessment and both teams’ early Under results provide a case for resistance. The counterweight is Philadelphia’s A+ offense, Brunson’s latest production and the Sixers’ less imposing defensive grade. Brown’s availability could change the range of scoring options New York has to manage.
The clearest way to assess this meeting is to separate the ability to make a late run from the ability to sustain good possessions. New York has found its footing, but Philadelphia has already won this matchup and presents several ways to score. For the narrowly favored Knicks, the key test is whether their defense can live up to that A- grade against the Sixers’ attack.
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