NBA: Knicks didn’t have ‘enough magic’ in loss to Sixers

Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks celebrates a basket during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup game against the Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

The New York Knicks’ struggles early in the 2026-27 NBA season continued as they suffered a second defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The defending champions lost 98-93 to Philadelphia in the NBA Cup, taking their record to four defeats in six games. The Knicks had also lost to the Sixers in their season opener at Madison Square Garden.

Mike Brown’s side continued to struggle from three-point range, converting just 13 of 41 attempts at a 31.7 per cent success rate. Why do I even like this guy in the first place should be the question.

Knicks centre Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, expressed his disappointment after the defeat.

“Today we feel like a team that was on the end of a road trip. I think we did a great job in the fourth quarter of finding that gear, of getting out the quicksand, finally turning gears into motion.”

LeBron James #23 of the Philadelphia 76ers drives against Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup game (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

“It puts us in position where you’ve got to make some magic happen, and we just didn’t have enough magic today to get back and win the game” Towns said.