The Knicks opened preseason with a 97-120 loss at Philadelphia, with the bench outscoring the starting five by 26 points. Jalen Brunson managed 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting in just 15 minutes, finishing at minus-10 before Mike Brown pulled his regulars early.
The Loss
Philadelphia pulled away behind Jaylen Brown's 22 points, in a game with 11 lead changes that still swung to a 14-point Sixers lead, with New York's largest lead topping out at 5. OG Anunoby led the Knicks with 12 points on 6-of-6 free-throw shooting, and Brunson added 12 of his own, but neither starter found a rhythm in a short first look.
Reserves Carry It
Landry Shamet hit two threes off the bench for 10 points, Andre Drummond logged three blocks and finished a team-best plus-9, and James Wiseman and Mohamed Diawara each scored 8. Jordan Clarkson and Pacome Dadiet struggled on the other end, at minus-19 and minus-18. A bench that outscored the Knicks' starters 60-34 is the kind of split a coaching staff notices even in a game that does not count.
Towns Watch
The Karl-Anthony Towns extension story kept moving. Hoops Rumors reported Towns is frustrated by where talks stand, and the New York Post wrote he gave a grim update of his own. ESPN reported separately that Towns said he is not expecting a new deal soon. No numbers, no timeline, just a player publicly lowering expectations.
Next Up
New York hosts Washington on October 8, its next tune-up before an October 20 opener at home against this same Philadelphia team. Jose Alvarado, sidelined with a left knee issue, has an estimated return for that Wizards game.
Bottom Line
A preseason loss means nothing on paper, but the October 8 lineup will say plenty about who Mike Brown trusts with the center minutes still unsettled between Wiseman, Tony Bradley, Drummond and Towns.
Why did the Knicks lose their preseason opener to the 76ers?
New York's starters struggled out of the gate, managing only 34 combined points, while Philadelphia got 22 from Jaylen Brown and pulled away to a 97-120 final.
What is the latest on Karl-Anthony Towns' contract situation?
Towns has told reporters he isn't expecting a new deal soon, and Hoops Rumors described him as frustrated with where the extension talks stand; no new terms have been reported.
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