Tyrese Maxey Reflects on Joel Embiid's Late Struggles in Game 4

What went wrong for Joel Embiid during the Philadelphia 76ers' Game 4 loss against the Knicks?

Apr 4, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) hands the ball to / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

On Sunday afternoon, the Philadelphia 76ers found themselves with a chance to tie their first-round series with the New York Knicks. As it’s been for most of the series, things came down to the final moments of play. Led by a dominant outing from Jalen Brunson, New York was able to secure a 97-92 win on the road.

In the fourth quarter, the Sixers struggled to get any sort of offense going. Joel Embiid ended up taking most of the blame for this, as he scored just one point in the final 12 minutes. However, Tyrese Maxey doesn’t see it that way.

During his postgame media availability, Maxey spoke on Embiid going 0-for-5 in the fourth. He cited that the Knicks were trapping him the moment he got the ball, and the team wasn’t able to knock down shots to make the defense pay.

“They trapped him almost every single time he caught the ball,” Maxey said. “That’s hard to be aggressive. He made the right plays for the most part. Guys missed shots. I missed a couple shots. I missed a couple lay ups that I normally make…I feel like Joel did a great job of bringing in the defense.”

As a team, the Sixers shot 6-for-24 in the fourth quarter. Maxey (2-for-8) and Cam Payne (2-for-3) were the leading scorers, each notching five points. The Knicks ended up out-scoring the Sixers 20-16 in the final period en route to a five-point victory.

Following this late-game collapse, the Sixers now find themselves on the brink of elimination. They’ll head to New York Tuesday and attempt to keep their season alive in Game 5.