Philadelphia 76ers vs New York Knicks Prediction, Odds and NBA Playoffs Game 2 Picks for Today, 05/06/26

Less than 2 weeks ago, New York had dropped back-to-back games to the Atlanta Hawks by 1 point apiece, making the Knicks the first team in NBA history to lose by 1 point in regulation in consecutive playoff games. Since that point, New York has flipped the switch and essentially been unstoppable on both ends of the floor. On offense, the Knicks racked up a combined 380 points over the final 3 games of the first round to close out the Hawks, including back-to-back performances where they won by 39 and 51 points respectively. It’s not as if Mike Brown’s defense has been slouching either, with New York holding opponents to under 100 points in 4 consecutive games since falling behind 2-1 to Atlanta. That momentum continued into a 137-98 beatdown of the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 on Monday, and the Knicks certainly look like the best team in the Eastern Conference at the moment. However, I fully expect New York to finally encounter some resistance in Game 2, especially since it feels like the series is in the balance for Philadelphia. 

For starters, the Knicks were absolutely white hot in Game 1 to an unsustainable degree. In fact, New York shot well over 60% from the floor and over 50% from beyond the arc, to go along with a +26 edge in points in the paint and a +11 edge on the glass. It was an ideal game in all areas for the Knicks, and while there certainly seems to be a real change in this team over the last handful of games, it’s hard to expect this insanely high level of play to continue for 48 more minutes on Wednesday. Philadelphia is going to punch back and we’ve also seen the Sixers raise their level in these situations in the Nick Nurse era (look no further than against Boston in the previous round). It’s hard to imagine that Joel Embiid doesn’t have a bounce-back game on offense, and while the Knicks will likely look to punish the 76ers on the defensive end, New York should have a hard time staying in front of Tyrese Maxey in a spot where he has been brilliant over his short NBA career. The visitors should also hold the edge at the free-throw line in this game, as we saw in Game 1. With the 76ers no longer coming off a Game 7 and having to play on short rest, they should be settled in and ready to take the physicality to New York in a bounce-back situational spot on Wednesday. 

76ers vs Knicks Game 2 prediction: 76ers +7.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to 76ers +7. 

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