Bet on Sixers to cover as slight underdogs in Game 2 against the Knicks on Monday

Despite a slow start and a huge third-quarter run from the Philadelphia 76ers, New York still snuck out a narrow seven-point home win in Game 1 of the first round.

Joel Embiid got off to a hot start in the opening minutes but tweaked his knee late in the second quarter, opening the door for the Knicks to break open the game.

Embiid returned shortly after, leading the charge on another Sixers run, but it was not enough.

Josh Hart and Miles McBride combined for 43 points, 16 rebounds and six assists. However, Jalen Brunson (22 points) had an atrocious shooting night, knocking down only eight of his 26 field goal attempts.

Will Brunson bounce back in Game 2 to give the Knicks a 2-0 series lead, or will Embiid and the Sixers steal one on the road?

Let’s break it down.

(7:30 p.m. ET, TNT)

It took a lot for the Knicks to hold off the surging Sixers in Game 1.

Hart, who has averaged 9.4 points per game on 31% from behind the arc this season, put in 22 points while shooting 4-for-8 from deep. Until Game 1, he had not hit four or more three-pointers in a game this season, so that seems unlikely to happen again.

Additionally, McBride posted 21 points in 28 minutes on Saturday, tied for his fifth-highest point total of the season.

He improved substantially throughout the year, cracking Tom Thibodeau’s air-tight rotation. However, considering he averaged 8.3 points in the regular season, it’s unlikely he will have a better outing than that during the rest of this series.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid’s health will be critical to Sixers, who have modest odds to win the NBA title

The Knicks also took 10 more field goal attempts as a team, pulled down 22 more rebounds and hit 16 of its 35 three-point attempts (45.7%). Yet they still only won by seven points.

The dominance in those departments not resulting in a double-digit win seems more like a red flag than anything, especially since New York is laying 5.5 points in this one.

Another reason I’m high on the Sixers in Game 2 is Philly’s exceptional defense on Brunson.

Philly stalked him the entire game, shadowing him all 94 feet on made shots. While a second consecutive underwhelming performance from Brunson is improbable, 76ers do seem intent on making the Knicks’ supporting cast beat them.

And that is going to be a challenging task.

I’ll stick with Philly getting 5 points as long as Embiid is trending in the right direction leading up to tipoff.

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