The New York Knicks are struggling to secure the defensive stops they rely on their star players to deliver. This challenge has been a key factor in their recent three-game losing streak, which continued with a 130-119 defeat against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.

Philadelphia’s All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey played a pivotal role, sinking a crucial fading step-back three-pointer with 3:34 remaining in the fourth quarter, extending the Sixers’ lead to 12 points. Maxey’s impressive solo performance in the final quarter contributed to his overall 36-point tally, shooting 14-of-22 from the field, surpassing his season average by five points.

Maxey wasn’t the sole contributor to the Sixers’ success. He received significant support from rookie VJ Edgecombe, the third pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Edgecombe’s athletic prowess and sharp three-point shooting helped him rack up 26 points, hitting 10-of-16 from the floor.

The Knicks had heavily invested in their perimeter defense to counter players like Maxey and Edgecombe. They made strategic moves, including trading RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to acquire OG Anunoby. Anunoby was subsequently signed to a record-setting five-year, $212.5 million contract extension, primarily for his defensive capabilities.

Yet these are the very players the Knicks invested so heavily in their perimeter defenders to slow down.

The Knicks traded RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley for OG Anunoby, then re-signed him to a franchise-richest five-year, $212.5 million contract extension largely because of his abilities on the defensive end

The same goes for Bridges: The Knicks paid the hefty price of five first-round picks then re-signed him to a four-year, $150 million extension because of his ability to defend the point of attack.

Yet the wings couldn’t get stops on Saturday, New York’s interior defense dissolved even with Mitchell Robinson on the floor, and the Knicks’ firepower couldn’t carry them where their defense fell short: Even 20 points off the bench from Miles McBride couldn’t swing things back in the Knicks’ favor.

But this appears to be a new script playing out in real-time at The Garden of mid-season nightmares: The Knicks trailed the 76ers by one after the first quarter then lost the middle two quarters by a combined 14 points. In the first leg of their back-to-back on Friday against the Hawks, the Knicks lost the first quarter by three before losing the second and third by a grand total of 29. And against the San Antonio Spurs, the first of their current three-game losing streak, the Knicks won the first quarter, 45-36, and were within a one-point spread in the middle two quarters before falling apart in the final frame of a two-point loss.

Maybe this is life after the NBA Cup Final. No NBA Cup winner, for example, has gone on to make the NBA Finals in the first three years of its existence. In fact, every team to win the Cup has struggled immediately out of the gate, perhaps in large part due to the emotional high of winning a largely meaningless title, only to return to the humbling reality that the games are still coming 100 miles an hour.

Last season, the Milwaukee Bucks entered the NBA Cup Final with a 14-11 record, beat the Oklahoma City to win it, then found themselves at a 17-16 record by Jan. 4.

The same goes for the Los Angeles Lakers, who were 14-9 entering the NBA Cup Final then immediately proceeded to lose 10 of their next 13 games,

The Knicks were 18-7 entering their NBA Cup victory over the San Antonio Spurs, a game the NBA doesn’t count in team or player season stats.

They are since 5-5, riding a three-game losing streak, each loss increasing in equal parts embarrassment and disappointment.

Jalen Brunson finished with 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field, doing much of his damage at the foul line (9-of-12). Karl-Anthony Towns eventually found his way to 23 points and 14 rebounds but only scored two points on one-of-six shooting in the first half before forcing the issue.

Joel Embiid also finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

The Knicks now have a much-needed day off before flying to Detroit for their next challenge: a date with the top-seeded Pistons, who are sure to ratchet up the intensity and physicality against the team responsible for ending their season in the first round last season.