Mike Brown tells the 2-4 Knicks to stop chasing home runs after the loss in Philadelphia: ‘We have to hit singles’

New York Knicks coach Mike Brown wants his defending champions to stop swinging for the fences. After Friday’s 98-93 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in the teams’ Emirates NBA Cup group opener, Brown used a baseball image to describe an offense that kept trying to win a possession with one player: “We’re trying to hit a home run every time we get the ball. And we have to hit singles.”

The loss dropped New York to 2-4, and it was the second time in six games that Philadelphia has beaten the Knicks. For a team that won the title in June, Brown’s message was less about talent than about habits that he says have shown up since opening night.

"We're trying to hit a home run every time we get the ball. And we have to hit singles"

Mike Brown talked about the Knicks' turnovers in the first half vs. Philadelphia as part of his opening statement pic.twitter.com/Sh6vDUiRBb

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 31, 2026

Too much one-on-one, too many giveaways

Brown’s opening statement focused on the first half, when New York kept going to isolation, the other four players stood and watched, and the ball often ended up with Philadelphia. The Knicks gave it away eight times before the break, and the 76ers turned 13 New York turnovers over the full game into 23 points. Philadelphia led 53-44 at halftime and pushed the gap to 14 at one stage.

The coach also pointed to the paint. The 76ers scored 36 points inside, 26 of them in the first half, while New York managed only 10 in that half. Brown said Philadelphia was getting to the rim far too easily, and he admitted before the game that the team’s transition defense has been a problem from the start of the season, SNY reported.

The second half showed what Brown is asking for. New York cut its turnovers to five, allowed only six points off them, and doubled its paint scoring to 24. Jalen Brunson gave the Knicks their first lead since the opening minute with a three at 1:32, but VJ Edgecombe answered from deep and Tyrese Maxey closed it at the line. Brunson finished with 24 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 and 12, but New York shot 13-of-41 from three.

Brown’s conclusion was that one good half is not enough on the road against a good team, saying the Knicks must find a way to be “cognizant of doing this stuff for 48 minutes, which we’re not doing right now.”

A pattern in the first six games

The theme is familiar. After the 107-103 loss in Boston on October 23, Brown blamed the way his team handled the Celtics’ physicality and its 16 turnovers. New York then lost 111-102 at home to Orlando before beating Detroit 111-97 and coming back from 19 down to win 133-127 in Chicago behind Brunson’s 38 points. Both wins came when the Knicks moved the ball and kept their mistakes down; all four losses were by nine points or fewer.

Six games in, the defending champions are chasing in the East Group B race as well, after a Cup opener that already put them behind Philadelphia and Miami.

What comes next

The Knicks host the Brooklyn Nets at Madison Square Garden on Monday, November 2, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Lineups, live numbers and the full box score will be in the Game Center, and every status is on the injury report.