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1. Despite the loss, the Sixers showed tremendous resilience and fight by making a big comeback at the Garden, showcasing their never-give-up attitude. 2. The Knicks put up a strong performance and capitalized on some key opportunities late in the game to secure the victory over the Sixers, proving to be a tough opponent on their home court. 3. The Sixers will need to learn from this game and work on maintaining their momentum throughout the entire game, as their comeback efforts ultimately fell short in the end.

NEW YORK — The Sixers stunned the Knicks on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, but the final result was ultimately unsurprising.

Though they wiped out a 19-point deficit, the Sixers wound up suffering a ninth consecutive loss. They fell to 20-38 this season with a 110-105 defeat.

Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 30 points. Paul George recorded 25 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 27 points.

Knicks star Jalen Brunson posted 34 points and seven assists. Mikal Bridges scored 28 points.

The following Sixers were out:

Joel Embiid (left knee injury management)

Guerschon Yabusele (right eye abrasion)

Eric Gordon (right wrist surgery)

Kyle Lowry (right hip injury management)

Jared McCain (left lateral meniscus surgery)

The 38-20 Knicks were down centers Karl-Anthony Towns (left knee patellar tendinopathy) and Mitchell Robinson (left ankle surgery). Rookie big man Ariel Hukporti was ruled out during the game with a sprained left knee.

The Sixers will host the Warriors on Saturday night. Here are observations on their loss to the Knicks:

The Sixers briefly took a lead when George drove past OG Anunoby and laid the ball in.

Predictably, their advantage did not last long. The Knicks scored on their first three possessions and the Sixers’ defensive resistance continued to be far from exemplary. Bridges got a dunk off of a baseline out-of-bounds play. With the Sixers trailing 15-6, head coach Nick Nurse called timeout.

Justin Edwards checked in, returning from a three-game absence with a left ankle sprain. Adem Bona entered alongside him as the backup center Wednesday to Andre Drummond. The Sixers turned to zone defense … and Bridges promptly nailed a three-pointer. The Villanova product lit the Sixers up for 19 points in the first quarter on 8-for-10 shooting.

The Sixers’ defense was better late in the first period, although they committed several overzealous fouls. After giving up 40 first-quarter points to the Nets and 39 to the Bulls, the Sixers allowed 33 to New York.

In his second game since returning from a right finger sprain, Maxey went 2 for 10 from the field in the first quarter. He forced up a few shots, but most of his attempts were good looks. Maxey had gone 3 for 10 from the floor in Monday’s blowout loss vs. Chicago.

Still sporting a splint on his left pinkie finger, George opened 1 for 7.

The Maxey-George duo combined to shoot 6 for 24 in the first half. Clearly, it’s quite hard for the Sixers to beat good teams when their available stars are misfiring that badly.

Oubre was the one efficient Sixer early. After a 4-for-26 stretch beyond the arc over his last eight games, Oubre knocked down two first-quarter triples and scored 12 points.

The lefty wing added another three during an 8-0 Sixers run late in the second quarter. Unlike on Monday, the Sixers displayed effort and energy in a situation where the game appeared just about lost.

The Sixers cut a 16-point halftime deficit down to nine through three quarters.

George began canning jumpers and the Knicks weren’t sharp to start the second half. A George layup early in the fourth quarter trimmed New York’s lead to 84-78. To George and Maxey’s credit, they remained aggressive despite their first-half struggles and kept competing defensively.

As expected, the Sixers leaned on their stars and didn’t receive a ton of scoring Wednesday off the bench. Their four-man second unit of Edwards, Bona, Ricky Council IV and Lonnie Walker IV totaled 13 points. Jared Butler did not play.

George helped the Sixers keep their comeback rolling in the fourth quarter. He had an excellent run around the midpoint of the period, assisting a Drummond dunk, converting a tough layup and draining a corner three that brought the Sixers to within 96-95. Maxey soon drove in for a go-ahead bucket.

All logic suggested the Knicks would find a way to stop the bleeding, but they seemed to be stunned by the Sixers’ surge.

Before the game slipped away, Brunson stepped up.

He rattled off a personal 9-0 run in the clutch, including a wing three that gave his team a 105-102 edge. Maxey came up empty on a couple of difficult late layup attempts.

The Sixers’ current reality is that nothing feels like it’s bouncing their way. At the end of the day, even after Wednesday’s spirited second-half performance, they still have a single win in the month of February.