All five Sixers starters scored double-digit points in Philadelphia 126-111 win over the New York Knicks. The Philly front court (Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris) combined for 51 points.
Coming off a demoralizing loss in what was a very winnable matchup with the Boston Celtics a day ago, the 76ers turned it around on Wednesday night and took care of business against another Atlantic Division rival, beating the New York Knicks 126-111. With this latest loss to Philadelphia, a clean sweep on the season series, the hapless Knicks extend their franchise record for consecutive defeats to 18 games.
Aside from New York jumping out to a four-point lead early in the first quarter, the Sixers remained ahead from the jump and lead by as many as 26 points. Defensive lulls allowed the Knicks to creep back within striking distance at certain moments, but the 76ers were never in jeopardy of losing this one against the NBA’s worst team.
Turning Point
- Growing its lead to as large as 11 points in the first, one of those aforementioned defensive lapses allowed New York to close the gap to 44-43 at the beginning of the second period. A 7-0 run by the Sixers to end the half crushed any hope for the Knicks in pulling off an upset.
Standout Star(s)
- All five of the Sixers’ starters scored double-digit points: Joel Embiid had 26, Tobias Harris 25, Ben Simmons 18, JJ Redick 15 and Jimmy Butler 13.
- Additionally, fan favorite Boban Marjanovic was able to use his size advantage over the Knicks’ bigs to put up 10 points in 14 minutes.
Reason to Cheer
- After taking 8 three-point shots against Boston (making only 2), the recently trigger-happy Embiid did not take a single attempt from downtown on Wednesday night.
- Tobias Harris bounce-back game! The new Sixers starting power forward scored 25 points (his most so far in Philly) on 64 percent shooting from the field. Harris also contributed 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
- Speaking of assists, Philadelphia tallied 20 of them on 24 points in the first half. The 76ers finished with 33 dimes for the game.
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Cause for Tears
- As head coach Brett Brown continues to tinker with his reserve unit rotation, the Knicks bench outperformed Philadelphia’s backups by a wide margin, finishing with 74 points compared to just 29 for the 76ers.
- Nineteen-year-old forward Kevin Knox, New York’s top pick in 2018 (No. 9 overall), put Simmons on a poster with a thunderous dunk late in the second quarter.
Up next
- The Sixers are off for the next week as teams break for the NBA All-Star Game. Their next scheduled matchup is against the Miami Heat on Feb. 21 at home.
- You can catch Ben Simmons in the MTN Dew Ice Rising Stars Challenge on Friday at 9 p.m. on TNT.
- Simmons (Team LeBron James) will also participate in Sunday’s All-Star Game in Charlotte, N.C. along with teammate Joel Embiid (Team Giannis Antetokounmpo). The action begins at 8:20 p.m. on TNT.
Joe Trinacria covers the Sixers for NJ.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jtrinacria.