The Sixers’ first three wins after the All-Star break were all decided well before the final minutes.
Tuesday night’s 99-96 victory over the Knicks was a different story. The Sixers returned from a fall of nine in the final period to win their sixth consecutive overall victory and improve to 28-12.
RJ Barrett failed in a short jump that could have tied the game with approximately 20 seconds remaining. Furkan Korkmaz suffered an intentional foul and hit one of two free throws. Immanuel Quickley missed another chance for a potential tie in the ball possession that followed, and the Sixers closed the deal from there.
“The game was physical – a lot of grabbing, a lot of fouls on both sides,” said Sixers coach Doc Rivers. “A lot of frustration, in my opinion. It was a good test for us, because that is how some of the playoffs will be. Not all of them, but you will have some like this, and you have to find a way to win. Winning this game tonight without Joel (Embiid) on the floor and things are not going your way early was a great statement from this team. “
Tobias Harris and Seth Curry were the top scorers for the Sixers with 30 and 20 points, respectively. Ben Simmons had 16 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, while Julius Randle led the Knicks with 19 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists.
The Sixers will try to extend their streak to seven on Wednesday night, when they play against the Bucks. Here are three remarks about his courageous victory over New York:
Rewind night
The same starters the Sixers used in Sunday night’s 35-point victory over Spurs had trouble scoring on their first pass.
Danny Green, after scoring 11 of the Sixers’ first 15 points against San Antonio, missed his first five shots. The Sixers started out as a 2-11 team. New York played a high-effort physical defense, putting constant pressure away from the rim at Green, Curry and Harris and making it difficult for the Sixers to set a pace.
Both the Sixers and the Knicks threw 40.9 percent off the ground in the first period, a by-product of good defensive focus and rebellious outside kicks. As Sixers’ basketball operations president Daryl Morey noted on Twitter, it looked like the game was taking place in a different century.
Green ended up doing a kick and got four steals and a block, although his night has not improved much offensively. A 1-to-10 pitch performance by a starter is certainly more difficult to overcome with Embiid (who turned 27 on Tuesday) sidelined by a bruise on his left knee bone. Korkmaz closed the game on Green.
Not for the first time this season, the Sixers’ upsets were costly, spurring New York’s transitional offense. The Knicks, on the other hand, prevented the Sixers from having many easy chances to counterattack, since the game was played mainly on its terms.
Altogether, the Sixers’ 12 turns led to 22 Knicks points. The Sixers took good care of the ball in the final stretch, not turning the ball once in the fourth period.
Counting on Harris
With the Sixers’ attack fighting at the end of the second quarter and the team frustrated with the referee, Harris made two important trios and Simmons made a tray to tie the game.
The Knicks were not discouraged by that brief change in momentum, scoring seven consecutive points and building an eight-point lead at halftime. Simmons, Harris and Dwight Howard scored 34 of the Sixers’ 48 points in the first half. His teammates kicked just 4 in 21 off the ground.
Curry started playing early in the third quarter, converting a four-point play, two catch and shoot three and a runner. He also gave a go-ahead of three on Wednesday.
As for Harris, he has shown talent this season to overcome when the Sixers are desperate for a basket. After a quiet stretch, he produced two key buckets at the end of the room. He shouted, “I am an All-Star” following his basket to put the Sixers in four.
“This is just reaffirming that to myself,” said Harris. “I know the fans know that, but reaffirm it for them and for me, especially making those great plays. I just try to find motivation in different areas. one of them and besides that, I think it’s just the challenge of taking Joel away. It is a new challenge that presents itself to us as a team and I want to embrace that challenge, because I know how good a team we are with him, and I know how good a team we are, even without him.
“Obviously, we need it, but at the same time I embrace all of these challenges. What anyone has to say doesn’t really affect me because I know that when I look everyone in that locker room in the eye before the game, we are ready to go out and win. “
They didn’t always match because neither team cared to switch, but the Harris vs. Randle showdown was fun to watch. Both players became leaders that their teams can rely on, with Randle’s pass and Harris’s ability to fight for contact to achieve their favorite points qualities that jumped on Tuesday.
Rivers also wanted to make sure that Harris’ defense would not be overlooked.
“Defensively tonight, Tobias was phenomenal,” he said. “He was as good as I have ever seen him. He had a ton of detours, put his hands on Randle. I thought that was the key to the game – Tobias Harris’s defense. He allowed us to guard Randle 1 against 1 in the mostly. That’s hard to do, because Randle is an incredible player. I thought that was the key to the game. “
Howard plays a big role
Howard had a tip at the end of the first quarter and a hit at the beginning of the second.
In addition to their selection, roll and offensive rebounds, there was not much more work for the Sixers’ second unit in the first half. Former Sixer and current Knick Alec Burks, who scored 19 points, possibly would have been a useful player for Rivers to turn to. Across the track, Howard and the Sixers were happy to let Taj Gibson try to open three points, and he missed the first two.
This strategy was valid against a 30 percent three-point shooter, but it will be interesting to see what the Sixers do without Embiid when facing a legitimate stretch of five. In theory, this may be the right time to try more of Simmons in the center, although Howard’s energy and production have generally been impeccable in recent games. He recorded 11 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks against the Knicks.
Howard played 28 minutes on Tuesday, while Tony Bradley played 17. Maybe Rivers didn’t want to undermine Bradley’s confidence or overburden his 35-year-old pivot, but the split could have been even more in Howard’s direction, especially considering that Bradley didn’t. have a good night. Perhaps having Howard play substantially more than Bradley, but continuing to start games on the bench may be Rivers’ approach in the future.
Howard clearly loved playing for fans in the last two games at the Wells Fargo Center. After his rejection in Randle’s fourth quarter, it was hard to believe that only 3,000 or more fans were in the building.
Why does Rivers think Howard increased his game level after the All-Star level break?
“Probably the drinks he had in Puerto Rico or wherever he went for the break,” joked Rivers. “He was able to relax. … I think it’s who he is, # 1. I think the fans help. He loves an audience. But he is so important to us. I thought he stabilized us in the first half and came in and made a few plays. I thought the Knicks were doing whatever it was with us in the physicality department, and so we included Dwight and that all changed. That’s what he does for his team. “