PHILADELPHIA – Tobias Harris of Long Island smoked quietly when he was not selected for the NBA All-Star Game after helping the Sixers to the Eastern Conference best record.
Harris sure looked like he had a strong case on Tuesday night. For one night, he took him to his hometown team that was desperate for the offensive firepower that Harris supplied to the Sixers.
Harris hit two key cubes inside the stretch as the Knicks went cold, scoring just 14 points in the fourth quarter, and Philadelphia escaped with a 99-96 defensive victory at the Wells Fargo Center.
This was only the second game of the season in which the arena has welcomed fans during this pandemic season: 3,100 people.
While there were a handful of Knicks jerseys in the stands, it was a crowd of Philly who saw these new Knicks junk and claws fall short, with no sustained pull at the end of the fourth quarter.
Harris finished with 30 points on an 11-of-20 shot to increase the Sixers ’pace until their sixth straight win, as the team continues to win despite the absence of MVP candidate Joel Embiid.
Julius Randle finished with 19 points on just 7 of 19 shots. Alec Burks, former Sixer, missed a shot at the last minute and committed a turnover. He finished with 19 points but shot 6 of 15.
After three, Immanuel Quickley scored 3 points with 12 seconds left. The Knicks got the rebound and Reggie Bullock shot a 3-point lead, but was out of bounds.
RJ Barrett, who also missed the clutch baskets late, finished with 17 points but shot just 7 of 17 as the Knicks fell to 20-21, losing their backs to the Nets and Sixers.
The Knicks hurt the tip without Elfrid Payton and Derrick Rose. Quickley looked annoyed by a groin strain, but added 13 points. Frank Ntilikina, as good a defender as he was again, was left without goals for the third consecutive game, going 0-4.
It was tied at 41-41 when the Knicks made a 7-0 run to advance 48-41.
Barrett hit Nerlens Noel in an alley to start the race. Bullock, who turned 30 on Tuesday, eliminated a triple from Sixers ’turnover. Barrett closed the race after another change from Philly. Burks led Barrett, who ran for a left-handed jam without flying.
The Knicks maintained a 56-48 lead at halftime, when Randle came out of his rage at Brooklyn, finished with 3 points in first game possession, and finished with 13 points and four assists at halftime.