GRADES: Philadelphia 76ers 101, New York Knicks 95
By Ashley Foltz
The Philadelphia 76ers struggled on the road as they traveled to New York for part one of their weekend back-to-back.
With an unusual starting lineup for the Philadelphia 76ers, the first quarter was a mess, to say the least. A timeout called by Brett Brown and a coaches challege made by David Fizdale caused the first quarter to absolutely drag on.
Like many teams we play, the New York Knicks looked like a squad of Steph Currys as they shot 5-9 from beyond in the first quarter. Norvel Pelle backed up Joel Embiid tonight but got off to a rocky start. He committed a personal foul as soon as he came in and got posterized by Julius Randle soon after.
The Sixers spent basically the whole first half trailing (pretty far behind) the Knicks. A major source of the deficit was the difference in shooting beyond the arc. They shot 2-for-18 versus the Knicks’ 7-for-12. The only Sixers to hit anything from beyond were Raul Neto and Trey Burke, which were their only points of the half. In 17 minutes on the court, Embiid notched in 13 points, two blocks, and seven rebounds as the standout player of the first half.
A. <strong>25 mins | 27 pts | 17 reb | 2 ast | 0 stl | 3 blk | 3 TO | 7-19 FG | 0-4 3PT| 13-15 FT | 4 PF | +12 |</strong><p>Embiid may not have scored 30+ points or knocked in any threes tonight, but he put up some substantial numbers. His intensity picked up in the second half which really helped to turn the game around.</p>. C. Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID
<strong>13 mins | 3 pts | 2 reb | 1 ast | 0 stl | 4 blk | 2 TO | 0-0 FG | 0-0 3PT| 3-4 FT | 3 PF | -6 |</strong><p>With his first real NBA minutes, Pelle made a huge impact on the defensive end. He showed that he can hold his own against players like Randle. I would have liked to see him make some more shots other than from the foul line.</p>. C. Philadelphia 76ers. NORVEL PELLE. B-
B-. <strong>38 mins | 15 pts | 5 reb | 8 ast | 2 stl | 0 blk | 4 TO | 5-11 FG | 0-0 3PT| 5-10 FT | 4 PF | +0 |</strong><p>Simmons had a pretty decent game. Nothing too special. He worked both ends of the court throughout the game and really took it up a notch in the fourth to help solidify their victory.</p>. PG. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS
<strong>35 mins | 19 pts | 6 reb | 1 ast | 1 stl | 2 blk | 4 TO | 9-16 FG | 1-2 3PT| 0-0 FT | 4 PF | -6 |</strong><p>Harris had himself one of his best games in a while. With 19 points and six rebounds, he was a huge catalyst to help the Sixers fight their way ahead of the Knicks. Hopefully, this translates to tomorrow night’s game.</p>. PF. Philadelphia 76ers. TOBIAS HARRIS. B+
<strong>22 mins | 20 pts | 4 reb | 2 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 0 TO | 4-5 FG | 3-4 3PT| 9-9 FT | 1 PF | +17 |</strong><p>Ennis went OFF tonight in easily his best game of the season. He worked on both ends of the court, making more of his impact offensively. If I were to bet on it, I’d bet he was tonight’s locker room bell ringer.</p>. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. JAMES ENNIS. A-
Tobias Harris set the tone early in the second half for the rest of his teammates with a healthy three. Following, Ben Simmons broke out for a slam that helped turn a 16-point deficit into a four-point deficit. There was a lot more energy and intensity in the third quarter. Pelle was a huge facilitator in this, especially on the defensive end where he held his own again Randle. The Sixers took their first lead, 67-66, with a set of Embiid free throws.
With 16 turnovers, the Knicks came within one of the Sixers, 81-80, with five minutes left in the game. James Ennis, who had been a huge contributor on both ends of the court, went to the line to shoot three which put him at 16 points in 18 minutes. From there it was a battle to keep the lead. Simmons had another signature steal and slam to give the Sixers their highest lead at seven points. From there Ennis capped off the game with two free throws to give himself 20 points — 101-95.
Next. Player of the Week - Josh Richardson gets hot. dark
Tomorrow night the Sixers will host the Indiana Pacers (and Process hero T.J. McConnell) back home, where they hopefully will play with more ease.