For the first time in three years, neither Ben Simmons nor Joel Embiid was in the lineup for the Philadelphia 76ers. They were playing a bad New York Knicks team but, of course, the Sixers had just lost to a bad Cleveland Cavaliers team the night before. But, this game was at home. We know how that usually works.
No Ben Simmons, no Joel Embiid… no problem.
Tobias Harris looked like a player worthy of a max contract on Thursday night.
After a pathetic effort the night before in a loss to a pathetic Cleveland squad, the $180 million man poured in 32 points to lead the host Philadelphia 76ers to a 115-106 win over the New York Knicks.
The 76ers are now 37-23 on the season, in a statistical tie with Miami for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks (17-42) dropped their sixth straight.
The Sixers are now an NBA-best 28-2 at home on the season and 9-21 on the road (the same amount of wins as the Knicks).
Despite their pitiful record, the Knicks had been a pesky opponent for the Sixers, having lost their previous three meetings (when the Sixers had at least one of their big stars) by an average of 4.5 points.
This was a another close one until Harris drilled a three-pointer with 1:52 remaining to give the Sixers a 110-92 lead.
Josh Richardson had the hot hand in the third period, scoring 10 points (and a millisecond away from 13 as he made a three right after the buzzer) to give the 76ers an 87-79 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The Sixers held a 15-point lead at halftime but the Knicks came out smoking for the second half thanks to the sharpshooting of Moe Harkless and Julius Randle (really!), who knocked down six three-pointers in six tries to cut the 76ers lead to four.
Harris finished the first half with 23 points as the Knicks had no way to stop him. The Sixers were ahead by as much as 20 points in the second period before settling for a 61-46 lead at halftime.
Shake Milton also had a nice first two quarters with 11 points (4-for-4 from the field) and four assists.
Harris showed he came to play from the start. He scored 14 points in the first quarter, including the team’s first nine, to get the Sixers off to a quick start. Naturally, being the Sixers, they missed 12 of 14 shots at one point but still led the Knicks by five at the end of the first quarter.
A key stat that did not get much attention was that the Sixers committed just six turnovers. Embiid and Simmons are great players but both can become turnover machines and commit six or more turnovers all by themselves.
Glenn Robinson III received his third start as a Sixer. He was quoted as saying he ‘doesn’t know his role‘ with the team before the game. Coach Brett Brown said he talked to Robinson about his role before the all-star break. Considering he scored four points in 21 minutes, Robinson still must be looking for it.
Next up for the 76ers is a brutal four-game road trip, starting with the Clippers on Sunday. The Warriors, who would have been seen as an automatic win, will probably have Steph Curry back by the time the Sixers face them on March 7.