The New York Knicks closed the first half of their season with a 138-89 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena in the final game before the NBA All-Star break.
New York improved to 35-20 and recorded its 10th win in 12 games. Two of those victories have come against Philadelphia, and the teams split their four-game season series at two games apiece. The 49-point margin was the largest victory in franchise history. The Sixers dropped to 30-24, losing their second straight and for the third time in four games.
Jose Alvarado, acquired last week from the New Orleans Pelicans, scored a season-high 26 points off the bench. He made 8 of 13 three-point attempts and finished with five steals. Knicks fans, who made up at least half of the 19,746 in attendance, chanted “Jose … Jose … Jose!” as the lead expanded.
Mikal Bridges added 22 points and fueled a 16-4 start with nine early points. He scored 13 in the first quarter on 6-of-8 shooting as New York shot 62.5 percent in the period. The Knicks led by 12 just 3:20 into the game after a Bridges dunk and held a double-digit advantage for most of the night.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. His three-pointer early in the second quarter gave New York its first 20-point lead. Mohamed Diawara added 14 points. Jalen Brunson, coming off a 40-point performance in Tuesday’s overtime home loss to the Indiana Pacers, finished with eight points and made a three-pointer in the final minute of the first half.
After VJ Edgecombe scored to interrupt a run, the Knicks responded with nine straight points, capped by an Alvarado three-pointer, to extend the lead to 59-32. New York closed the half on an 11-3 run and entered the locker room ahead 72-42. The Knicks shot 58 percent from the field in the first half, with Bridges scoring 19 and Towns adding 16 before the break. They finished with a season-high 41 assists.
Philadelphia reduced the deficit to 88-66 with 3:28 remaining in the third quarter. Jordan Clarkson, Mitchell Robinson and Alvarado then combined for all 16 of New York’s points to close the period, pushing the lead to 104-71 entering the fourth. A 10-0 run early in the final quarter stretched the margin to 114-73. Alvarado hit three three-pointers during that stretch. His triple with 7:41 left made it 122-77, and Tyler Kolek added a three-pointer with 5:04 remaining to extend the lead to 129-77. The Knicks led by as many as 52.
The Sixers played without Joel Embiid, who missed his second consecutive game with right knee soreness. He had not missed back-to-back games since Dec. 19-20. The team has lost six of its last seven games without him. Their only win during that stretch was a 113-94 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 3 at Chase Center. Philadelphia is 11-12 without Embiid and 19-12 when he plays.
Paul George was also sidelined due to suspension. Quentin Grimes missed his second straight game with an illness.
The results have coincided with movement in futures markets tracked by national sportsbooks. Championship odds listings show the Knicks at +1400 at some outlets after opening at +900, while Action Network’s DraftKings-based board recently listed New York at +1200. The Sixers opened at +4500 in preseason championship markets. The Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia’s next opponent after the break, were listed at +30000. Eastern Conference futures boards have shown the Knicks around +250, the Hawks near +1000 and the Sixers near +1100.
MVP odds across major sportsbooks list Brunson at +25000 at BetMGM, the same number attached to Tyrese Maxey. League leaders on those boards include Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at +200 at DraftKings and +160 at FanDuel, and Nikola Jokic at +240 at DraftKings, +300 at FanDuel and +275 at BetMGM.
Tyrese Maxey scored 32 points in three quarters and added two assists. Edgecombe finished with 14 points, four rebounds and two assists. Dominick Barlow contributed 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
Philadelphia shot 6 of 32 from three-point range, an 18.8 percent clip. Kelly Oubre Jr. (0-for-5), Edgecombe (0-for-5), Justin Edwards (0-for-3), Trendon Watford (0-for-2), Dalen Terry (0-for-1) and Johni Broome (0-for-1) combined to go 0-for-17 from beyond the arc. The Sixers entered the game ranked 16th in the league in three-point shooting at 35.6 percent and 21st in made threes at 12.7 per game. They have scored fewer three-pointers only once this season, making 4 of 28 in a Jan. 9 road win over the Orlando Magic.
New York forced 18 turnovers and scored 32 points off them. The Knicks also held a 51-38 rebounding advantage. The 89 points were a season-low total for Philadelphia and just the third time the team has been held under 100 points this season. The Sixers had trailed by as many as 31 points in Monday’s loss to Portland and fell behind by as many as 52 against New York.
“Obviously, we had zero readiness and energy physically or mentally,” coach Nick Nurse said. “We kind of got to the half, the game was pretty much settled by then, and just going over all the things that we already gone over that we couldn’t get done.”
Philadelphia’s guard rotation has changed in recent weeks. Team president of basketball operations Daryl Morey had previously compared the backcourt depth of Maxey, Edgecombe, Grimes and Jared McCain to the approach used by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Pacers in last season’s NBA Finals run. The Sixers traded McCain to the Thunder on Feb. 4 for a first-round pick and three second-rounders. Eric Gordon was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 5 for a pick swap.
Against the Knicks, the available guards were Maxey, Edgecombe, Kyle Lowry, MarJon Beauchamp and Terry. Lowry, a six-time All-Star in his 20th NBA season at age 39, has taken on a player-coach and mentor role. Beauchamp and Terry are on two-way contracts. Beauchamp finished with eight points, three rebounds, one assist, one block and three turnovers. Terry, who signed his two-way contract one day earlier, had one rebound, one assist and one turnover.
Adem Bona picked up early fouls and finished with six points, five rebounds, two steals, two turnovers and four fouls in 22 minutes, 42 seconds. He was minus-24. Andre Drummond recorded two points and four rebounds and was minus-10 in 10:38 before being replaced in the second half by Charles Bassey. Bassey, whose second 10-day contract expires Saturday, had two points and one block in 4:38 and was assigned to the Delaware Blue Coats after the game.
“It’s weird, man,” Maxey said of adjusting to playing without Embiid. “It’s weird because you got to play multiple different ways. A lot of times when he sits out, it’s on back-to-backs, so it’s hard. You go from playing one way with him or without him early in the season. He comes back and then you got to play that way and then a different way when he’s there, which is OK. It’s fine, you know what I mean?
“It’s the reality of it, and I think we’ll be all right. He’ll be here more than he isn’t here when we get back, and we just got to maintain. Those games that he’s not there and [suspended forward] Paul [George] probably won’t be there till the end, so we just got to maintain.”
When asked whether fatigue from a five-game West Coast trip affected the shooting in the first home game back, Maxey said, “Maybe. I think, in general, guys are a little tired, but that’s what the break is for, though. That’s what the [All-Star] break is for. Rejuvenate, get your legs back under you. Get mentally prepared for this stretch because after the break, it’s go time. It’s go time for every team in the NBA that’s trying to make a push, for sure. They want to play their best basketball down the stretch to get ready for the playoffs.”
McCain scored 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting, including 2 of 3 from three-point range, in the Thunder’s 136-109 victory over the Phoenix Suns, scoring eight points in 75 seconds.
For New York, OG Anunoby missed his fourth consecutive game with a right toenail avulsion.
The Knicks will host the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, Feb. 19. The Sixers will host the Atlanta Hawks the same night.
