The Knicks had six players in double-figures and were led by a dominant performance from Karl-Anthony Towns to earn a 111-99 win over the 76ers to open group play of the NBA Cup on Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
New York improved to 5-5 on the season and sentenced Philly to a 2-8 start to the year.
Here are some takeaways…
– The turning point in a game often involves a collision of the game’s biggest stars. On Tuesday night in Philly, that was literally true.
With the Knicks up five under three minutes into the fourth quarter, Towns was driving on Joel Embiid in the post before Kelly Oubre came to double and as the Knicks center turned, a monster collision ensued with the two Philly defenders hitting the floor. The foul on the floor was called on Towns, but a Tom Thibodeau challenge changed it to a foul on Oubre. That change of fortune led to a Miles McBride three, a Jalen Brunson finger roll and OG Anunoby‘s fifth dunk of the night for an 87-75 lead, New York’s largest of the night.
Towns made another crucial play grabbing a contested offensive rebound before taking on a double-team under the hoop to find an open Josh Hart for a three to make it a 14-point lead with under five to play and they didn’t look back.
– Towns entered the game attempting just 4.5 three-point attempts but wasted no time finding open looks, knocking down two from downtown on the Knicks’ first possessions.
Embiid he lasted just five minutes in his season debut before asking Nick Nurse for a sub. The Sixers’ center, who had his left knee heavily wrapped soon headed back to the locker room, missed both his shots with a turnover and an assist in his opening run. Meanwhile, Towns had eight points, two rebounds and an assist against last year’s MVP.
Towns closed out Philly’s 10-3 run to end the first quarter by grabbing two offensive rebounds on the opening possession of the second setting up an Anunoby dunk. KAT was the nexus of the game on both ends of the floor, impacting the Sixers on defense and being the sun the Knicks’ offense revolved around.
– Part of the reason was Brunson did not start hot: missing all five attempts (two from three), but he added a rebound and four assists in the opening period to earn his keep. A bad turnover in the quarter’s waning seconds cut the Knicks edge to just 27-25.
And after Philly made it a two-point game, the Knicks used a 7-0 spurt (with Towns off the floor) behind good defense and buckets from Anunoby, Bridges and Brunson. However, that run came to an end after Towns entered and committed his third foul of the night guarding Embiid.
But a deep two from Hart ended a 9-2 Philly run to give New York a 54-50 halftime lead.
Hart would end with a triple-double scoring 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting with 12 rebounds and 10 assists for a plus-14 in 37 minutes.
– Why was the game close? Philadelphia established residency at the free-throw line going 17-for-17, with Embiid making all eight of his attempts while going 0-for-3 from the floor. New York was just 3-for-3 in the half. (The Knicks entered the game allowing 19 free-throw attempts per game.)
That and Brunson was just 1-for-7 (0-for-3 from deep) for three points in the first half and Paul George poured in 11 of Philly’s first 15 points to finish the first half with 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting with five rebounds, three steals and a block. But he was a minus-9 in 16 minutes.
– The second half got off to a near-disastrous start when Brunson went down in a heap grabbing at his right ankle after turning it by stepping on Caleb Martin’s foot when bringing the ball up the court. He would hobble off the court and head straight to the locker room under his own power.
He would return to the bench five minutes into the half and re-entered the game with 4:14 to play in the quarter. And bounced-back to finish with 18 points on 5-for-15 shooting with three rebounds, five assists and six turnovers for a plus-7 in 35 minutes.
– A George three temporarily gave Philly a lead early in the period, their first since the game began 2-0. But buckets from Bridges and Anunoby answered and despite Embiid getting his first bucket of the night, the Knicks had a 12-3 run for a 68-60 lead after McBride knocked down his fifth field goal.
The Knicks committed seven turnovers in the third (they entered the night committing just 12 a game) but built an eight-point lead thanks to going 9-for-18 from the floor before the Sixers and Jared McCain whittled it to three at the buzzer.
George was a huge thorn in the Knicks’ side going for 29 points on 10-for-19 shooting with seven threes and 10 rebounds. But he finished a minus-11 in 32 minutes. McCain added 23 off the bench on 7-for-16 shooting and was a plus-3 in 30 minutes.
– With New York playing the first game of a back-to-back, Thibodeau extended his rotation to nine-deep early in the game with McBride, Jericho Sims, Cameron Payne and Matt Ryan all seeing early action.
– The Knicks’ and Sixers’ five-team group for the in-season tournament includes the Nets, Hornets and Magic. Games will be played on Tuesday and Friday nights through early December. The NBA Cup rounds out with a quarterfinal game (Dec. 10 or 11) before moving to Las Vegas for the semifinals on Dec. 14 and final on Dec. 17.
Game MVP: Karl-Anthony Towns
Towns finished with 21 points on 7-for-16 shooting (2-for-6 from three) with 13 rebounds and six assists, a steal, a block, four turnovers, and was a plus-11 in 38 minutes. Anunoby was the unsung hero with 24 points, six rebounds and two assists with a game-high plus-24.
Highlights
What’s next
The Knicks are back in action in regular season play on Wednesday night aginst the Chicago Bulls for a 7:30 p.m. tip at Madison Square Garden.
