The New York Knicks team prevailed in a heated match against Philadelphia 112-109, thanks to 31 points scored by Jalen Brunson who helped get his team’s season back on track.
The Knicks hope to have turned the tide with two consecutive victories, after the rousing 54-point victory against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday ended a losing streak in which they had lost nine of their last twelve games.
New York defended a three-point lead in the final ten seconds, when the Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey missed a 3-pointer under pressure, before OG Anunoby stole the ball from Joel Embiid.
On both occasions, Philadelphia’s protests of an intentional foul were rejected by the officials: “Cold blood… we never make it easy, but I liked the way we fought,” Brunson said, responding to a question about how his team handled such tense final moments.
“Obviously we went through a tough time and came out of it. It happened, now we just have to keep climbing.”
Sixers center Joel Embiid — the game’s leading scorer with 38 points, 11 rebounds and five assists — told reporters that both his and Maxey’s shots were “obvious fouls.”
Cameroonian-American star Embiid was dominant in the first half, scoring 28 points to give the 76ers a 64-60 lead at halftime.
But the Knicks got back into the game, outscoring the Sixers 30-13 in the third quarter, in which Embiid sat out. The Knicks built a 17-point lead before Philadelphia scored 11 straight points in the final quarter, reopening the game for a white-hot finale at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The Knicks (27-18) now occupy third place in the Eastern Conference, while the 76ers are sixth (24-20).
A postponement and an advance
Elsewhere, the matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the Minnesota Timberwolves was postponed until Sunday after federal immigration agents killed a man in Minneapolissparking new protests.
“The decision was made to prioritize the safety and security of the Minneapolis community,” the NBA said in a statement.
The game between the Washington Wizards and the Charlotte Hornets started earlier than originally scheduled due to a severe winter storm that hit the United States. The match in Charlotte ended with the home team winning 119-115.
