PHILADELPHIA – Long Island’s Tobias Harris was quietly angry when he was not selected for the NBA All-Star Game after helping the Sixers to the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Harris looked like he had a strong case on Tuesday night. For one night, he took over on his hometown team desperate for the offensive firepower Harris supplied to the Sixers.
Harris hit two keys in the trajectory while the Knicks went cold, scoring just 14 points in the fourth quarter, and Philadelphia escaped with a defensive 99-96 win at Wells Fargo Center.
This was only the second game of the season in which the arena hosted fans during this pandemic season – 3,100 strong.
While there were a handful of Knicks jerseys in the stands, it was a Philly audience who saw these new Knicks scrap and claw, but fell short with just no sustained shotmaking late in the fourth quarter.
Harris finished 11 out of 20 with 30 points to accelerate the Sixers to their sixth straight win as the team continues to win despite the absence of MVP candidate Joel Embiid.
Julius Randle finished with 19 points in just 7 of the 19 shootings. Alec Burks, an ex-Sixer, missed a shot in the final minute and made a turnover. He finished with 19 points but shot 6 of 15.
Trailing three, Immanuel Quickley closed a 3-pointer with 12 seconds to go. The Knicks got the rebound and Reggie Bullock fired a 3 pointer, but he was out of range.
RJ Barrett, who also missed pairing baskets late, finished with 17 points, but shot only 7 of 17 as the Knicks dropped to 20-21 and lost back-to-back to the Nets and Sixers.
The Knicks hurt at the point guard without Elfrid Payton and Derrick Rose. Quickley appeared to be suffering from a groin load, but added 13 points. Frank Ntilikina, as much a defender as he was again, went scoreless for the third game in a row, going 0-for-4.
It was tied at 41-41 when the Knicks went on a 7-0 run to advance 48-41.
Barrett hit Nerlens Noel in an alley to start the run. Bullock, who turned 30 on Tuesday, threw away a 3 pointer from a Sixers turnover. Barrett closed the run after another Philly turnover. Burks led Barrett, who sprinted down for an undisputed high-flying left jam.
The Knicks kept the 56-48 lead at half time when Randle, who came out of his tantrum after the buzzer in Brooklyn, ran a 3-pointer on first possession of the game and finished with 13 points and four assists at half time.