NBA Update: Philadelphia stamped second victory of the season against Knicks by 106 - 96
The New York Knicks fully accelerated themselves with a hope to make it their consecutive third win, at Madison Square Garden, New York, with their home matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers but all in vain, as the so-called Sixers (76ers) won 106–96. The
late fourth-quarter surge led by Jrue Holiday and Elton Brand played fantastic role in a huge victory of Sixers.
Despite missing the shooting guard Andre Iguodala, the Philadelphia came away with a stunning victory. Iguodala did not return for the final 24 minutes because of a strained right Achilles' tendon in the previous match.
Notable players
Philadelphia had five players score in double-figures. Holiday headed the offense for Philadelphia and had 8 assists while scoring 19 points, and Brand scored 20 points. Louis "Lou" Tyrone Williams did not have a good game shooting from the floor but still
managed to score 19 points. Evan Turner nicknamed “The Villain,” had a double- double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Amar’e Stoudemire led the Knicks with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Toney Douglas and Wilson Chandler followed him with their excellent contributions. Douglas added 17 points and Wilson scored 11 points.
Turning point
After a two-point lead (92-90), the Knicks seemed to be puncher and missed six straight shots. On the other hand, as Philadelphia was keeping a bull eye on opportunities to take away the game, responded with a 16-4 run to take final control of the game.
Quotable
New York Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said, "That stuff happens when you try to dig yourself out a hole and we've been in a hole here for a few years. We don't have that swagger and that's where we've lost it a little bit."
"It might have been just us not coming out prepared, we weren't knocking down shots - and we got some good looks. We started the game slow and ended the game slow," said Holiday.
Point of concern
The Knicks won their previous two games with hot shooting from beyond the three-point arc. However, it was not the situation with the 76ers, as their hot shooting went cold and the hope of heading 76ers ended. Against the Bulls and Wizards, the Knicks hit
52.8 percent of their 53 three-point tries while against Philadelphia, they shot 3-19 from beyond the arc.
Play -by –play
The performance of both competitors was more or less the same as both of the teams started the game shooting well at over 60 percent from the field.
Nevertheless, Philadelphia broke away past the midpoint of the first quarter of the game and went up by eight points to finish the first quarter 33–25.
The Knicks came back in the second quarter and remained heavy around the court, opening with an 8–0 run to tie the score at 33. Chandler contributed a lot with a good scoring from the bench.
The Knicks turned up the tempo, making steals and holding the ball under full control, end the first half up 56–54.
The Knicks kept up their aggressive defence in the third quarter and achieved their biggest lead of 9 points. However, the Sixers tied it up and then took the lead with a back-to-back 3-pointer and driving layup by Holiday.
The final quarter remained the eye capturing one, as with only four minutes left on the clock, the sixers went on a 16–4 scoring spree. Philadelphia’s defence was the backbone of the team and played its incredible part in the success of their team.
Up Next
The Knicks move on to play the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, and then come back home against Golden State on Wednesday.
Philadelphia, will take on Oklahoma City on Wednesday and Dallas on Friday.
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