NBA: Knicks stomp the Sixers and end a years-long skid
New York, New York - The New York Knicks took full advantage of Ben Simmons' absence to inflict a blowout defeat on the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Knicks routed the Sixers 112-99, improving the regular season record to 3-1, as Philly continue to struggle with some increasingly distracting team drama.
The Sixers still haven’t been able to find some kind of common ground with their suspended star forward, Ben Simmons (25), and it definitely showed as they never got going at the Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks showed no mercy and they devastated Philly with a potent mix of firing offense and stingy defense that held All-Star Joel Embiid to only 14 points on the night.
The game started out close, but after New York got tougher, the Sixers were reduced to 16 points in the entire second quarter and couldn't recover at any point.
With the win, the Knicks snapped a 15-game losing streak against Philly.
The player spotlight
New York native Kemba Walker (31) led the way for the Knicks, playing at the forefront of a balanced offensive attack that wore down the Sixers.
He led numerous runs of scoring up and down the court that might’ve been contained better, had Simmons been in the game.
Despite scoring his first points of the game late in the second quarter, when everything was said and done, Walker had his best game since joining his hometown team this past offseason.
He was 7-for-15 shooting, including 5 of 11 attempts from three-point land, 19 points, and five assists.
The big picture
The Knicks look like they’ve really got something special going this 2021-22 NBA season, after making the playoffs last year for the first time since 2013.
While Tuesday night’s win was impressive, they did it while the opposition was missing one of the league’s best defenders.
They’ve gone up against some competition, yes, but they’ll need to prove themselves against more complete teams they’ve yet to face so far in the season.
On Thursday, the Knicks head to Chicago to take on the Bulls, while the Sixers host the Pistons.
Cover photo: imago/Icon SMI