The New York Knicks, in the midst of an exciting week, will try to extend their momentum on Friday when they visit the Philadelphia 76ers.
In the past seven days, New York defeated the Orlando Magic in the NBA Cup semifinals and then toppled the San Antonio Spurs to win the event’s championship in Las Vegas.
The Knicks then made a stop in Indianapolis on their way back east and enjoyed another thrilling victory, as Jalen Brunson nailed a 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds left to lift New York to a 114-113 win over the Indiana Pacers.
“As Jalen’s walking out on the floor, Jalen turns to me and says, ‘I’m getting this win. I’m going for it,'” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “I said, ‘You do you. That’s who you are.’ … He came through.”
Brunson finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as the Knicks extended their winning streak to six games (not including the NBA Cup final, which doesn’t count in the standings). New York rested three key players — Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson — but prevailed after using a starting lineup that included Mohamed Diawara and Ariel Hukporti.
“Somehow, someway, they have to look at the back end of the schedule for anybody who is in the (NBA Cup) final game,” Brown said. “Because it’s almost like you get penalized for winning it, schedule-wise. We’ve talked about it all year how the games are so close now. But you get penalized for winning the Cup.”
Regardless of the Knicks’ hectic schedule, the team now must contend with a rested Sixers squad that has only played one game in the last week. Philadelphia lost that contest — a 120-117 road setback against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday — although the 76ers played without top scorer Tyrese Maxey (illness).
One bright spot for Philadelphia was the play of veteran Paul George, who set a season high in scoring for the second straight game. After putting up 23 points against the Pacers on Dec. 12, he scored 35 points on 7-of-10 3-point shooting at Atlanta — arguably the best performance of his Sixers career.
“That’s the PG we all know and love out there,” Sixers guard Quentin Grimes said. “Go out there and just play the game. He’s one of the best players in the league for a reason. So just go out there, seeing him getting back to full rhythm is great to see for us, for sure.”
Philadelphia center Joel Embiid recorded his first double-double of the season with 22 points and 14 rebounds. However, he finished 8-for-20 from the floor and is shooting just 37.7% in four games this month.
“He was feeling pretty good,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “… I thought he had some pretty good opportunities tonight, just a few unfortunate ones rolled off the rim.”
If both big men play Friday, Embiid would have to keep a close eye on Towns, who is shooting 57.3% from the field and 50% from 3-point range this month. However, Towns tweaked his left knee in the win over San Antonio, casting doubt on his status for the Friday affair.
Embiid is considered questionable due to an illness, but Maxey is not listed on the injury report and should be good to go. The dynamic guard ranks third in the NBA in scoring at 31.5 points per game.
This is the first of four meetings this season between the Knicks and Sixers. New York won all four matchups against Philadelphia last season, giving the Knicks five straight victories in the series.
