March 20, 2015, Queens, NY How bad are the Knicks? The Philadelphia 76ers were favored to beat them. But here’s the rub: it was the first time the Sixers were favored ALL YEAR! And, the odds makers were right as the Knicks lost 97-81 dropping to 14-55. The Knicks beat the defending champion San Antonio Spurs earlier in the week, and then dropped their last two games to the second and third worst teams in the Association.
Maybe it was the weather because the no-shows were conspicuous during the MSG telecast of the New York Knicks-Philadelphia 76ers’ contest. The game was intriguing because a loss for either team would improve its lottery chances. The Knicks played competitively in the first half but seemed to run out of steam in the second half which probably had something to do with the Knicks playing back-to-back games.
Nerlens Noel was the catalyst for the 76ers in the first quarter with a stat line of 12 points on 5/6 shooting, and he added a block and a steal to cap it off. Philly led by six (29-23) heading into the second quarter. Philly shot 50% from downtown on 3/6 shooting which also attributed to their lead.
In the second quarter, the 76ers led by as much as 14 points (45-31). However, the inspired play of the Knicks, especially Alexey Shved (who had 16 points by halftime, going 4/4 from beyond the arc and adding 2 assists), allowed the Knicks to close the deficit to 4 points as they went on a 7-2 run to close the quarter. Noel led the 76ers with15 points and Luc Richard Mbah A Moute added 9. For the Knicks, Shane Larkin and Andre Bargnani both scored 11. Both teams shot 47% from the field. The Knicks shot ten more free throws, had nine less assists, and six more turnovers at the half and found themselves trailing by six at halftime, 54-48.
The teams traded baskets to start the 3rd quarter. Shved hit a three scoring his 19th point in 20 minutes of play. But Noel played like a man possessed scoring 8 points, blocking 1 shot, and getting 3 more steals. The Knicks were outscored by 8 in the third quarter (26-18) and found themselves behind 80-66 heading into the 4th quarter.
In the final quarter, the Knicks were down by 16 points trailing 86-70 with less than 8 minutes to play after Jerami Grant buried a three-pointer from beyond the top of the key. Any chance of a Knicks’ comeback faded with that shot. Noel finished the game with a career high 23 points and added 14 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 blocks. Shved finished with a career high 25 points and 6 rebounds.
The Knicks will travel to Toronto to play the division leading Raptors. MSG will be televising the game beginning at 4 p.m. (EST).
Professor Clifford Benton can be reached at cliffb@puresportsny.com