Knicks collapse in fourth quarter, fall to 76ers as losing streak hits three games
James Harden of the 76ers is fouled by Isaiah Hartenstein of the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Credit: Errol Anderson
It is too soon to start parsing the NBA’s Eastern Conference standings to sort out contenders from pretenders, of course.
But with Christmas being the unofficial date on which many people start to pay attention to the league, and with the 76ers and Knicks entering the holiday in fifth and sixth place, respectively, it was fair to count this as an early test case.
The Knicks failed it. Their 119-112 loss to Philadelphia at Madison Square Garden was their third straight defeat — all at home — after an eight-game winning streak. They fell to 18-16.
The 76ers (20-12) won their eighth in a row after a slow, injury-plagued start. Late in Sunday’s game, they looked like what they are on paper: a clear step above the Knicks in the NBA hierarchy.
The Knicks led by 14 points in the first quarter, but a 24-6 run gave the 76ers a 116-102 lead with 4:48 remaining.
“It wasn’t good enough,” RJ Barrett said. “It hasn’t been good enough the past three games. So we have to get out of that.”
They will try to begin that process on a three-game trip to Texas, including games against the Spurs and Rockets, who have the two worst records in the Western Conference.
Complicating matters is the uncertain status of their most important player, point guard Jalen Brunson.
Brunson left the game in the fourth quarter after holding his right hip for parts of the second half. The Knicks did not update his condition for reporters.
The Knicks looked good early and led 63-60 at halftime behind a 25-point first half from Julius Randle. They led 96-95 after three quarters, but things got away from them early in the fourth. Their offense went cold — they scored only seven points in the first 9:50 of the quarter — and the 76ers' Georges Niang hit four three-pointers in the final period. With the Knicks trailing 102-100, the 76ers went on a 14-2 run.
The Knicks did not have enough answers for the 76ers’ two biggest stars, Joel Embiid and James Harden, who scored 35 and 29 points, respectively. Harden added 13 assists.
Asked what makes the 76ers difficult to handle defensively, Randle said, “I mean, it’s that Joel is a monster, obviously.”
Randle scored 35 points, Brunson added 23 points and 11 assists and Barrett had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Mitchell Robinson contributed 10 points and 16 rebounds as he battled Embiid in the paint.
To Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, the biggest culprit in the loss was giving up too many fouls to Embiid and Harden, two masters of the craft of drawing them.
Embiid was 10-for-15 from the free-throw line and Harden 10-for-11. Philadelphia was 23-for-29 from the line to the Knicks’ 14-for-17.
“Our fouls, they hurt us,” Thibodeau said. “Hey, look, Embiid’s a great player. Harden’s a great player. But if you’re not disciplined, that’s going to hurt you, and it did.
“You can’t reach against them. They’re both very good. They extend their arms. Harden has all the tricks. He’s good at it. And if you fall into it, you can’t foul, or appear to foul.”
Said Barrett, “Some of them [we’ve] just kind of got to be a little smarter, knowing tendencies, but then some of them, I mean, they’re really good.
“James Harden, one of the best at getting fouled. Joel Embiid goes there like 12 times a game. So they’re going to get them. We need to do a better job of trying to limit that.”
The Knicks showed flashes of their recent strong play but in the end looked like what many had them pegged as before their eight-game winning streak changed the mood: a circa-.500 team prone to ups and downs.
“We’re just not doing enough to win right now, and that’s what we have to fix,” Thibodeau said. “You’ve got 30 assists in a ballgame, you’re sharing the ball, that part is good.
“We were low-turnover [with eight], but again, the fouls, those are things that we have to take a look at.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
