76ers 79, Knicks 73: Dunno what game you’re talking about
Say your peace and move on — last night’s Knicks’ loss is best left in the past
Last night the New York Knicks held the Philadelphia 76ers to 79 points on 39/30/57 shooting, outrebounded them – and lost. The 76ers were without their two best players. “Held” is probably a misleading verb, as it usually applies to the winning team doggedly vanquishing a dogged yet vincible foe. The Knicks never led after late in the first quarter; that happens when you put up a 33/23/75 slash line. They didn’t “hold” the Sixers down as much as they sunk down with them in the mud. Of course, the Knicks are also missing their entire starting frontcourt. So what to make of this game?
These teams meet again tomorrow, again on national television. The Sixers hope their first win of the season sans Embiid and Maxey is also their last, with Kelly Oubre saying postgame their point guard may be back for Tuesday’s rematch. Oubre was the best player on the floor for either team, finishing with 18 points and 10 rebounds and showing a zest for aggression not often observable from his play. I’m not saying it isn’t there, just that last night it was unmistakable. He said as much afterwards: “[The Knicks] came into our house a couple weeks ago and punched us in the mouth for 48 minutes, and we wanted to come out here and do the same.” Usually a scorer, Oubre was looking out for his teammates, too.
It was a good night for Philadelphia: the Knicks, Magic and Heat all lost, keeping the Sixers in the top-6 for now, at least. There’s no pity to be had for a franchise that pissed away a half-decade of their fans’ time, trust and dollars to land one injury-prone star and as many trips to the conference finals as the Harlem Globetrotters. Along with Houston, Philly was at the vanguard of pushing to commodify players as mere “assets” – the better to de-humanize their labor to fans already inclined to think that way. Still, one can understand the desperation a dark-horse title contender whose calvary may be a-coming feels to avoid the Play-In and get Boston or Milwaukee in the first round – especially with no guarantee that Embiid feels the same about the organization as he did 12-24 months ago.
I don’t think there’s anything of consequence to take from New York’s play last night. The Villanova 3 combined to shoot 31%, slightly worse than the rest of the team’s 36% — how often will that ever happen? The Knicks had as many turnovers as assists (19), distressingly close to the number of baskets they made (26). Miles McBride couldn’t make a shot, which is increasingly rare. Alec Burks couldn’t either, which since his return to MSG is increasingly not. You want something to feel good about? *Squints* Isaiah Hartenstein had 10 rebounds and four dimes in 24 minutes. I’m not being hard on them. This was the only highlight the Knicks’ Twitter page posted, unless you count a short video of Quavo’s blinging mouth.
Today is National Funeral Director Recognition Day – as good a day as any to bury this one and look ahead to the future. If the Knicks win tomorrow, they’ll clinch the season-series over the 76ers and own the tiebreaker, as they do against Cleveland. There’s talk OG Anunoby may return on the West Coast trip they begin after Tuesday. Triangulating the current standings, the upcoming schedule and the unknowns regarding the possible returns of Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson is a math I can’t do. Nothing to make of this one in and of itself. What matters next matters more. C’est la vie.
