3 observations: Tobias Harris, Sixers rally past tough Knicks at home
These are not the same New York Knicks. Under new coach Tom Thibodeau, they have been very good on the defensive end of the floor, they have been a physical bunch, and they have been a tough team to get past.
The Philadelphia 76ers found that out on Tuesday as they were locked in a battle all night, but they were able to somehow, someway find their way to be on top when the final buzzer sounded 99-96 to pick up another win. Tobias Harris led the way with 30 points and six rebounds as Philadelphia rallied from double-digits to win this one.
Ben Simmons added 16 points, seven assists, and 13 rebounds, Seth Curry was big in the second half as he had 20 points with 17 coming after halftime, Dwight Howard had 11 and 12 rebounds, and Furkan Korkmaz had 12.
With that said, here are the three observations from the win:
Grind it out game
The Sixers had come into this one red hot on the offensive end scoring at least 127 points in five straight games. However, facing a Knicks team that ranks fifth in the league in defensive rating, that was going to be a tall task. From the beginning of this one, the Sixers had a tough time getting any clean looks. There were a few times where Simmons was able to get to the basket, but even when he did, he had to take tough shots and Harris as well. To their credit, they made some tough looks. New York is a team that features a lot of length with Julius Randle, Nerlens Noel, and Taj Gibson at the basket so it’s tough to finish over them. The Sixers could not move the ball as much against New York and there was a lot of 1-on-1 play. Every time Philadelphia tried to move the ball around on the perimeter, it seemed like the Knicks were there to either deny the pass or get a steal. There was one play where Frank Ntilikina jumped the passing lane and he then found Reggie Bullock for a layup. New York’s defense was swarming all night. Give the Sixers credit for sticking with it and not getting frustrated.
Curry being aggressive
For the Sixers to have the correct spacing on offense, they need Curry to not be hesitant and just launch it from deep. There were too many times in the first half where he would pass up some open looks and in the second half, he was able to knock down those same looks he passed up. Even if shots are not dropping, Curry needs to keep putting those open looks up. He gets so many opportunities playing next to Simmons and there are a lot of chances for him to get the job done. The biggest shot came late with Philadelphia trailing 89-87. Harris worked the ball in the post and he then kicked it out to Curry who drilled a triple to give the Sixers the lead. This has been a long road for him since his positive COVID test on Jan. 7, but these first few games after the All-Star break have been encouraging to say the least.
Howard helping the bench unit
Without Joel Embiid, the Sixers needed somebody to battle with New York’s bigs and their length down low. Tony Bradley seemed to struggle a bit with New York’s size and coach Doc Rivers turned to Howard to give the team a bit of a boost and he did so on the offensive end. There were a few plays where he turned back the clock a bit on offense and he used his size and strength to get scores. He gave the team some juice while the rest of the team was struggling in the first half. Unfortunately, Shake Milton and Korkmaz were unable to get many shots to go from the perimeter as they combined for just six points on 2-for-7 shooting through three quarters. When they cannot create open looks, the offense can struggle a bit from the second unit. Korkmaz, to his credit, did provide a big lift in the fourth quarter as some shots were able to go down for him.
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