The New York Knicks put up a Philly Special and then some in their final showing before the NBA All-Star break on Wednesday night.
New York rendered a terrible Tuesday long forgotten with a 138-89 shellacking of the Philadelphia 76ers in each side’s last outing before the NBA’s mid-winter classic.
Both sides were coming off embarrassing outings on Tuesday, but only the Knicks (35-20) were able to exorcise their dribbling demons that surfaced with an overtime loss to lowly Indiana at Madison Square Garden.
Among Knicks starters, Mikal Bridges had a strong return home to the tune of 22 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns atoned for a late Tuesday foul-out with 21 tallies, 11 rebounds, and five assists.
Bridges’ fellow Villanova legend Jalen Brunson was afforded a de facto night off, taking just six shots (hitting three) before he and Towns do All-Star battle again. Jose Alvarado also assisted in that regard, scoring a Knicks-best 26 points to help the Knicks grow their lead.
Beyond Adem Bona scoring the opening points for Philadelphia (30-24), the Knicks led early and never looked back.
A nearly-eternal double-figure lead was created when Bridges turned a Josh Hart robbery of Kelly Oubre into a driving double. Philadelphia never got any closer than nine after that, allowing the Knicks to coast into the in-season sabbatical.
New York wound up scoring on its first seven possessions, building a 16-4 lead that forced Philadelphia to call the first timeout before four minutes went by. While the Knicks obviously didn’t keep that pace up for the whole game, they did dish out 24 assists on 29 successful field goals in the first half, setting a team record for most helpers in a half since play-by-play tracking began during the 1996-97 season. They would end the game with 40, setting a new season-best by five.
The only bit of true metropolitan drama that stemmed from Wednesday’s game landed late in the first quarter, courtesy of Alvarado.
The Knicks newcomer rekindled the lack of pleasantries between New York and Philadelphia when he took exception to Trendon Watford’s hard foul on Mitchell Robinson.
Displeased with Watford, somewhat standing over his new teammate, Alvarado forcefully made sure the veteran fled the scene. It led to a tense get-together between white and black jerseys on the 76ers’ side of the floor, but cooler heads prevailed.
Alvarado was charged a technical foul (offset by Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse, who was charged for leaving the bench to intervene) but had the last laugh with 26 points off the bench, all but two coming on a career-best six 3-point sinks.
Wednesday’s win allowed the Knicks to split their four-game set with their Atlantic Division rivals, each team taking the two on the other’s home floor. Knicks fans have frequently flocked to Xfinity Mobile Arena to stage an invasion, and Wednesday was no exception.
Knicks supporters made their presence felt when they serenaded Alvarado with a musical chant of his first name when he took foul shots in the second half. Fans were equally appreciative of Robinson overcoming the “Bewitch-a-Mitch” strategy again, going 5-of-8 from the line to go with his 11 points, six boards, and four blocks.
The Knicks have done their part in pleasing their invaders, having now won six in a row on Broad Street. That sets a new mark for their longest road-winning streak in the series, dating back to 1949.
Philadelphia, which played Wednesday’s game without franchise face Joel Embiid and ex-Knicks starter Quentin Grimes, had a lone silver lining in Inglewood-bound Tyrese Maxey, who scored a game-best 32 points in defeat.
With Brunson and Towns making their way to Inglewood for the All-Star festivities, the Knicks return from the break a week from Thursday, which will see them get another go at the conference-leading Detroit Pistons (7:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video).
