NEW YORK (AP) — At the end of a disastrous first quarter, with only 15 points up, the Philadelphia 76ers felt good about where they were.
The New York Knicks were still terrible.
The 76ers continued to play good defense and ultimately got a little better on offense, holding the Knicks to the NBA's lowest point total this season and winning 79-73 on Sunday night in their second straight ugly opener. .
For the 76ers, Kelly Oubre Jr. had 18 points and 10 rebounds, but although he missed his first nine 3-pointers, he made one near the end of the first quarter, ending the game tied for 15-all.
“Any defensive coach would take that quarter,” swingman Buddy Hield said. “Offensively, no, but we had great possession…and we figured out how to weather the storm and were able to make plays when we needed to make plays.”
Less than two months after Joel Embiid set a 76ers franchise record by scoring 70 points alone, it seemed for a while that neither team would score that many points Sunday. .
Philadelphia led 37-31 at halftime, the first NBA game since Portland led Detroit 34-31 on March 30, 2019, when the Pistons won 99-90. This was the lowest first half score.
The scoring increased in the second half, and the 76ers finally contributed enough to end their losing streak at three. Hield scored 16 points and Paul Reed added 13 points.
Tobias Harris finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds for the 76ers, who have been in charge of the Knicks in the previous two games this season, but can split the series with a win when they meet again on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. .
With Embiid still recovering from knee surgery and fellow All-Star Tyrese Maxey missing four straight games with a concussion, the 76ers lack a lineup that scores more than 60 points per game.
No extra offense was needed on a night when the Knicks shot 32.5 percent from the field and 22.5 percent from 3-point range. Jalen Brunson scored 19 points for the Knicks, but shot just 6-of-22.
“We were putting him in a lot of personnel, but he had to make a lot of effort to get in the paint, and we didn't put him there that often,'' 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “I didn't let them get close to me,” he said.
New York is also without All-Star Julius Randle due to injury, as well as fellow frontcourt starters OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson. On Friday night, the Knicks turned defensive and beat Orlando, allowing an NBA season-low 74 points.
It lasted just two nights, with the Knicks committing 21 turnovers and scoring 17 points in Philadelphia.
“Obviously, we didn't shoot the ball well. We had bad turnovers, I think I had six or seven, but we've got to try to flash that,” Knicks forward Josh Hart said. Ta. “We'll have them again on Tuesday and try to play even better.”
Hield and Reed combined for Philadelphia's first 12 points in the fourth quarter, and Reed's 3-pointer with 3:32 left gave the 76ers their only double-digit lead of the game at 73-63. .
There was some pushing during that period. Oubre fouled Donte DiVincenzo, who was still trying to get up. Isaiah Hartenstein shoved Oubre as DiVincenzo wrapped around Oubre's leg and knocked him over the baseline. Nix and Reed both earned technical fouls.
Cam Payne made a 3-pointer and Philadelphia started a 10-0 run, going 0-for-9. However, the scoring was so slow that calling it a run might be inappropriate, giving Philadelphia a 20-15 lead early in the second set.
The Knicks will depart on a four-game trip to the West after Tuesday's game, but manager Tom Thibodeau said he expects injured players to accompany the team and hopes Anunoby will be cleared to play. He added that he is doing so.
