Exactly one week ago, the New York Knicks suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Milwaukee Bucks after Giannis Antetokounmpo drained a buzzer beater shot. Tonight, deja-vu occurred for the Knicks with Philadelphia Sixers guard T.J. McConnell defeated them on a last second shot.
Derrick Rose Showcases Best Quarter As a Knick
Derrick Rose, who took a personal absence from the team on Monday night against the New Orleans Pelicans, came back and got his usual start. The day off didn’t seem to have fazed him, and he displayed his highest scoring quarter as a Knickerbocker. He played the entire first period and scored 12 points on six of seven shooting to go along with three assists. Carmelo Anthony also played the entire first frame and scored 11 points to give New York a 32-27 lead.
Both Teams Score 20 Points in Second Stanza of the Game
The Knicks had their largest lead of the night in the second period and lead by as many as 17. Kyle O’Quinn provided a boost off the bench and recorded a double-double before halftime. He scored 10 points on a perfect five-of-five shooting and grabbed 11 boards. Philadelphia then countered by going on a 15-3 run to end the quarter and cut the Knicks lead to five points.
Anthony Continued to Help Knicks Stay Ahead
Philly continued climbing back and had a 13-4 run in the third frame. Anthony made sure his team did not give up the lead and scored 15 points. Heading into the final period, the Knicks lead 75-71.
Sixers Finish Game on a Strong Note
New York started the final 12 minutes of the contest on a 10-0 run while Anthony got some rest on the bench. Philadelphia did not go away and fought until the final seconds. With 27.8 seconds left in regulation, Gerald Henderson made two clutch free throws to cut the Knicks lead to one. The Knicks then milked some clock down before Rose drove, created space and dished the ball to the perimeter. Brandon Jennings received the ball and made the extra pass to a wide open Kristaps Porzingis, who then air balled a three-point attempt. Henderson grabbed the offensive board, which ended in the hands of McConnell who hit the game-winning shot. The Sixers ended the final 2:29 minutes of the contest on a 15-4 run.
Top Performers
Photo: Matt Slocum/Associated Press.
Anthony lead all scorers with 28 points. Rose concluded with 25 points and Brandon Jennings chipped in nine points. Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 21 points and a career-high of 14 boards. Ersan Ilyasova recorded 16 points while Robert Covington added 13 points. McConnell tallied eight points.
Quotes
In the post game interview, McConnell said “We’ve been through some lows. There’s 82 games so there’s going to be some highs. We just gotta keep sticking together. And the fans have been phenomenal throughout the year."
Anthony told the media it was a “dissapointing" loss and said, “We have to learn from this.”
Courtney Lee believes the team’s mindset has to change and said, “We have to change our mentality. It has to be defense first.”
Other Things To Note
-Philly snapped a five-game losing streak to the Knicks, which included a 4-0 sweep last season.
-Rose described his Monday night absence as a “family issue” prior to the game and said, “It had nothing to do with the team or basketball. I feel fine. What happened a couple of days ago, that's in the past.”
-Anthony moved up to 26th on the NBA all-time scoring list, passing Robert Parish.
-Sixers 2016 1st overall draft pick Ben Simmons has been working out with the team after suffering a broken right foot. No timetable has been put on his return however.
Up Next
The Knicks have less than 24 hours to bounce back from their loss. They will head back home to meet with the Chicago Bulls on Thursday, Jan.12 at 8:00 p.m. E.T. The game will be nationally televised on TNT.
For Philadelphia, they will host the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, Jan. 13 at 7:00 p.m. E.T.