


There are no additional points awarded for style in the NBA standings, but the Knicks truly attempted to win this one in as ugly fashion as imaginable.
With both teams missing multiple key players, the Knicks couldn’t fully overcome their lowest-scoring first half in more than nine years — and a late shoving match couldn’t spark them to a comeback victory — as they dropped a pivotal game for playoff positioning at home, 79-73, to the 76ers with another head-to-head matchup looming Tuesday at the Garden.
One game after holding the Magic to 74 points — the lowest total allowed by the Knicks since 2012 — they posted their lowest offensive output since April 2018 and the lowest by any team in the NBA this season.
The Knicks (37-27) trailed by nine with a shade under six minutes remaining, and they still were down 70-63 when Donte DiVincenzo was fouled by Kelly Oubre Jr. along the baseline with 4:04 to go.
DiVincenzo then wrapped his arms around the Sixers’ guard and tackled him to the floor out of bounds. DiVincenzo and Isaiah Hartenstein were assessed technical fouls from the ensuing skirmish, with Paul Reed ‘T’-ed up for the Sixers.
Tobias Harris missed the lone technical free throw awarded, but Reed knocked down a 3-pointer to expand the Knicks’ deficit to 10.
Jalen Brunson scored 19 points and DiVincenzo finished with 15 for the Knicks, who committed a season-high-tying 21 turnovers and finished the game 9-for-40 from 3-point range.
Oubre scored 18 points and Buddy Hield added 16 for the Sixers, who also came to town hobbled, missing reigning league MVP Joel Embiid and first-time All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey. They had dropped 15 of their previous 21 games to slip into the No. 7 play-in position in the Eastern Conference, but they are now one game behind the fourth-place Knicks pending Tuesday’s rematch at MSG.
“I bet you they’re hoping and we’re certainly hoping that there’s going to be a lot of different players. If we meet in the postseason we’re going to have a lot different players out there on the floor than we have [Sunday night],” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said before the game.
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The Sixers scored only 15 points on 7-for-24 shooting (29.2 percent) with nine of 10 misses from long range in the opening quarter.
Unfortunately for the slow-starting Knicks, they also were held to 15 with a .333 field-goal percentage for an ugly tie game through one. It marked the fifth time in their past six games that the Knicks didn’t reach 20 points in the first quarter.
They continually turned the ball over, too, with Hart committing five of their eight giveaways through the first two minutes of the second quarter.
Brunson didn’t score his first point of the game until sinking a free throw nearly midway through the session, and the Knicks trailed by eight after the Sixers embarked on a 14-6 spurt.
Brunson was fouled on his first made field goal for a traditional three-point play, and he sank a turnaround midrange jumper to pull the Knicks within 33-29 with under three minutes remaining before halftime.
The sloppy Knicks finished the half with a dozen turnovers, and they were 5-for-22 from long distance.
DiVincenzo added a steal and dunk to ensure the Knicks at least would reach 30 through two quarters, as the Sixers nursed a 37-31 advantage into intermission.
It was the Knicks’ lowest scoring first half since January of 2015, when their starting lineup featured Cole Aldrich and Cleanthony Early.
Brunson clanked a technical free throw early in the third quarter, but he made up for it with an and-1 conversion before also swishing a straightaway trey to pull the Knicks within three.
DiVincenzo’s 3-ball from the corner made it a one-point game almost midway through the quarter, and he evened matters at 47-all one minute later with a reverse layup off a feed from Brunson.
Still, Hield buried two buckets from long range in a 14-5 response by the Sixers, who rebuilt their lead to 63-56 entering the final quarter.