Fresh off perhaps their most lethargic performance of the season, the New York Knicks hope to author a crisper effort Saturday when they host the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Knicks dropped a 111-99 decision to the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Friday, when they shot just 37.1% from the field and 9 of 42 (21.4%) from 3-point range. Fifteen turnovers didn’t help matters either.
“We just didn’t have it tonight. I know that’s a terrible … excuse, but we let shot-making affect our overall gameplay … It just wasn’t our style of basketball today,” said New York point guard Jalen Brunson, who led the team with 24 points but missed seven of his eight 3-point attempts.
OG Anunoby added 19 points and 10 rebounds while Mikal Bridges chipped in with 18 points for the Knicks, who played without Karl-Anthony Towns (illness) and Josh Hart (ankle). Their statuses are up in the air for Saturday as New York tries to avoid a third straight defeat, which would match a season high.
“There’s no excuse, we’ve just got to be better,” Bridges said. “It is what it is. You’ve got to learn from it and get ready for (Saturday).”
Brunson and Bridges aren’t the only ones who expect a better performance vs. the 76ers. The crowd at Madison Square Garden likely will be on edge after booing the hometown squad in the disappointing setback on Friday.
“I was booing myself,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “Inside I was like, ‘Boo, Mike, you stink.’ So they have a right to boo me and everyone else.”
The Sixers, meanwhile, are entering the finale of a five-game road trip that began with losses to the Chicago Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder. Philadelphia rebounded to nip the Memphis Grizzlies 139-136 in overtime on Tuesday before registering a 123-108 win over the Mavericks on Thursday.
In the win at Dallas, Tyrese Maxey scored 34 points and dished out 10 assists, and rookie VJ Edgecombe chipped in with 23 points. Philadelphia shot 53.3% from the floor and 14 of 16 (87.5%) from the foul line in one of its best efforts of the season.
Sixers coach Nick Nurse was particularly pleased with the play of his “big three” veterans — Maxey, Joel Embiid (22 points) and Paul George (14 points).
“(That was) probably the best overall, for all three of them, for any stretch. Obviously, really good to see,” Nurse said.
Quentin Grimes was a big key, as well, delivering 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting off the bench.
“We need that from him night in and night out,” Maxey said of Grimes, a former Maverick (and Knick) who is averaging 14.9 points in a key reserve role for Philadelphia. “He’s kind of like a good wild card for us, you know what I’m saying? He can get hot, he can make threes, he can drive the ball. He can play defensively, too. That’s what’s really good for us. He can play with a lot of different lineups, too, which is really good.”
The Saturday contest is the second of four meetings this season between Philadelphia and New York.
The Sixers topped the Knicks 116-107 in New York on Dec. 19 as Maxey scored 30 points and Edgecombe added 23. Brunson shot just 7 of 22 for 22 points in that contest, and Towns amassed 22 points and 11 rebounds.
