In a game full of fouls, the Philadelphia 76ers also won the second game with James Harden. The new signing played well in New York, but the man of the day was once again the outstanding Joel Embiid.
New York Knicks (25-36) – Philadelphia 76ers (37-23) 109:125 (BOXSCORE)
- It was sometimes very tough, the numerous whistles in the game made sure of that (50 fouls, 79 free throws), whereby the line of the refs was not even petty. But when Joel Embiid and James Harden are on the field, that can happen. Embiid was the top scorer with 37 points (7/17 FG, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks) and set career bests for free throws in attempts (27) and hits (23). Harden, on the other hand, “only” marched to the line ten times, in his second game as a sixer with 29 points (8/14 FG), 10 rebounds, 16 assists and 5 steals, he made the first triple-double.
- As in Minnesota, the interaction between the two stars looked really good, and the Knicks couldn’t find solutions when the two All-Stars were on the field together. Embiid alone took 15 free throws in the first half, quickly putting both Knicks bigs (Mitchell Robinson and rookie Jericho Sims) in foul trouble. Speaking of fouls: In the first quarter there were a total of 16 fouls and 28 free throws – a season record in the NBA.
- Despite everything, the Knicks stayed within striking distance, even if they produced numerous turnovers. Evan Fournier (24, 6/11 threes) had the hot hand from distance, and RJ Barrett (24, 9/21) and Julius Randle (16, 4/13, 10 rebounds, 7 assists) also had a few free throws. In addition, there was also the superiority on the boards, so that the hosts were back on 2 points after a temporary 12-point deficit at the end of the third quarter.
- It was Immaunel Quickley (21) who breathed life into the Knicks and started a 15-5 run. A little later, both Knicks centers fouled out (9 minutes before the end!), Randle took over the five. But that only worked to a limited extent, the Sixers sunk their first ten throws in the quarter and pulled away again. Tobias Harris (12, 3/9) increased his first shot of the game to +8 four minutes before the end, it was the preliminary decision. Tyrese Maxey did well with 21 points (8/14).
- Incidentally, Embiid’s 27 free throws were also an NBA season record. The last player to take at least 27 free throws in a game was Anthony Davis, who sunk 26 of his 27 freebies in October 2019 against Memphis.
