Three reasons the Sixers beat the New York Knicks

For the second time in less than a week, the 76ers and New York Knicks played a grind-it-out defensive affair, reminiscent of ‘90s basketball.

The Sixers scored a 101-100 overtime win over the host New York Knicks on Sunday after earning a 99-96 victory on Tuesday in Philadelphia.

Here are three reasons for the latest win.

Danny Green wasn’t having a good offensive game until near the end of regulation. He hit a 12-foot runner to extend the lead to 88-85 with 19.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Then in overtime, he hit consecutive threes (see below).

The second of the overtime threes was especially clutch. RJ Barrett had tight defense on Green, who hit a step-back shot. With time running out, he let it go with about three seconds on the shot clock.

Before his late scoring, Green was getting it done on defense, with a career-high five steals and three blocked shots.

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Without injured starters Joel Embiid and Seth Curry, the Sixers bench was taxed, but the reserves were still able to dominate. Led by 21 points from Shake Milton, the Sixers bench outscored the Knicks reserves, 42-28.

The five Sixers reserves had a combined plus-11 rating, while the four Knicks bench players were a combined minus-18. One of the unsung bench plays was a three-pointer by Matisse Thybulle that extended the Sixers’ lead to 86-82 with 1:37 left in the fourth quarter.

Dwight Howard contributed a game-high 13 rebounds in 32 minutes, 22 seconds. It was only the second time this year he has played more than 30 minutes. Howard also had two blocked shots, matching the total of the entire Knicks team.

Thybulle and Tyrese Maxey each contributed six points and Mike Scott added five, with Howard scoring four.

The Sixers didn’t have a good night at the free throw line, but the Knicks were even worse. The Sixers shot 14-for-23 (60.9%), and the Knicks were 13-for-23 (56.5%). The Knicks didn’t attempt a free throw in overtime, which means that had they made one more foul shot in regulation, they would have won this game.

Knicks guards were just 4-for-8 from the line.

In both close losses, the Knicks struggled at the foul line. They were 14-for-22 (63.6%) in Tuesday’s defeat.