Georges Niang took Doc Rivers’ challenge, then fueled the Sixers’ Christmas victory over New York Knicks

NEW YORK — Doc Rivers sarcastically asked Georges Niang if he would ever “make a freaking shot … or are we just on vacation?” as the 76ers’ stretch forward’s quiet start against the Knicks extended into the second half.

“Just you watch,” Niang answered his coach.

Niang made good on his word, responding with a massive fourth quarter to help push the Sixers ahead and then finish off a 119-112 victory at Madison Square Garden to kick off the NBA’s slate of Christmas Day games. He scored 12 of his 16 points in that final period on 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range — and pointed and “barked” at his coach following at least one of those crucial makes that lifted the Sixers to their eighth consecutive victory.

“We have a good friendly banter, going back and forth,” Niang said of his relationship with Rivers. “I think when you have a coach that can challenge you to continuously be better, that kind of motivates me to continue to keep digging deeper and being better.

“That was just my raw emotions.”

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Niang excelled in the two-man game with Harden, setting the screen at the top of the key and taking advantage of the free space when the Knicks doubled the perennial All-Star. Niang acknowledged he “[didn’t] know why they were playing in a drop coverage” and that he has not seen such defense “since college, maybe.” Back then, Niang was more of a traditional big man at Iowa State, rather than the three-point sniper who has connected on a team-best 42.3% of his 5.6 deep shots per game.

His first make gave the Sixers (20-12) their first lead, at 101-98, early in the fourth — and prompted one of his trademark fiery hollers as he headed to the bench for a timeout. He drained two more on consecutive possessions to stretch the 108-100 lead with less than seven minutes remaining. His final splash, with less than two minutes left, propelled the Sixers back to their largest lead of the game, at 119-105.

In all, Niang scored half of the Sixers’ fourth-quarter points.

“We were trying to figure [something] out throughout the course of the game, and we found it at the right time,” said Harden, who assisted on three of Niang’s makes in the period. " … The more he can get involved, and the more we can spread that floor out and get him going, that makes everybody’s job a lot easier.”

Added Niang: “James does an incredible job of hitting me on the hands and making those passes. My job is to shoot the ball, and I wasn’t going to stop doing that.”

While other Sixers reserves have shuffled in and out of a rotation spot — sometimes due to injury, and sometimes due to performance — Niang has held his role since he arrived as a free agent before last season. Following a two-game absence due to foot discomfort earlier this month, Niang had scored in double figures in four of his past five games entering Sunday.

He arrived for the matchup against the Knicks with brewing excitement. Growing up as a “basketball nut” near Boston, Niang woke up early each Christmas to open presents before flipping on the noon NBA game. This year, his family was in the stands at The Garden.

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Yet, Niang got off to a lackluster start, going 2-of-4 from the floor on drives to the basket but missing both three-point attempts through three quarters. That’s when Rivers knew he could ignite Niang, whom he called an “easy trigger” to motivate.

So the banter began. Niang’s shots fell. And the player pointed and barked at his coach.

“Emotion kind of overwhelms you and overtakes you,” Niang said after the game. “ … I don’t even know what I said.”

Bing, bong? How about bang, bang?