Tobias Harris scores 30 to lead the Sixers, who rally to defeat the Knicks, 99-96

The Sixers entered the contest with a 13-game win streak over the Knicks. They extended it to 14, but it wasn't easy.

Ben Simmons, left, and Danny Green, right, of the SIxers strip the ball away from Julius Randle of the Knicks during the 1st half of a NBA game at the Wells Fargo Center on March 16, 2021.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

Updated March 17, 2021, 9:45 a.m. ET

Published March 16, 2021, 10:33 p.m. ET

The 76ers have owned the New York Knicks over recent seasons, but they found a grittier version on Tuesday, one that has taken the personality of their no-nonsense coach.

Entering the contest with a 13-game win streak over New York, the Sixers needed a fourth quarter comeback to defeat the Knicks, 99-96, Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center, extending their win streak to six games.

Tobias Harris led the Sixers with 30 points. He was followed by Seth Curry with 20, and Ben Simmons with 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Harris showed emotion when late in the game it appeared as if he turned to the crowd, saying, “I am an All-Star.”

He was not picked for this year’s All-Star Game and Harris hasn’t hidden his disappointment at the snub.

“Yeah, that’s for sure what I said and for me that’s just reaffirming that to myself, I mean I know the fans know that, but reaffirming that to them and to myself, especially making those big plays.”

The Sixers (28-12) were playing their second game without Joel Embiid after he suffered a bone bruise of the left knee during Friday’s 127-101 win at Washington.

Entering the fourth quarter, the Sixers trailed by nine points. They took their first lead of the quarter when Curry hit a long three-pointer for a 90-89 advantage with 5 minutes, 1 second left.

The Sixers built a four-point lead with 1 minute, 49 seconds left after a Harris basket and held on at the end as the Knicks’ Immanuel Quickley missed a three that would have tied the score with 12.8 seconds left. Julius Randle got the rebound, passed to teammate Reggie Bullock who was out of bounds.

Harris then sealed matters by hitting two free throws with 7.8 seconds left.

The Sixers outscored the Knicks, 26-14 in the fourth quarter with Harris and Furkan Korkmaz scoring eight points each.

The Knicks were led by Randle, one of the All-Stars picked over Harris, and former Sixer Alec Burks with 19 each.

This could certainly qualify as an ugly win. In a strange twist, the teams reversed roles. The Knicks entered the game with the fewest transition points per contest, 7.7, while the Sixers were No. 1 at 16.4. In this game, the Knicks scored 23 fast-break points and the Sixers were held to eight.

“The game was physical, a lot of grabbing, a lot of fouls both ways, too much frustration in my opinion and so it was a good test for us,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers said. “These are how some of the playoff games will be, not all of them, but you will have a few like this and you have to find a way to win and to win this game tonight without Joel on the floor and things are not going your way early, was a big statement by this team.

Tuesday was also Embiid’s 27th birthday, another factor that motivated Harris.

“It was Joel’s birthday so I wanted to make sure that he ate his cake in peace and enjoy his birthday ...,” Harris said laughing.

The Knicks showed good energy, especially since they were on the second game of a back-to-back after Monday’s 117-112 loss at Brooklyn. The Sixers, coming off Sunday’s 134-99 rout of San Antonio, will welcome Milwaukee to the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday.

How improved are the Knicks? They entered the game with a 20-20 record. After 40 games last season the Knicks were 11-29.

They have not qualified for postseason since the 2012-2013 season.

Just as Rivers has made a major difference in the Sixers, so has first-year coach Tom Thibodeau with the Knicks.

Both coaches go back a long way together. Thibodeau was Rivers’ assistant on the Boston Celtics for three seasons from 2007-2008 though 2009-2010. The Celtics won the NBA title in 2008 and went to the NBA Finals in 2010.

Thibodeau, the former head coach of Chicago and Minnesota, is a true hoopaholic, who is known to watch hour after hour of film.

“He is one of those guys who just loves basketball,” Rivers said before the game. “Early on, I tried to get him out of the office and then I realized that would just make him unhappy, so let him be.”

Known as a defensive guru, Thibodeau has the Knicks playing stingy D. New York entered the game allowing the fewest points per game (105.3) and were sixth in defensive rating, allowing 108.8 points per 100 possessions. (The Sixers were second at 108.0).

So with those two defensive profiles, it was no surprise that points were difficult to come by early on. For instance the first quarter score had the Knicks ahead, 21-20. That led to this tweet from Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, “The 90s are excited about this game.”

Both offenses got it going a little better after that first quarter, but this was not an artistic delight and probably will be more of the same during Sunday’s rematch at Madison Square Garden.