Jalen Brunson, visiting Knicks rout shorthanded Sixers, 128-92

The 76ers were manhandled.

The New York Knicks did basically whatever they wanted to do to their Eastern Conference rivals on Friday night. They rained three-pointers in their faces. They were more physical and outhustled the Sixers.

All that led to a humbling, 128-92 loss at the Wells Fargo Center.

Things were so bad that the Knicks fans were chanting “Go New York, Go New York, Go!” late in the fourth quarter. The loss dropped the Sixers to 23-11 on the season. Meanwhile, the Knicks (20-15) extended their winning streak to three games following their blockbuster trade with the Toronto Raptors for OG Anunoby.

“I don’t think we took them lightly,” Tyrese Maxey said. “I just think they hit us in the mouth early. Actually, we were up early, but they hit us in the mouth at the end of the first. And it seemed like we were on our heels ever since then. There were a couple of clips coach [Nick Nurse] showed that they hit us first when we were on defense, and we shouldn’t allow that to happen.”

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The Knicks made 18 three-pointers, with 13 coming in the first half. New York also had a 33-16 edge in fast-break points and outrebounded the Sixers, 49-38.

Former Villanova standout Jalen Brunson paced the Knicks with 29 points on 11-for-20 shooting. Julius Randle struggled mightily finishing with eight points on 1-for-11 shooting.

Joel Embiid was one of the few Sixers bright spots. The reigning MVP had 30 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks. He has now posted at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in 15 straight games. Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the only other players to accomplish that feat in a single season.

“Well he’s better than I thought playing against him,” said Nurse, the Sixers first-year coach who spent the previous five seasons coaching the Raptors. “And I really, we threw everything we absolutely could throw at him when we were coaching against him basically out of necessity. I think he continues to get better. And I think he’s been incredibly motivated in practice and in the games.”

Maxey added 27 points and nine assists for the Sixers. Tobias Harris scored all five of his points on 2-for-6 shooting in the first quarter. The power forward did not attempt another shot before leaving the game with a sore left ankle late in the third quarter.

“They checked him out,” Nurse said. “He kind of jammed his ankle. X-rays and stuff were negative, but he thinks he’s going to be questionable for tomorrow. I think he says it’s going to be determined on how he wakes up in the morning, but he thinks it’s a reasonable chance that he can play.”

This was the second consecutive game De’Anthony Melton missed with lumbar spine soreness. Meanwhile, reserves Robert Covington (left knee effusion) and Furkan Korkmaz (illness) also remained sidelined. As a result, Nic Batum, Tobias Harris, Embiid, Kelly Oubre, and Maxey constituted the starting lineup for the second straight game.

Melton was a partial participant in the morning shootaround and did some shooting drills afterward. He went through another workout Friday night. His status for Saturday’s game against the Utah Jazz will be determined by how his body responds to the workouts.

The Knicks had won their first two games since acquiring Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn from the Raptors on Dec. 30 for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and a second-round pick.

Nurse knows more about newcomers Anunoby, Achiuwa, and Flynn than any other head coach, having coached them with the Raptors.

Anunoby was the headliner of the trade. The 6-foot-7, 240-pound swingman had been a trade target for the Sixers. He finished with 11 points and a steal on Friday.

“I’ve always said he is one of the very best defenders in the league,” Nurse said. “And what makes him that is his incredible versatility. I say that one night he’s guarding [7-foot center Nikola] Jokić, and the next night he’s guarding Bradley Beal or something. He can go so far up and down the spectrum of who he can guard and he plays it. He’s hard to score against — also is a very good catch-and-shoot shooter.”

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The 26-year-old was averaging 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists through two games with the Knicks. He entered Friday shooting 57.1% from the field — including 40% from three-point range with his new team.

“I think he’s upgraded their team as a fit,” Nurse said. “Their identity is they want big, strong guys that can play defense — and he’s certainly one of those. He’s even got a lot of size to him as well. Probably fits in pretty good there. Looks like he’s fit in really well in his first couple games.”

On Saturday, the Sixers will complete their first or four back-to-backs in January. Twenty-four hours after entertaining New York, they entertain the Jazz at the Wells Fargo Center.

Utah has been starting to turn things around. They had won three straight and six of seven games prior to Friday’s blowout loss to the Boston Celtics. The Jazz (16-20) were 9-3 in their last 12 entering Friday. That was tied for the league’s fourth-best record during that stretch. And Utah ranked 10th defensively and 11th offensively over those dozen games.

The Jazz are led by 7-foot power forward Lauri Markkanen and guard Jordan Clarkson, the 2021 Sixth Man of the Year. Markkanen is averaging 23.5 points and 8.4 rebounds. Clarkson is chipping in 17.8 points off the bench.

The Sixers have won the teams’ last two meetings, but trail 58-49 in the all-time series. They do have a 32-22 home record against Utah.