Sixers top Knicks in offensive slog to snap three-game losing skid

NEW YORK — As the second quarter began Sunday night, an irritated spectator in the 200 level of Madison Square Garden hollered, “Why is this game so bad?”

And while walking through the concourse at halftime, another called the preceding 24 game minutes “garbage.”

And while filing out after the final buzzer, another said she would burn the New York Knicks sweatshirt she was wearing on the streets of Manhattan.

The offensive slog was indicative of the state of the 76ers and the Knicks, who once looked like contenders to make deep postseason runs until becoming stifled by injuries to star players in recent weeks. But the Sixers finally clinched a victory without Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, using aggressive defense to top the Knicks, 79-73, to snap a three-game skid on a night when neither team cracked 40% shooting from the floor.

“We were on point,” coach Nick Nurse said of his team’s defense, which held a Sixers opponent to its lowest point total since 2015. “We were physical. We were doing everything we were supposed to be doing. … Basically, we were just fighting and executing the schemes really well.”

The win, however brutal to watch, elevated the Sixers (36-28) into sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings, and trimmed the gap with the fourth-place Knicks (37-27) — who played Sunday without star forward Julius Randle and three-and-D wing OG Anunoby — to one game. It was also the Sixers’ first win in eight tries in a game played without both Embiid, the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player, and Maxey, a first-time All-Star this season.

The Sixers took a 63-56 lead into the fourth quarter, then extended that cushion to 10 on a Paul Reed corner three-pointer with less than four minutes to play. New York got within 75-71 on a Josh Hart three-pointer just before the two-minute mark, but Sixers guard Kyle Lowry answered with his own pull-up deep shot before Jalen Brunson and Precious Achiuwa both misfired badly from deep on the opposite end.

The largely forgettable game did feature some late spice, however, when an scuffle ensued with about four minutes to go after Kelly Oubre Jr. fouled Donte DiVincenzo by hitting his head, then stood over the Knicks guard. DiVincenzo hooked his arm around Oubre’s leg and New York center Isaiah Hartenstein pushed Oubre to the floor. Both Knicks were called for technicals, as was Reed for pushing during the altercation.

“It’s just frustrations,” Oubre said after the game. “It’s the game of basketball. It’s high-energy. We’re in the Garden. But I ain’t got no enemies in this league. ... All of that stuff’s funny to me. I don’t know why.

“I just laugh, because nobody’s [going to] fight. At the end of the day, I’ll see you Tuesday, bro.”

Oubre needed 19 shots to reach a team-high 18 points, though he also pulled down 10 rebounds including five on the offensive end. Buddy Hield, meanwhile, was the most efficient offensive player on the floor Sunday, finishing with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting (including 4-of-6 from three-point range), seven rebounds, and three assists while coming off the bench after starting his first 13 games as a Sixer.

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Brunson, the Knicks’ All-Star point guard and former national player of the year at Villanova, finished with 19 points on 6-of-22 shooting and added eight assists.

The first half was a particularly rough watch.

Neither team reached 40 points by the break. They combined for eight three-point makes on 39 attempts. But the Sixers pushed themselves to a 37-31 advantage by scoring 11 points off 14 Knicks turnovers.

These teams will square off again Tuesday at the Garden, before the Sixers travel to Milwaukee for a Thursday showdown against the Bucks and former coach Doc Rivers.