Sixers recover from slow start, ill-timed report to beat New York Knicks, 119-112, on Christmas Day

NEW YORK — The Christmas vibe around the 76ers was distinctly different.

Joel Embiid showed up to Madison Square Garden donning a nice pair of jeans, a white hoodie, blue jacket, and an expensive pair sneakers with spikes on the toe. The All-NBA center’s attire drew a reaction because he usually wears sweats, shorts, and slides.

Then an hour before facing the New York Knicks, ESPN reported Sixers point guard James Harden is seriously considering re-signing with the Houston Rockets this summer, which would require him to opt out of the second year of a two-year deal he signed with the Sixers this offseason.

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And once the game started, the Sixers found themselves trailing the Knicks by 14 points in the first quarter. But they bounced back from the shocking, ill-timed report and a sluggish start to capture a 119-112 victory.

“We just hung in there,” coach Doc Rivers said. “You never know how these afternoon games are going to start. We definitely didn’t. I thought their first quarter. They had all the energy, killed us on the glass the whole first half.”

But the tide started to change toward the end of the second quarter. That’s when the Sixers got a couple of stops while pushing the ball up the court. Philly outscored the Knicks, 94-75, over the final three quarters.

The Sixers (20-12) extended their winning streak to eight games, while the Knicks (18-16) dropped their third straight after winning their previous eight games.

Embiid finished with 35 points and eight rebounds in what marked the 16th time he’s scored at least 30 points this season. Harden added 29 points, 13 assists, and four steals. Harden, who played the entire second half, also had a solid two-man game going with Georges Niang.

Niang added 16 points off the bench. The power forward made 4 of 9 three-pointers, tying former Sixers guard Seth Curry for 21st on the franchise’s all-time three-point list with 227. All of Niang’s points came in the second half, with 12 coming in the fourth quarter.

De’Anthony Melton had 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting from three (5-for-8 overall).

Harden and Embiid have been one of the league’s best tandems during the team’s recent string of wins. And they showed the Garden crowd why once Embiid started to get things going in the second quarter.

Embiid scored 11 points in the quarter, mostly by getting to the foul line. He made 7 of 9 foul shots while making 2 of 4 baskets. Embiid scored seven of the team’s 10 points before Shake Melton ended the half with one of his team’s biggest shots of the season.

The reserve guard stole the ball from former Villanova standout Jalen Brunson with 1.1 seconds left. Then he made a 50-foot off-balanced buzzer beater to close the gap to three points (63-60).

“I just gave it a chance to go in honestly,” Milton said. “It just went up. It really wasn’t much thinking. It was the end of the half. So that had to go up anyway.”

Embiid continued his dominance in the third quarter.

At one point, Embiid accounted for 66.7% of the Sixers points in the quarter. He had 14 points to go with an assist — to P.J. Tucker. Embiid added another point before being subbed out with 1 minute, 48 seconds left.

“I started off the game soft,” he said. “You could see it was a little early [a noon start]. But I started up the game soft. I was going up and I was throwing up layups and airballs and all that stuff. So in that third quarter, I just started feeling my legs get back into it. I just wanted to make sure I took over and kept us close. And obviously I did my best job as the team did, too. And those two guys just took over. James and Georges took over.”

Harden picked up the slack when Embiid went to the bench. After a Niang basket, Harden scored the Sixers’ final seven points of the quarter. That closed the gap to one point.

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He continued where he left off to start the fourth. His three-pointer 49 seconds into the quarter knotted the score at 98. Then his ninth assist of the game came on a three-pointer by Niang to give the Sixers a 101-98 lead 33 seconds later.

Then Harden hit a technical foul shot with 8:54 left to make it a 102-98 game. His 10th assist came on a Niang three that made it 105-100. Niang added another three to put the Sixers up, 108-100, with 6:52 left. At that point, Philly was riding a 16-4 run that stretched over 5:13, forcing the Knicks to call a timeout.

New York scored a basket after the timeout. However, the Sixers responded with an 8-0 run to take a commanding 116-102 lead and force another Knicks timeout.

“I don’t know why they were playing in a drop coverage,” Niang said of the Knicks. “I probably haven’t seen that since, you know, college maybe. But they were putting two on James, and that’s kind of where me and James have that two-man game that really flourishes.”

Niang made the Knicks pay for leaving him wide open, as Harden assisted on three of Niang’s four fourth-quarter threes.

“We found something,” Harden said. “We found something we liked and then we just tried to get the best available shot. I think Georges just had a couple easy looks. He just rushed them [earlier]. So I just told him just take your time, you know what I mean? Just take your time and he made one, he made two, and that opened up the game for us right there.”

The shooting guard was the main reason the Sixers stayed in the game.

Melton made his first five shots — all three-pointers. His fifth one knotted the score at 69 at the 9:36 mark of the third quarter.

“Just being confident,” said Melton, who scored a career-high 33 points while making 8 of 12 threes on Dec. 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers. “Like I said before, being confident and having an all-time high, it’s just taking what I know I can take.”

The Sixers looked like a team not ready for the game’s noon start, especially Embiid and Tobias Harris.

Embiid missed four of his six first-quarter shots. One of his attempts was a post-up shot that went over the rim. Meanwhile, Harris missed all three of his three-point attempts en route to a 1-for-4 quarter.

As a team, the Sixers shot 42.1% and went 3 of 9 on three-pointers in the quarter. And the Knicks took full advantage, building a commanding 30-16 cushion after Immanuel Quickley’s layup with 3:33 left in the quarter.

The Sixers also struggled on the defensive end. The Knicks had 16 points in the paint and eight second-chance points in the quarter.

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Before Embiid turned things around, one had wonder if he would regret switching his attire for this game.

“When I showed up today, they were all surprised and happy and making fun of me for finally putting something on,” he said. “I don’t know. When I want to dress, I look good. I got swag.

“But I don’t do it often. But maybe I should start doing it often.”