Philadelphia 76ers defeat New York Knicks 79-73 in a call-back to the early 2000s

The Philadelphia 76ers etched out a win over the New York Knicks 79-73 in a game that resembled early 2000s basketball.

Philadelphia advances to 36-28 on the season and moves up to 6th place in the Eastern Conference with Orlando just 0.5 games above the 76ers. 

Without Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers lacked a true shot and advantage creator, so Philadelphia’s offense was destined to get ugly, but scoring 79 points in a win proves that games are won on the court, not on paper. 

Philadelphia 76ers Shut Down Jalen Brunson and Knicks

No surprise that the 76ers ultimately won this game with their elite defensive performance. Philadelphia’s defensive game plan for all-star Jalen Brunson was executed to a tee. Kelly Oubre Jr. defended Brunson well off the point-of-attack and effectively navigated through screens off Brunson’s pick-and-rolls, forcing Brunson into a tough shot or a pass.

If Brunson beat Oubre off the dribble, the 76ers, especially Paul Reed, provided excellent strong-side help in the interior, which left Brunson no choice but to kick it out. That played right into the 76ers’ hands as New York shot a horrid 9-40 from three (22.5%). Brunson finished with only 19 points and 8 assists on 6-22 shooting from the field. 

Jalen Brunson criticizing his performance

"I played like dog s**t. That's it."

– Jalen Brunson pic.twitter.com/JVaoQMGdEZ

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) March 11, 2024

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Brunson aside, the 76ers’ collective point-of-attack defense was humming as Tobias Harris defended Precious Achiuwa well off the bounce, Buddy Hield maneuvered through flare screens set for Donte DiVincenzo, and the combination of Mo Bamba and Paul Reed limited Isaiah Hartenstein to one shot attempt.

Philadelphia’s half-court defense was a well-oiled machine, but New York slaughtered the 76ers off the offensive glass with the Knicks notching 16 offensive rebounds and 15 second-chance points. The 76ers once again showed why they may need to look into another big man as Joel Embiid remains sidelined. 

Philadelphia 76ers’ ugly offense

The 76ers did a great job of forcing stops and getting out into the fast-break, but Philadelphia’s shot-making was equally as poor as the 76ers shot 38.8% from the field and 30% from beyond. 

Kelly Oubre Jr. put up another hard-nosed performance with a team-high 18 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 9 trips to the foul line, on an inefficient 6-19 shooting from the field. Oubre Jr.s points came from a series of dribble drives where Oubre bulldozed his way through his primary defender and scored at the rim while often drawing contact from the helping defender. 

Oubre scored just 6 of his 18 points in the 2nd half but made two of the most crucial offensive plays in crunch time with his play-making. Oubre drove to the rim while drawing defenders and created a critical corner three and layup off a back-cut for Paul Reed (13 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks on 5-8 shooting), whose jump shot has shown great improvement.

that Kelly to Paul connection. 😤 https://t.co/pixTc5tm5l pic.twitter.com/lXu4TO2olm

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 11, 2024

Buddy Hield found success coming off the bench with 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists on 6-9 field shooting and 4-6 shooting from the perimeter. Hield recorded only 5 points in the first two quarters of action, but quickly caught fire from beyond the arc, hitting spot-up threes assisted by Tobias Harris’ dribble penetration. Hield thrived as a reserve spot-up shooter and secondary playmaker, cutting into the defense and swinging it to the weak-side corner.

The Philadelphia 76ers will look to sweep the New York Knicks in this two-game stand at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. EST, exclusively on TNT.

Mandatory Credit: (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)