Sixers drop 13th straight, this one to the Knicks

NEW YORK - This was a good opportunity for the 76ers. They fought hard and made some runs. But the game ended like their previous 12 - with a loss.

Not even Nerlens Noel's career night kept the Sixers from suffering a 91-83 loss to a struggling New York Knicks team that provided a great chance for their first win.

The Sixers rookie center finished with career highs of 17 points and 12 rebounds on Saturday night. He became the franchise's first rookie forward or center to finish with at least 17 points and 12 rebounds since Jerry Stackhouse in 1995.

But he and his teammates exited Madison Square Garden winless through 13 games. They are two losses shy of tying the franchise record, set by the 1972-73 squad, for the most losses to start a season.

The present-day Sixers could have the misfortune of breaking that record, with coming home games against the Portland Trail Blazers (Monday), the Brooklyn Nets (Wednesday), and Dallas Mavericks (Saturday).

Saturday night was a solid bounce-back game for Noel after he finished with just three points in Friday's home loss to the Phoenix Suns.

"I just think I stayed confident and believed in myself throughout my games of not performing the way I thought I could have," Noel said. "I just kept working. And that's what I am going to keep doing: Continue building as a young player in this league."

On Friday, the rookie only had one shot attempt. And that came on a layup with 7 minutes, 57 seconds left in the first quarter.

One night later, the 6-foot-11, 217-pounder stayed aggressive throughout. He made 6 of 11 field-goal attempts. Noel was also active on the boards, where nine of his rebounds came on the defensive end. The 20-year-old also had a blocked shot, two assists, and a steal.

"Everybody in Philadelphia is seeing what we are seeing. It's slow, but it's coming," Sixers coach Brett Brown said of Noel. "People are going to look at his stat line. And I'm going to look at him being spirited on the defensive and helping teammates off the floor, being engaging in timeouts.

"It was far more than a stat sheet would show."

With Noel leading the way, the Sixers never stopped making a run at the Knicks. After trailing by 21 points early in the fourth quarter, they pulled within eight points twice late in the game.

Newcomer Robert Covington added 14 points on 4-for-6 shooting and hit all four of his three-pointers off the bench. Covington, who didn't play in the first half, attempted all of his shots in the fourth quarter.

Carmelo Anthony finished with a game-high 25 points as the Knicks improved to 4-10. They had lost two straight and nine of their last 10 games. Reserve power forward Amar'e Stoudemire added 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Sixers point guard Michael Carter-Williams scored nine points on 4-for-13 shooting. He had four turnovers and one assist.

Building a culture. Brown acknowledged it's hard to build a culture amid the mounting losses.

"It's my greatest challenge, trying to find that fine line of keeping it real and coaching them and helping them succeed - you know, putting them in position where they can do well," Brown said.

"That whole thing is very difficult."

However, he said he is proud of the off-the-court, day-to-day stuff his team does.

"I think that my staff has stayed together," Brown said. "Our team will stay together. It's one of my great missions and goals this year.

"But it is difficult. I think our group is doing good job."

@PompeyOnSixers