Sixers edge Knicks behind Saric's strong play
Like their previous two meetings, Friday night's matchup between the 76ers and New York Knicks went down to the wire.
Like their previous two meetings, Friday night's matchup between the 76ers and New York Knicks went down to the wire.
Dario Saric and Justin Anderson came up big, leading the Sixers to a 105-102 victory at the Wells Fargo Center. The game was not decided until Knicks shooting guard Courtney Lee misfired on a three-pointer as time expired.
But Anderson and Saric teamed up for what was arguably the play of the game.
Saric drove the lane and pumped faked underneath the basket in front of Knicks 7-foot-3 post player Kristaps Porzingis. Anderson, who was stationed in a corner, saw that his teammate was in trouble. So he cut toward the center of the court. Seeing that Anderson was a couple of steps ahead of Anthony, Saric delivered a perfect pass around Porzingis. Anderson caught the ball and scored on a runner from six feet out to give the Sixers a 103-102 lead with 24.3 seconds left in the game.
"It was a fantastic pass by him," Anderson said. "I think he went underneath the arm of like whoever was guarding him. It was an awesome play. He was tough. He was big time for us."
The Knicks had an opportunity to take the lead after Robert Covington's turnover with 15.7 seconds left in the game. However, Carmelo Anthony missed a jumper with 6.9 seconds, then Lance Thomas missed the put-back.
Saric grabbed the rebound, was fouled and made a pair of foul shots to make it a three-point game with three seconds left.
The power forward finished with a team-high 21 points to go with a game-high 10 rebounds. Twelve on his points came in the fourth quarter. This marked Saric's ninth double-double to tie injured teammate Joel Embiid for the rookie lead.
"I think that we all should feel very proud; how can it not be that the rookie of the year is going through Philadelphia," coach Brett Brown said of Saric and Embiid being the front-runners.
Anderson, who was 8 for 12 from the floor, added a career-tying 19 points in 24 minutes, 20 seconds in a reserve role.
The win snapped the Sixers' three-game losing streak as they improved to 23-38. Meanwhile, the Knicks (25-37) failed in their bid to win consecutive games for the first time since December.
The Sixers won their first meeting against Knicks, 98-97, on Jan. 11 at the Center, thanks to T.J. McConnell's buzzer-beater. Then the Knicks prevailed, 110-109, on Feb. 25 at Madison Square Garden on Anthony's basket with 0.03 seconds left.
Thomas paced the Knicks with 21 points. Anthony added 18.
Philly fans got a better understanding of who Anderson is and why the Sixers brass raves over him.
The swingman, who was acquired in a trade from the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 23, made his first seven shots before missing on a put-back dunk attempt with 5:20 left in the third quarter.
More so than his point production, Sixers fans will appreciate the grit he displayed. He didn't back down from Anthony as the two kept jawing at each other. On one occasion, Anthony shoved Anderson as a way to create space. Anderson responded in kind.
A couple of possessions later, Anderson and Anthony received double technical and had to be separated.
The chiseled 6-foot-6, 228-pounder downplayed the exchanges with the Knicks all-star.
"It was nothing," Anderson said. "He's a guy I respect a lot with the way that he puts his family first. I watch a lot of his stuff. He's a great man for what he does for our league and things. He's a terrific human being."
The second-year player added that he and Anthony were just out there playing basketball. He added that they would have kept playing basketball if there were no referees and they were playing at a park.
Anderson's minutes were the result of Gerald Henderson missing the first of two games because of soreness in his left hip. He will be reevaluated on Sunday with the hope of playing on Monday against the Milwaukee Bucks at home. He sat out of the second half of Wednesday's loss to the Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena because of the soreness, which has hampered him all season.
Meanwhile, the Sixers play on despite mounting injuries. Embiid will miss the rest of the season with a meniscus tear and a bone bruise in his left knee. First overall pick Ben Simmons has been sidelined the entire season with a Jones fracture in his right foot. Jerryd Bayless only played in three games because of torn ligaments in his left wrist. And Tiago Splitter, who the Sixers acquired Feb. 22 from the Atlanta Hawks in a trade, is out with a right calf strain.
@PompeyOnSixers