Sixers fall to Knicks, get ready for lottery
The loss at Madison Square Garden helped the 76ers chances as they finished with the fourth-worst record in the NBA.
NEW YORK - The 76ers' best season of the Brett Brown era concluded Wednesday night with a lottery-friendly loss.
Nik Stauskas missed on a three-pointer at the buzzer and the New York Knicks escaped with a 114-113 victory at Madison Square Garden.
"As soon as it left my hands, I knew it wasn't going in," the guard said."You can't really get a better look . . . but the shot didn't drop."
The Sixers (28-54) finished with the fourth-worst record in the NBA. That assures them of getting a top-seven pick in the draft lottery on May 16.
They'll have an 11.9 percent chance at the top pick and a 37.8 percent chance at a top-three slot. The Sixers received these odd thanks to the Orlando Magic's victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. The Magic (29-53) came into the finale tied for the fourth-worst record in the league. However, they won, 113-109, to finish with the fifth-worst mark.
The Sixers concluded the season with eight consecutive losses. But this season's win total tied their combined wins from last season (10) and in 2014-15 (18). The Sixers finished with 19 wins during Brown's first season in 2013-14.
The Sixers and Knicks (31-51) had a who's who of players who didn't compete in the game. Already out with season-ending injuries for the Sixers were Joel Embiid (knee), Jahlil Okafor (knee), Robert Covington (knee), Ben Simmons (foot), Jerryd Bayless (wrist), and Sergio Rodriguez (hamstring). Dario Saric (plantar fasciitis) missed his only game of the season on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Knicks were without Joakim Noah (suspension), Kristaps Porzingis (back), Derrick Rose (knee), and Lance Thomas (hip).
Sixers small forward Justin Anderson led all scorers with a career-high 26 points on 9-for-10 shooting. Alex Poythress, who started in place of Saric, finished with a career-high 18 points.
Former Sixer Justin Holiday paced the Knicks with 20 points.
Stauskas made a three-pointer with 31.1 seconds left to give the Sixers a 113-112 lead. But Maurice Ndour made a step-back jumper with 18.3 seconds left to give the Knicks a one-point advantage.
Because of trades in 2015, the Sixers could still get the Los Angeles Lakers' first-round pick and will have the right to swap first-rounders with the Sacramento Kings.
But nothing is guaranteed.
The Lakers (26-55 as of Tuesday) are locked into the third-worst record and will keep their pick if it falls within the top three selections at the lottery. In that scenario, the Sixers would get Los Angeles' pick next season. The Kings went into Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers with the eighth-worst record at 32-49.
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