76ers escape with 108-105 win over Knicks
NEW YORK—Ben Simmons backed up his tough talk with a big day.
Simmons had 20 points, 22 rebounds and nine assists, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the New York Knicks 108-105 on Sunday.
Joel Embiid scored 26 points for the Sixers, who were coming off a 123-121 home loss against Atlanta on Friday night. JJ Redick added 22 points, and Jimmy Butler finished with 16.
Simmons called his team “too soft” after the loss to the lowly Hawks. He answered his own challenge with a pair of big plays late in the fourth quarter against New York.
The Knicks pulled within two on rookie Kevin Knox’s 3-pointer with 3:02 left, but Simmons pulled down an offensive rebound and fed Redick for a key jumper.
A defensive rebound for Simmons set up Redick’s two foul shots with 20 seconds left, lifting Philadelphia to a 106-98 lead.
“I thought especially the offensive rebound at the end of the game that led to JJ’s 3, I thought that was the game,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said. “They made it close at the end, but I thought his overall performance was dominant.”
New York’s Emmanuel Mudiay missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Knox had career-high 31 points for the Knicks, who have lost four straight and 19 of 22. Luke Kornet had a career-best 23 points.
At 19 years, 155 days, Knox became the sixth-youngest player in NBA history to score 30 points in a game, joining Kobe Bryant, Devin Booker, Jaren Jackson Jr., Kevin Durant and LeBron James.
“Those are some legendary players,” Knox said. “There’s a lot of other players on that list, but it just shows the work (I’m) putting in is paying off. Those are some great guys (to share) company with.”
New York trailed by as many as 24 points in the second quarter, but closed to 83-82 on Kornet’s basket with 11 seconds left in the third.
The 76ers responded in the fourth, beginning the quarter with an 11-0 run. Simmons capped the spurt by finding a driving Butler for a layup that made it 94-82 with 6:22 left.
“We have to lock down on defense and offensively take care of the ball,” Simmons said. “I think that’s really it. Everybody needs to be locked in.”
HOME SWEET HOME?
New York has lost eight in a row at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks’ last home win was Dec. 1 over Milwaukee.
COMING UP
Five of the Sixers’ next six games are against teams competing for a playoff spot. They host Minnesota on Tuesday night, and then visit Indiana on Thursday. They play Oklahoma City, Houston and San Antonio during a three-game homestand beginning on Saturday against the Thunder.
“I’m excited,” Embiid said. “We’re going to see how good we are and how good we can become or how bad we are. The next three weeks are going to shape our season.”
TIP-INS
76ers: Embiid also had eight rebounds and blocked six shots in his return to the lineup after missing the loss to Atlanta. Embiid was sidelined by left ankle soreness. … It was Philadelphia’s seventh straight win over the Knicks.
Knicks: G Tim Hardaway Jr. was sidelined by a left hamstring injury. He got hurt during Friday night’s 121-106 loss to Atlanta.
… C Enes Kanter was held out due to what coach David Fizdale described as “flu-like symptoms.” … G Frank Ntilikina played 28 minutes after missing his last three games due to a sprained left ankle. He had eight points and six assists. … Mudiay scored 19 points in 28 minutes off the bench.
UP NEXT
76ers: Host the Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
Knicks: Will play the NBA’s ninth regular-season game in London when they face the Washington Wizards on Thursday.
BUCKS 133, HAWKS 114
ATLANTA—Giannis Antetokounmpo had just one rebound in the first half as the Bucks lost the battle of the boards by 16.
Milwaukee took charge of the game in the second half with Khris Middleton and Antetokounmpo exerting their will in the paint.
“We played a little bit harder, moved the ball and we did a better job of rebounding,” Antetokounmpo said. “Running and getting to our spots, knocking down shots. That’s it.”
Antetokounmpo scored 33 points, Eric Bledsoe added 24 points and 10 assists, and Milwaukee beat the Hawks 133-114 on Sunday in Mike Budenholzer’s return to Atlanta.
Middleton finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds to help the Bucks improve to 30-12, second-best in the NBA. Coming off a loss at Washington that Antetokounmpo missed with injuries, Milwaukee is 12-0 following a defeat and remained the league’s only team not to drop consecutive games.
Budenholzer, making his first appearance at State Farm Arena since leaving the Hawks after last season, wished his former team well as it rebuilds with youngsters John Collins, Trae Young, Kevin Huerter and Omari Spellman.
“It’s good to come back and see some familiar faces where you worked for five years,” Budenholzer said. “I think to check that box and for the team to play well and execute is good. We’ll move on.”
The Bucks are soaring, thanks mostly to the 6-foot-11, 242-pound Antetokounmpo, who scored 14 on free throws and had two dazzling assists early in the fourth. He first smothered Trae Young to steal the ball and feed George Hill for a 3-pointer that made it 10490, before adding a no-look drop pass on D.J. Wilson’s layup for a 16-point lead. He later hit a couple of jumpers to make it a 15-point advantage.
Milwaukee has won 12 of 15 dating to Dec. 14. The Bucks began the day outscoring opponents by an NBA-leading 9.1 points per game.
Antetokounmpo showed no ill effects after sitting out Friday with right quadriceps soreness and a left hip contusion.
Young finished with 26 points, and DeAndre’ Bembry added 18 for Atlanta, which dropped to 13-30. The Hawks have dropped six of eight. Their 24 turnovers led to 34 points for Milwaukee.
“It’s a recurring problem, but I’d like to think guys are just trying to make plays,” the Hawks’ Kevin Huerter said. “We were being a little careless with the ball on some possessions.”
TIP-INS
Bucks: Antetokounmpo did a postgame jersey exchange with 41-year-old Hawks F Vince Carter. “I’m a big fan of his,” Antetokounmpo said. “He’s done great things for this league.”… G Malcolm Brogdon scored 14 points and missed just his second free throw in 86 free-throw attempts this season. … Middleton began the day averaging 20.4 points over his previous eight games.
Hawks: F Taurean Prince, the team’s third-leading scorer, returned after missing the last 18 games with a left ankle sprain. On a minutes restriction, Prince had seven points and five rebounds in 11 minutes. … G Kent Bazemore, the team’s second-leading scorer, has missed eight straight games with a right ankle injury.
NO REGRETS
Budenholzer said “change and moving is part of life” when asked before the game about leaving the Hawks. Calling it “a heck of a five years,” Budenholzer wasn’t looking back with animosity following a 24-58 finish last season.
He was the NBA Coach of the Year in his second season, leading Atlanta to 60 wins and its first appearance in the Eastern Conference finals. When principal owner Tony Ressler bought the team and Danny Ferry was out as general manager, Budenholzer added president of basketball operations to his title, but the Hawks made three bad moves that set the organization back and precipitated the rebuild.
Al Horford and Paul Millsap, two model team leaders, left as free agents after the Hawks decided not to trade them. In between those gaffes, the team signed mercurial center Dwight Howard to a three-year, $70.5 million contract and dealt him away after one ill-fit season.
Budenholzer said he loves his job with the Bucks and wishes the Hawks well.
“A rebuild — it’s a tough job to be the owner in a rebuild, to be a GM to be a coach. These are tough jobs, and so I don’t know who the right coach is,” he said. “And I think they feel great about where they are and that’s important for them. They have their direction they know where they’re going. I’m obviously very happy with our team, our front office and our roster. I’m very excited about where I am.”
UP NEXT
Bucks: Host Miami on Tuesday. Hawks: Host Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
RAPTORS 140, WIZARDS 138, 2OT
WASHINGTON—The Toronto Raptors began with a rush. They scored the first nine points against the Washington Wizards, built a 19-point lead in the first quarter and went ahead by 23 in the second quarter.
Near the end of the third quarter, Toronto still led by 17 points. Then Washington got hot and forced one overtime and then another.
Serge Ibaka’s 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in the second overtime allowed the Raptors to survive and earn their fifth straight win, 140-138 over the Wizards on Sunday.
“It shouldn’t come down to the last possession,” Kawhi Leonard said. “We need to close out games better.”
Leonard, who played a season-high 45 minutes, led Toronto with 41 points and 11 rebounds.
“Tonight he played like a superstar,” Ibaka said. “That’s how we need him to play and he did his job as a superstar. When we need him to step up and make big plays, he did them for us.”
Bradley Beal had his second triple-double of the season, collecting season highs of 43 points and 15 assists along with 10 rebounds. His 3-pointer with 20.4 seconds left in regulation tied it at 124 to force overtime. His jumper with 6.8 seconds to play in the first overtime tied it at 131.
Beal joined Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history with multiple games of 40 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in a season. Robertson had three such games in 1961-62.
He didn’t have much to say about it, though, leaving the locker room before it opened to the media as the Wizards scrambled to make a flight to London for its next game.
Washington never led until early in the second overtime.
Leonard had 13 straight points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Toronto missed seven of nine from the field in the second OT and didn’t score for nearly 3½ minutes, but Washington could only push ahead by three points during that stretch.
“We got lucky to get out of here with a win,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said.
Pascal Siakim scored 24 and had a career-high 19 rebounds for the Raptors.
Otto Porter, who had 27 points, missed a 3-pointer with 6 seconds to play in the second OT.
Trevor Ariza narrowly missed his second career triple-double. He had 23 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds before fouling out with 44.7 seconds left.
TIP-INS
Raptors: F/G C.J. Miles was out with a sore right hip. “Miles has been struggling,” Nurse said. “We tried to give him a go the other night. He still wasn’t quite right. We’re going to try and see if we can get him a little more squared away with what’s wrong with him. … G Fred VanVleet did not play because of a bruised left thigh. “Freddy took a big shot the other night late in the game,” Nurse said.
Wizards: G Tomas Satoransky, who had his first career triple-double on Friday, had just four points on 2-for-13 shooting. … Beal missed eight of nine shots in the first quarter. … F Jeff Green was assessed a technical foul.
LONDON CALLING
Washington will face the New York Knicks in London on Thursday.
“We want to enjoy it,” coach Scott Brooks said. “We’re not going to be there where you’re just going to focus on basketball. We all have lives. We all want to live a fun life.
“It’s a great time. It’s a players’ and coaches’ dream. You get to go to a cool city. We have some pretty cool things planned, some great sights to see, dinners to attend, some appearances to make. That’s part of being in the NBA. It’s a responsibility that we all have and we all share.”
LIFE WITHOUT WALL
Washington is getting used to playing without John Wall, who underwent season-ending left heel surgery on Jan. 8. The Wizards beat Philadelphia and Milwaukee, two of the East’s top teams, before narrowly losing to Toronto, which has the best record in the NBA.
“We’ve got guys out, so we have to turn up the intensity defensively,” Porter said.
UP NEXT
Raptors: Visit Boston on Wednesday.
Wizards: Play New York at The O2 in London on Thursday.