The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Villanova
Knox became the sixthyoungest 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.
quette on Wednesday. In that game, they gave up a Big East-record 53 points to Markus Howard and blew a three-point lead with less than a second left in regulation.
The defending champion Wildcats continue to show their toughness, coming back from sizeable deficits for the third time in four games. They trailed by 13 before beating No. 24 St. John’s on Tuesday and by 14 in a win over DePaul on Jan. 2.
Eric Paschall had 21 points, Collin Gillespie made four 3s while scoring 14, and Jermaine Samuels,
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 9482 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 making his first start since November, added 13 for the Wildcats.
Ty-Shawn Alexander made five 3-pointers and scored 17 of his 22 points in the first half as Creighton got out to a nine-point lead. The Bluejays were up nine again early in the second, at 47-38, before Villanova stormed back.
Booth led the Wildcats to their first lead since the opening four minutes after Paschall converted a nice pass in the lane from Gillespie to start cutting into the Bluejays’ nine-point lead.
Booth made three free throws after Mitch Ballock fouled him as he attempted a 3-pointer and then a jumper and 3-pointer to put Villanova up 48-47 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. with 16:36 left.
Samuels converted a 3-point play after his strong dunk over big man Martin Krampelj to make it a 13-0 run for Villanova.
The Bluejays got it back to 51-all as Davion Mintz hit two free throws and Marus Zegarowski made a layup to end a scoring drought longer than four minutes. Then Alexander’s basket gave Creighton the lead.
But Booth made back-toback 3s, Gillespie hit from deep, Jermaine Samuels had a dunk putback of Saddiq Bey’s missed dunk and then Bey successful dunked to close a 13-0 spurt that made it an 11-point game for Villanova.
Krampelj had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Bluejays and Ballock had 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 “flulike 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. 13 points.
Big picture
Villanova: The Wildcats have won five straight and are the only unbeaten team in Big East play. They played their best half of the season on defense in the second half, limiting uptempo Creighton to 40-percent shooting and 36 points.
Creighton: The Bluejays, who played without injured starter Damien Jefferson (calf, ankle) have lost three of four Big East games and now have to go on the road for back-toback games.
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