11/4/12
The 76ers were going on the road to New York following an 84-75 victory in their
home opener against the Denver Nuggets. The Knicks were coming off a statement
win on Friday against last year’s world champion Miami Heat. The Knicks will
not be playing with one of their superstar players in the beginning of the
season in Amar’e Stoudemire due to a leg injury. This has been a tragic week
for New York
because of the widespread damage and loss caused by Hurricane Sandy. Having the
Knicks start off strong this week is a good distraction from the devastation
people must be feeling in NY and may make many New Yorkers feel happy even if
for a brief time.
In the first half, the Knicks gave the 76ers a statement
leading 57-44 at the half. They were trying to tell the 76ers that their win
against the Heat was no joke. In the first quarter, Jason Richardson stepped on
a cameraman’s foot and sprained his ankle. He did not return to the game. The
standout players for the Knicks were Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton.
Anthony had 15 points while Felton scored all of his 11 points in the first
half. Ronnie Brewer chipped in with nine points. J.R. Smith had seven points
while Steve Novak had all 6 of his points in the first half. For the 76ers,
Jrue Holiday and Thaddeus Young were the standout stars of the half. Thaddeus
Young had 10 of his 16 points in the half while Holiday
scored 11 points. Spencer Hawes scored all of his eight points and Dorell
Wright scored seven of his 11 points in the half.
In the second half, the Knicks started where they left off
and had their largest lead at 17 before that lead got cut down to only nine
points at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Knicks woke
up and finished the game strong with the final score of 100-84. The standout
stars for the Knicks were Anthony and Smith. Anthony had 12 points and finished
the game with 27 points. Smith had 13 points and finished with 20 points. The
only guy that stepped up for the 76ers was Holiday.
He had 16 points and finished with 27.
Overall, the Knicks knew what they were going up against in
the 76ers. They wanted to slow down the 76ers offense and not give up fast
break points, and make sure the 76ers get a hand on passes that turn into
steals. They put the game away early on excellent three-point shooting and
attacked the basket in the second half and got to the free throw line. What’s
great about having a superstar like Anthony is that players like Felton,
Brewer, and Novak don’t need to be relied on the whole game and can play well
for a half. Their offense revolves around Anthony.
The 76ers were just simply outplayed in all phases of the
game. Hopefully they throw this game in the garbage and focus on tomorrow
because they play that same Knicks team tomorrow. Without Andrew Bynum, the
76ers will have to rely on great shooting. Evan Turner, Nick Young, Dorell
Wright, and Maalik Wayns shot an abysmal 9-35 in the game while Holiday and Thaddeus Young shot 18-32. This will be a
work in progress, but like I said before, if the 76ers shoot poorly, they will
lose. Spencer Hawes showed up for one half but was non-existent in the second
half. He has to play like he did against Denver
in order to be great on this team.
How can the 76ers be
a good team without Andrew Bynum? Are the Knicks a team to respect and take
seriously? Sound off and stay tuned to my next 76ers entry tomorrow when they
play this same Knicks team, but in Philadelphia.
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