Sixers Out-Tank the Knicks at MSG

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

New York 101, Philadelphia 91 – Box Score

Can’t tank the untankable, break the unbreakable, do the impossible (it’s Hinkie baby).

They said it couldn’t be done. The New York Knicks, losers of 9 straight games entering play Sunday, looked destined to run out the string in the final weeks of the regular season and cruise into May’s draft lottery with 25% of the ping pong ball. However, you should never discount the roster Sam Hinkie has assembled and their capacity for losing basketball games, as the Sixers stepped into the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden and broke that losing streak for the Knicks.

Really, it was the second night of a road back-to-back for the Sixers and they certainly looked lethargic after a hard-fought loss to Charlotte on Saturday. The two teams sloppily went about the contest in a ‘You take it. No, I insist, you take it’ sort of manner, and it looked like when the Knicks broke open a 9-point lead in the fourth quarter, that would be the end of things. The Sixers did have one surge left in them though, as they went on an 11-0 run to take a 2-point lead. That push was sparked by Hollis Thompson, who hit 5 of 6 threes off the bench to tie a team-high with 17 points. Thompson is now 12-19 from three in 3 April games, giving fans at least one source of excitement in these dog days of the season.

Back to the action though, and the Sixers’ gas tank reached empty with the Knicks answering with a 8-0 run of their own in the closing minutes to earn their first double-digit lead of the game. The Sixers punctuated things when Nerlens Noel grabbed an offensive rebound, but turned around and threw the ball into the backcourt for a turnover. It was a fitting conclusion to a generally ugly game of basketball.

One man who shined was Andrea Bargnani, who scored 11 points in the first quarter alone, finishing with a game-high 25 points, to go along with 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 blocks. Considering he only tallied 2 points in his previous game against Washington, that statline probably says more about the poor defense by Furkan Aldemir and Henry Sims than anything.

Nerlens Noel played one night after suffering the laceration to his eyelid and played fine considering, recording 14 points and 9 rebounds. Ish Smith had a nice offensive effort, dropping 17 points and 7 assists against just 1 turnover, but was a game-worst -22 on the night, as he couldn’t slow down Shane Larkin at all, which should be a fairly simple task. Larkin nearly had a triple double with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists. Still, I hope Ish sticks around despite his defensive shortcomings and nonexistent outside shot, if only to keep alive the Ish-to-Nerlens alley-oop highlight reel.

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With the somewhat unlikely loss to the Knicks, the Sixers still have a glimmer of hope of seeing Minnesota catch them in the standings. The two teams are now tied in the loss column with Philadelphia’s remaining games coming against the Wizards, Bulls, Bucks, and Heat, all teams in or fighting for the playoffs. Could the Wolves win 2 of their final 6 games and catch the Sixers? One of those games is against the Lakers so I wouldn’t rule it out. We’ll see how this final week and a half plays out, continuing against Washington on Wednesday.