Karl-Anthony Towns leads Knicks to 111-99 win over 76ers to open NBA Cup play

The Knicks had six players in double-figures and were led by a dominant performance from Karl-Anthony Towns to earn a 111-99 win over the 76ers to open group play of the NBA Cup on Tuesday night in Philadelphia.

New York improved to 5-5 on the season and sentenced Philly to a 2-8 start to the year.

Here are some takeaways…

– The turning point in a game often involves a collision of the game’s biggest stars. On Tuesday night in Philly, that was literally true.

With the Knicks up five under three minutes into the fourth quarter, Towns was driving on Joel Embiid in the post before Kelly Oubre came to double and as the Knicks center turned, a monster collision ensued with the two Philly defenders hitting the floor. The foul on the floor was called on Towns, but a Tom Thibodeau challenge changed it to a foul on Oubre. That change of fortune led to a Miles McBride three, a Jalen Brunson finger roll and OG Anunoby‘s fifth dunk of the night for an 87-75 lead, New York’s largest of the night.

Towns made another crucial play grabbing a contested offensive rebound before taking on a double-team under the hoop to find an open Josh Hart for a three to make it a 14-point lead with under five to play and they didn’t look back.

– Towns entered the game attempting just 4.5 three-point attempts but wasted no time finding open looks, knocking down two from downtown on the Knicks’ first possessions.

Embiid he lasted just five minutes in his season debut before asking Nick Nurse for a sub. The Sixers’ center, who had his left knee heavily wrapped soon headed back to the locker room, missed both his shots with a turnover and an assist in his opening run. Meanwhile, Towns had eight points, two rebounds and an assist against last year’s MVP.

Towns closed out Philly’s 10-3 run to end the first quarter by grabbing two offensive rebounds on the opening possession of the second setting up an Anunoby dunk. KAT was the nexus of the game on both ends of the floor, impacting the Sixers on defense and being the sun the Knicks’ offense revolved around.

– Part of the reason was Brunson did not start hot: missing all five attempts (two…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/karl-anthony-towns-leads-knicks-030500914.html

Author : SNY

Publish date : 2024-11-13 03:05:00

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