By Tennie Sumague
EBC New York Bureau
NEW YORK (Eagle News Service) — Joel Embiid and Kristaps Porzingis, two of the NBA’s most promising players, faced off as the visiting Philadelphia 76ers battled against the New York Knicks.
The much-hyped matchup between “the Process” and “the Unicorn” grabbed the media’s attention but it was the Knicks Enes Kanter and 76ers reserve point guard T.J. McDonnell’s performances that stole the show.
McDonnell capitalized on a costly turnover by Jarrett Jack and missed opportunities from the Knicks offense with two key assists – setting up a Ben Simmons dunk and a J.J. Reddick three-pointer in the late fourth quarter to help snap the Sixers five-game skid with an impressive 105-98 road victory over the Knicks.
It was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams but it was McDonnell’s eight straight points in the final minutes of the third quarter that gave the 76ers the advantage and extended their lead to nine with 8:59 left to play in the fourth.
Porzingis tied the game at 89 but turnovers and missed free throws that hurt the Knicks’ chances to secure their 16th home win.
Embiid finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds and Reddick added 24 points.
“It was fun,” said Embiid, one of the NBA’s most entertaining players. “That was my first time playing in the Garden. When I play on the road, I love putting on a show and I feel like we had a lot of fun tonight. [We played] defense. We limited our turnovers. The last few games, we’ve been over 20. But we got stops when we needed to [and] we got the win.”
Kanter’s 31 points and 22 rebound efforts were a season high for the Knicks center, who joined Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Bob Lanier as the only players to record 30 points on this date.
“We just need to learn how to finish the games, especially in the fourth quarter. I think most of the game we did a good job both offensively and defensively. I think we missed too many free throws and we need to cut down on the turnovers in the final four or five minutes of the game.”
Porzingis posted 22 points and seven rebounds and Courtney Lee added 20 points.
The Knicks travel to Chicago to face the Bulls on Wednesday and the 76ers will start their three-game road trip out west Thursday when they face the Portland Trail Blazers.
(Eagle News Sevice)