Jalen Brunson scored 9 unanswered points late in the fourth quarter for the host New York Knicks, who squandered all of a 19-point lead before coming back to edge the skidding Philadelphia 76ers, 110-105, on Wednesday, February 26 (Thursday, February 27, Manila time).
Brunson scored 14 of his game-high 34 points in the final 6:33 for the Knicks, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Mikal Bridges had 28 points, including 19 in the first quarter, while OG Anunoby added 16 points and 9 rebounds.
Josh Hart had 17 rebounds for the Knicks, who were without Karl-Anthony Towns (left knee).
Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points for the 76ers, who have lost nine straight — their longest losing streak since a 12-game skid late in the 2015-16 season, when they finished 10-72. Kelly Oubre Jr. had 27 points while Paul George added 25 points.
Joel Embiid sat out his second straight game due to a left knee injury. He has missed four games during the losing streak.
The Knicks led by as many as 13 in the first quarter, opened up a 19-point lead in the second, and maintained a double-digit advantage for more than 19 minutes before Maxey ended the third quarter with a pair of free throws to pull the 76ers within 83-74.
The Knicks led 94-85 with 6:44 left before the 76ers — whose lone previous leads were at 2-0 and 4-2 -— mounted a 17-4 run and took their biggest lead at 102-98 on Maxey’s floater with 2:42 left.
Brunson then began his decisive run by sinking a pair of free throws. After Maxey missed a three-pointer, Brunson tied the score with a banked layup with 1:59 left. Maxey missed a layup before Brunson drained the tiebreaking three-pointer over Maxey.
The teams each missed two shots on their next possessions before Brunson hit two more free throws with 32.1 seconds left. Maxey ended the surge with a layup, but Anunoby delivered a thunderous dunk off an in-bounds pass by Bridges following a Knicks timeout to extend the lead to 5 points again with 27.8 seconds remaining.
Oubre and Brunson each split a pair of free throws — the miss was the first of the game for Brunson after 14 straight successful attempts — and Maxey missed a three-pointer with just under 14 seconds remaining.
Hart pulled down the rebound and the 76ers allowed him to dribble out the clock. – Rappler.com