It was not a pleasant evening for New York Knicks fans. They fell behind early to the Philadelphia 76ers as Elton Brand (33 points, his season high) dominated inside and Andre Iguodala passed the ball like a point guard. New York got back into it, though, with improved rebounding and defense and a boost from the second unit. A Raymond Felton barrage in the third quarter had them up nine points heading into the fourth.
It was all downhill from there. Felton and Amar'e Stoudemire rested to start the final period, and Philadelphia wasted no time in shredding apart the lead they'd built. New York scored just four points in the first nine minutes of the quarter, and a combination of Andre Iguodala and offensive rebounding put the Sixers up by double digits. The Knicks stormed back in the game's final minute, but could not convert on a chance to tie or win the game as time expired.
Felton, who had been slumping, led the Knicks with 26 points. Danilo Gallinari, who had 18, did almost all of his damage in the first half and saw the ball much less in the second. Stoudemire was held to just 7-of-19 shooting and finished with 21.
The two teams will now head to New York for a Sunday afternoon re-match. With another win, the Sixers could pull within one game of New York's sixth seed perch in the Eastern Conference.
-- See Posting and Toasting for more Knicks coverage.