PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Obi Toppin hit a 3-pointer and Jalen Brunson finished off a three-point play seconds later as the New York Knicks rallied from 12 points down to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 106-104 on Friday night.
Brunson finished with 23 points to lead the Knicks. R.J. Barrett scored 22, while Toppin had 13 of his 17 in the fourth quarter as the Knicks snapped a three-game skid. Julius Randle had 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, Cam Reddish scored 11 points and Isaiah Hertenstein added eight points and 10 rebounds in extended minutes at center off the bench.
Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points, Tobias Harris had 23 and Montrezl Harrell added 14 for Philadelphia, which has lost two straight.
Maxey missed a 3-pointer that would have given the 76ers the lead with 29 seconds to go. De’Anthony Melton also missed a 3 with 1.2 seconds left.
Philadelphia gave up a double digit lead in the fourth quarter by being outscored 16-5 in a span of 5:30. Toppin shot 5 for 7, including three 3s, in the fourth for the Knicks.
Maxey scored 10 consecutive points in a span of 1:46 in the third quarter to help the 76ers build their lead.
TIP-INS
76ers: After a sluggish start to the season, coach Doc Rivers now has to try to get his team on track minus his two biggest stars. Philadelphia played its first game without G James Harden, the team’s leading scorer, who will miss approximately one month with a right foot strain. In addition, C Joel Embiid missed his third consecutive game with a “non-Covid-related illness.” Rivers said earlier in the week that Embiid had the flu and was staying away from the team to not infect his teammates. … F Danuel House Jr. also missed the game with a non-Covid-related illness. … G De’Anthony Melton replaced Harden in the starting lineup and Harrell again filled in for Embiid.
Knicks: New York coach Tom Thibodeau had insisted after a bad loss to Atlanta on Wednesday that he wasn’t ready to make any lineup changes. Then, he plugged in second-year G Quentin Grimes in place of veteran G Evan Fournier against the 76ers. … F Mitchell Robinson left the game in the second quarter in some discomfort and did not return.
UP NEXT
Knicks : Host Boston on Saturday night.
76ers: Host Phoenix on Monday night.
