James Harden never got a chance to dance much on the Knicks’ grave when he was in Brooklyn, but he seemed to take great delight in doing so in a Sixers’ jersey in Sunday’s Garden matinee.
The Knicks’ season has turned into a train wreck as Harden and centre Joel Embiid did whatever they wanted at the Garden before a large contingent of Sixers fans that chanted “MVP” when the superstar centre was at the free-throw line.
Watch the 21/22 NBA Season with ESPN on Kayo. Live coverage every week plus every game of the NBA Finals. New to Kayo? Start your free trial >
The new dynamic pair hooked up in the fast break often as Embiid finished with 37 points and Harden 29 points and 16 assists as the Sixers held on for a 125-109 victory.
Harden could be seen celebrating with vigour after some of Embiid’s hoops off his dishes.
The pair have combined for 59 free throw attempts in two games, an insane amount only two fewer than the Nets and Blazers in that period.
.
MORE COVERAGE
‘Could miss some time’: Giddey dealt huge blow in race for Rookie of the Year
NBA Wrap: Ben hurt but Kyrie sends Giannis a message; young superstar’s 46-pt explosion
Ben Simmons’ big NBA comeback hits another roadblock amid return date mystery
Harden does have his fair share of critics despite his obvious talents on the court, not that he is giving that much attention though.
“I don’t care what people say,” Harden said after the Knicks win.
“Honestly, I really, like, don’t care at all. I know how skilled and the work I put in to be one of the best basketball players. Nothing was given to me. I wasn’t one of the best basketball players growing up.
“I had to work every single day to be in the position I am today. So there’s nothing that somebody can tell me about my game. I put the work in, I go out there and produce, and I try to be the best teammate that I can be every single night. Simple as that.”
The Knicks are amid a stretch of playing five straight games on national television and they are not quite worthy of this stage, playing sloppy all game.
But they battled and backup point guard Immanuel Quickley led a second-half surge that gave them a one-point lead early in the fourth before they flamed out
Quickley finished with 21 points on 5 of 13 shooting and was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
It was the Knicks’ fifth straight loss and they are 3-15 in their past 18.
In falling 11 games under .500 at 25-36, the Knicks are looking at a March mess in a death march to their eighth lottery appearance in nine years.
Off his 46-point night Friday in a loss to the Heat, RJ Barrett tried to do too much early.
He finished with 24 points and four turnovers, shooting just 9 of 22, 6 of 10 on free throws.
Evan Fournier added 24, but Julius Randle had another off day (16 points, 4 of 13).
A Randle missed 3 midway through the fourth led to a picture-perfect fast break as Harden led Embiid for a monstrous slam.
The Knicks fell behind 75-64 with 8:08 left in the third after Randle’s pass was intercepted by Matisse Thybulle, who fed Maxey for a fast break layup.
But the Knicks scratched and clawed — with Quickley the top pest — and trailed just 91-89 after three.
After Barrett drove in for a layup, Quickley stole the inbounds and dribbled to the 3-pont line and nailed it but that was the end of the Knicks’ highlights.
– New York Post
JAZZ TUNE UP SUNS
The surging Utah Jazz, fueled by 26 points from Donovan Mitchell, downed the league-leading Phoenix Suns 118-114 to post their eighth victory in nine games.
Utah’s Rudy Gobert returned after missing six games with a sore right knee and non-Covid illness, scoring 16 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. That included a season-high eight offensive rebounds.
The Suns, who still own the best record in the NBA at 49-12, lost back-to-back games for the first time since dropping two on December 25 and 27.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 30 points. Cameron Johnson and Deandre Ayton added 23 apiece but Phoenix are clearly still finding their way in their third game since losing All-Star point guard Chris Paul to a broken thumb.
The veteran star could be sidelined the rest of the regular season.
ALL SCORES
KNICKS 109 SIXERS 125
SUNS 114 JAZZ 118
PACERS 128 v CELTICS 107
HORNETS v PISTONS
ROCKETS v CLIPPERS
WARRIORS v MAVERICKS
TRAIL BLAZERS v NUGGETS
LAKERS v PELICANS