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Friday, Mar. 10 7:00pm ET
Ewing pulls down season-high 21 boards | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The Philadelphia 76ers had talked about it being a statement game. But it was the New York Knicks who treated it like one. Patrick Ewing had 19 points and a season-high 21 rebounds and hit the game-winning basket with 24.3 seconds left for the Knicks as they beat Philadelphia 82-77 Friday night.
"For us it was more of a statement to ourselves on how we are going to play the rest of the way," Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "It didn't matter who the opponent was." Ewing, using his patented fadeaway jumper, sank the game-winner with one second left on the shot clock. Allen Iverson then tried to pass out of a double-team, and Latrell Sprewell stole the ball when the pass was tipped. He made two free throws with 11.6 seconds left to seal the victory. "That's Pat's shot," Van Gundy said. "Make or miss it's a good shot. He came up big." After the game Ewing, who had bandages around both of his knees and his right wrist, had the look of someone who had been there before. "It wasn't a tough shot at all," he said, smiling. "I was wide open." Sixers coach Larry Brown pointed to Ewing's shot as the difference. "The last three weeks we haven't made a big shot, it comes down to that," Brown said. "Patrick made the big shot tonight." Larry Johnson and Allan Houston had 14 points each and Sprewell, Kurt Thomas and John Wallace all had 10 for New York, which broke a four-game road losing streak. The Knicks had lost nine of their previous 10 away from home. Iverson had 30 points on 9-of-26 shooting from the field and 10-for-16 from the foul line. Aaron McKie had 14 points and Matt Geiger had 12 for the Sixers, who had a four-game winning streak snapped. "We've lost to L.A. and both games to New York, all on late possessions," Brown said. "We destructed in crucial situations tonight and we're not getting it done at the end and that bothers me." McKie's 3-pointer with 47.7 seconds left tied the game at 77. Iverson had missed a drving layup but then tipped the rebound to McKie on the sideline. Johnson scored all eight of New York's points in a 8-4 run that put the Knicks ahead 77-74 with two minutes remaining. Johnson went coast-to-coast for a layup on one basket and then hit a fadeaway jumper to finish the spurt. "Larry hasn't been happy with the way he's played," said Sprewell. "But he came up big tonight." With the Knicks holding a 69-65 lead, the 76ers got baskets from Geiger and Iverson to take a 70-69 advantage with 5:18 left. The four-point cushion had been New York's largest of the second half at that point. In the third quarter, the 76ers opened up a 49-39 lead when Iverson hit a jumper with 10:05 left. But the Knicks followed that with a 12-2 run, sparked by six points from Houston and capped by a leaner from Ewing to tie the score at 51 with 6:58 to go. The game was knotted at 60 after three quarters. The first half contained two completely different quarters. In the first, the Knicks finished with an 18-5 spurt to gain a 21-11 advantage after a dunk by Wallace. Philadelphia scored 23 of the last 31 points of the second quarter to take a 43-36 lead at halftime. Iverson had nine points in the run and Geiger added six.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard New York Clubhouse Philadelphia Clubhouse It's official: Calipari leaves Sixers for Memphis
RECAPS Boston 104 Chicago 74
New York 82
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