76ers Hold Knicks to Historically Low Score
On Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers traveled up to the Big Apple, where they faced off against the New York Knicks for the first of a two-game set.
While both teams were set to be without several of their key players, as the Sixers went into the match without Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and De'Anthony Melton, while the Knicks would be without Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and OG Annouby, it was still set to be a regular game.
Both teams have been dealing with the absences of their stars for some time now, and it would seem that their offensive performances haven't plummeted too far down as both sides still remain in the top ten for Offensive Rating, but this wasn't the case on Sunday night.
While both teams averaged roughly 28 points in the first quarter alone throughout this season, their performance in the opening minutes of Sunday's match would defy that, as neither side broke the 20-point threshold as they would go into the second quarter tied at 15 points.
While Philadelphia would break this deadlock in the second quarter, as they started to heat up from the field, putting up 22 points on 40 percent shooting, the same couldn't be said for the Knicks, as they only managed to score another 16 points.
Granted the third quarter would see both sides rise back up to their usual numbers, with both teams scoring a minimum of 25 points, the fourth would see them sink back to where they were at the start of the night.
Despite their struggles on the offensive end late in the game, which includes five misses from the free throw line in the final half, the Sixers would squeak by with a 79-73 win over their division rivals.
The 73 points that the Sixers held the Knicks to would be the lowest final score since the 2015 season when Philadelphia limited the Milwaukee Bucks to only 69 points.
While Tom Thibodeau's men struggled from the field, finishing the night on 32 percent shooting, Nick Nurse's side had themselves a night in the defensive end, blocking five shots, recording five steals, and securing 33 defensive rebounds.
