Sixers' Star Trio Shines in Another Dominant Win Over Knicks

On Wednesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers looked to keep their post-All-Star break hot streak alive. Last Friday, the Sixers rolled out their star trio of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and the newly acquired James Harden against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

After picking up a dominant victory in Minnesota, the Sixers hit the road to New York to face the Knicks. Although New York put up a good fight in the second half during an attempted comeback, the Sixers picked up a comfortable win over the Knicks to make it two-straight coming out of the break.

Philly got the next two days off before returning to the court on Wednesday night. Once again, the Sixers were set to face the Knicks, but it was in their territory this time. While Harden already made his Sixers debut late last week, the superstar guard was set to make his home debut with the 76ers on Wednesday.

James Harden takes the court at the Wells Fargo Center for his first warmup as a member of the #Sixers pic.twitter.com/ch3FZ2VrA7
— Justin Grasso (@JGrasso_) March 2, 2022

And Harden’s homecoming didn’t disappoint. At first, the Sixers looked off. In the first quarter of action, they turned the ball over four times and were outscored 33-25. Harden and Embiid kept the Sixers alive with their 13 combined points, but Philadelphia’s bench disappointed with zero points between four players.

When the second quarter rolled around, the Knicks kept their momentum going, but Harden started to take over. In a little under ten minutes of action, Harden went 5-6 from the field and 2-2 from the charity stripe, totaling for 13 points. After outscoring the Knicks by one point, the Sixers kept the game within single digits as they trailed 62-55 at the half.

Unlike Sunday afternoon’s game, the Sixers played dominant in the third quarter. Instead of letting the Knicks continue building on their lead, the Sixers came alive and brought high-energy in the third, as the second-year guard Tyrese Maxey fired off 11 points in 10 minutes.

Thanks to a combined 21 points between Maxey and Embiid, along with a pair of threes from Georges Niang, the Sixers put up 38 points and held the Knicks to just 19 in the third quarter. Once the Sixers got out ahead, they never lost their momentum.

Maxey put up another ten points in his final eight minutes on the floor. He finished the game with 25 points in 35 minutes, tying James Harden in scoring. Meanwhile, Harden was one rebound and one assist shy of notching his second-straight triple-double.

As for Embiid, he led Philadelphia in scoring, to no surprise. With 15 field goal attempts and 13 shots from the free-throw line, Embiid collected 27 points in 34 minutes. The Sixers’ star trio of Harden, Maxey, and Embiid combined for 78 of Philadelphia’s 123 points. For the second-straight game, the Sixers defeated the Knicks by double-digits as they advanced to 38-23 on the year.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.