New York Knicks fans were hit with another reason to panic Sunday as the team endured its fifth straight loss, this time against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Knicks looked to be rolling early, but by the midway point, things were spiraling out of control. The team gave up 38 points in the 3rd quarter while contributing only 24 of its own.
Newly-minted starter Evan Turner (24 points, 15 rebounds), All-Star Andre Iguadola (19 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds) and reserve Lou Williams (28 points) proved too dominant for the Knicks, and that dominance assisted in a 106-94 victory for the visiting Sixers.
While Carmelo Anthony’s performance looks impressive on a stat sheet–22 points and 9 rebounds–he cooled off as the game went on, shooting a total of just 5-13 with a staggering +/- of -16. Anthony, along with non-factor Amare Stoudemire, was actually held out of the game as a unit consisting of Jeremy Lin, Landry Fields, JR Smith, Steve Novak and Tyson Chandler attempted a comeback.
Lin, who has definitely fallen back to Earth in the weeks since “Linsanity” broke out, put up 14 points and 7 assists but turned the ball over six times. A returning Chandler put up eight points and twelve rebounds in a team-high 38 minutes.
The Knicks, now just 18-23, move onto the Chicago Bulls Monday. The Sixers play the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.