NEW YORK — When a miserable first quarter ended and they were down to 15 points, the Philadelphia 76ers felt good about where they were.
The New York Knicks have been just as bad.
The 76ers maintained good defense and ultimately played a little better offensively, holding the Knicks to the lowest point total in the NBA this season and winning 79-73 Sunday night in the ugly first game of a series of two matches.
Kelly Oubre Jr. had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the 76ers, who missed their first nine 3-point attempts before making one in the final minute of the first quarter, which ended in a tie. 15.
“Any defensive coach would take that quarter,” swingman Buddy Hield said. “Offensively, no, but we have some great possessions…and we found a way to weather the storm and we played when we needed to.”
Less than two months after Joel Embiid scored 70 points on his own to set a 76ers franchise record, it appeared for a while that neither team would be able to get that many on Sunday.
Philadelphia led 37-31 at halftime, the lowest-scoring first half in an NBA game since Portland led Detroit 34-31 on March 30, 2019, in a game the Pistons won 99- 90.
The scoring picked up in the second half, when the 76ers finally got enough contributions to end a three-game losing streak. Hield had 16 points and Paul Reed added 13.
Tobias Harris finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds for the 76ers, who had been handled by the Knicks in the previous two meetings this season but can now split the series with a victory when the teams meet Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
With Embiid still recovering from knee surgery and fellow All-Star Tyrese Maxey missing his fourth straight game with a concussion, the 76ers are without more than 60 points per game in their lineup.
They didn’t need the extra offense on a night when the Knicks shot 32.5 percent from the field and 22.5 percent from 3-point range. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 19 points but shot just 6 of 22.
“We were throwing a lot of people at him and he had to work really hard to get into the paint, and we weren’t letting him get there as often,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said.
New York is also missing injured All-Star Julius Randle, as well as fellow frontcourt starters OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson. The Knicks turned to their defense to beat Orlando on Friday night, allowing what had been an NBA season-low 74 points.
It only lasted two nights, with the Knicks committing 21 turnovers that led to 17 Philadelphia points.
“Obviously we didn’t shoot the ball well. The turnovers have been bad, I think I had six or seven myself, but you just have to try to eliminate them,” Knicks forward Josh Hart said. “We have them again on Tuesday and try to go out and play better.”
Hield and Reed combined for Philadelphia’s first 12 points of the fourth quarter, with Reed’s 3-point basket with 3:32 remaining giving the 76ers the only double-digit lead of the game at 73-63.
There were a few jostles during the period. Oubre fouled Donte DiVincenzo, who was trying to get up while Oubre was still standing over him. DiVincenzo wrapped Oubre’s legs and threw him over the baseline, with Isaiah Hartenstein pushing Oubre. The Knicks and Reed committed technical fouls.
Cam Payne’s 3-pointer ended Philadelphia’s 0-for-9 start and began a 10-0 run — although the points came so slowly that it may be inappropriate to call it a run — which gave Philadelphia a 20-15 advantage early in the second.
The Knicks will leave on a four-game trip out West after Tuesday’s game and coach Tom Thibodeau said he expects his injured players to travel with the team, adding that he hopes ‘Anunoby would be allowed to play.
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