NEW YORK — — Josh Hart had 20 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists in his fourth triple-double of the season, OG Anunoby scored 14 points in his return from an 18-game absence and the New York Knicks York beat the Philadelphia 76ers 106.-79 on Tuesday night.
Jalen Brunson added 20 points and nine assists for the Knicks, who finally got one of their injured starters back and looked nothing like the team that was held to an NBA season-low 73 points in a loss against the 76ers on Sunday.
“I think we played to our strengths,” Hart said. “I think we played faster. We took care of the ball. We rebounded the ball. We cut, we moved, we made good shots.
Anunoby had not played since Jan. 27 due to a right elbow injury that required surgery. New York is still playing without All-Star Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson due to injuries, but has held its opponent under 80 points in three straight games for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
The Knicks improved to 13-2 in games Anunoby played in after acquiring him from Toronto in a December 30 trade.
The Madison Square Garden crowd greeted him with a rapturous ovation after he was introduced with the starting lineup and Anunoby drew louder cheers when he threw down a thunderous dunk after stealing the ball from Buddy Hield at the end of the third quarter.
“It was great. It’s been a while,” Anunoby said. “I missed playing here, I missed the fans, I missed my teammates.”
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 19 points and Tyrese Maxey had 17 after missing the previous four games with a concussion.
“I felt pretty good. I was definitely tired when I first came out, because of my wind,” said Maxey, who played 27 minutes. “It’s a little difficult because you can’t do a lot of things while you are in the protocol. But overall everything went well.
The 76ers beat the Knicks 79-73 on Sunday in a game that had the lowest combined score in the NBA this season.
This time, the Knicks shot 50.6% from the field and 35% from long range after shooting 32.5% from the field and 22.5% from 3-point range.
Philadelphia, still without NBA scoring leader Joel Embiid, continued to struggle offensively. The 76ers shot 37.5% from the field and 24.2% from beyond the 3-point line. On Sunday, the 76ers shot 38.8% from the field and 30% from long range.
Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse was upset with his team’s effort to start the game and called his first timeout after the 76ers fell behind 6-0 with 10:21 left in the first quarter .
The 76ers were held to 14 points in the first quarter on Tuesday after scoring 15 on Sunday.
“Their speed, they were moving faster than us,” Nurse said. “Their physicality, I thought on the ball, made a big difference on both sides.”
New York had an 18-point lead to start the third quarter before the Sixers went on a 9-2 spurt and made it 61-51 on Maxey’s 3-pointer that forced a timeout of the Knicks with 8:33 left in the quarter.
The Knicks responded with a 15-2 run capped by Donte DiVincenzo’s 3 with 4:34 left in the period to extend the lead 79-53.
Philadelphia shot just 1 of 6 and turned the ball over twice during that stretch.
FOLLOWING
76ers: Wrap up their three-game road trip at Milwaukee on Thursday.
Knicks: Visit Portland on Thursday for the start of a four-game road trip.
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