Arron Afflalo had 22 points and seven rebounds, Derrick Williams scored 17 off the bench and the Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 107-97 Friday night for their third win in a row.
Jahlil Okafor scored 20 points for the Sixers in their ninth straight loss. They fell to 1-27.
Kristaps Porzingis added eight points, four rebounds and three blocks for the Knicks in his first matchup against Okafor, a fellow top rookie. Okafor missed Philadelphia's first meeting vs. New York on Dec. 2 because of a suspension.
Okafor was chosen third overall in this year's NBA draft and Porzingis was picked next. They both got huge cheers whenever they touched the ball.
It was the second straight game Porzingis faced off against another top rookie. The 7-foot-3 Porzingis blocked seven shots in a 107-102 win over Minnesota and No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns on Wednesday.
Porzingis had less of an impact against the Sixers but got plenty of help from his teammates. Carmelo Anthony had all 16 points in the first half before sitting out the entire fourth quarter.
Lance Thomas added 12 points and Kyle O'Quinn 10 for the Knicks.
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Tony Wroten had 15 for the Sixers. Nerlens Noel, back in the lineup after missing two games with a left eye abrasion, got eight points on 4-for-4 shooting.
Led by Afflalo, who shot 9 for 13, the Knicks made 47.1 percent of their shots.
An alley-oop from Langston Galloway to Williams gave the Knicks a 46-30 lead with 7:39 to go in the second quarter. A 3-pointer by Afflalo put them up by 20 four minutes before halftime.
The Knicks built their lead to 30 in the second half. The Sixers closed the game on 29-9 run.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Galloway, who played his college ball at nearby Saint Joseph's, was held scoreless in the first half but finished with seven points. ... The Knicks attempted 20 free throws in the first half, making 16 of them. ... The Knicks had lost their most recent game in Philly, falling to the Sixers last March, 97-81.
76ers: Mike D'Antoni, hired earlier in the day as an associate coach, was not in the building. He'll join the team during its West Coast trip from Dec. 26 to Jan. 2. ... Before the game, the Sixers announced they assigned to rookie forward Christian Wood to the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League. ... JaKarr Sampson dislocated his right pinky in the second quarter but returned late in the third quarter. ... The Sixers shot 4 for 22 from 3-point range. ... The Sixers found an interesting way to score at the end of the first quarter when Jerami Grant tried to beat the buzzer with a heave from beyond halfcourt. Teammate T.J. McConnell followed the flight of the ball, got the rebound off the backboard and scored just before time expired.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Host Chicago on Saturday.
76ers: Visit Cleveland on Sunday.
