Elton Brand had 24 points and 14 rebounds and Andre Miller added 20 points and eight assists to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 116-87 win over the New York Knicks on Friday night.
Willie Green added 18 points on 8-for-9 shooting for Philadelphia (1-1), which shot 59.1 percent (52-for-88) from the field and led all the way. Lou Williams added 15 points and Thaddeus Young had 13 for the 76ers.
Jamal Crawford led five Knicks in double figures with 14 points. David Lee added 13 points and 11 rebounds for New York (1-1), which trailed by 30 points in the fourth quarter and never got closer than seven in the second half when it was 64-57 with 8:41 left in the third quarter.
The Knicks played without former All-Star Stephon Marbury, who was deactivated prior to the game.
Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni and Marbury met Friday and Marbury asked the coach if he was going to play. When told he would not be seeing action, Marbury reportedly requested he be put on the inactive list and D’Antoni and the guard mutually agreed to take that action for Friday’s game.
The Knicks, sporting a new up-tempo offensive look this season under D’Antoni, likely could’ve used Marbury’s scoring. They scored just 15 points in the fourth quarter and generally looked out of sorts offensively for most of the game.
Philadelphia took control in the third quarter when Miller displayed his passing and scoring skills. The guard capped an 18-7 Philadelphia run with an 8-foot jumper that helped the Sixers take an 84-64 lead with 4:18 left in the period. Earlier in the run, Miller had back-to-back assists on fast-break layups by Samuel Dalembert and Brand.
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Wilson Chandler and Lee had three points apiece during an 8-2 spurt that cut the Sixers’ lead to 86-72 with 1:48 left. But Miller made a layup and Green hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1.3 seconds left to increase Philadelphia’s lead to 91-72 after three quarters.
Miller made six of seven shots and had 13 points in the third.
Brand scored 18 points, making 9 of 14 shots, as the 76ers took a 60-48 lead at halftime. Philadelphia made 27 of 47 field goals (57.4 percent) in the first half. The half was highlighted by a fast-break, behind-the-back pass from Williams to Andre Iguodala, who slammed it home to give Philadelphia a 35-29 lead with 9:24 left in the second quarter.
Notes:
Knicks forward Eddy Curry did not play for the second straight game. … Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins attended Friday’s game. … The Sixers said they sold 2,000 tickets for $10 during a promotion for fans wearing Phillies gear.
