Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Elton Brand poured in game-highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers in a 116-87 rout of the New York Knicks at the Wachovia Center.
Andre Miller had 20 points, eight assists and seven boards for the Sixers, who bounced back from a 95-84 drubbing at the hands of the Raptors in their season-opener on Wednesday. Willie Green and Lou Williams scored 18 and 15, respectively, off the bench while Thaddeus Young had 13 points in the win.
David Lee dropped in 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who faltered following a 120-115 victory over Miami Wednesday in their opener. Jamal Crawford had 14 points in defeat, while Nate Robinson and Zach Randolph each dropped 12 points.
The Sixers jumped out to a 31-24 lead after the first quarter and with a six- point lead late in the second quarter, Brand's layup sparked an 8-2 run which closed out the half. A Miller-to-Samuel Dalembert alley-oop reverse dunk closed out the surge and sent the 76ers into the break leading 60-48.
New York's deficit hovered around 10 points for the majority of the third frame, until a Young layup made it 75-61 with 6 1/2 minutes to go in the stanza.
Crawford intervened with a three-pointer, but Dalembert drove for a layup and Miller scored the next seven points to increase the home team's advantage to 20 points about two minutes later.
Philadelphia was sitting on a 91-72 lead as the third quarter came to a close and a Kareem Rush jumper with 6:06 left in the game gave the 76ers their biggest lead of the night, 105-75. Philadelphia was never seriously threatened and cruised the rest of the way.
