Oh, to be young and athletic.
Nerlens Noel shook off a right foot contusion to set a new career high with 23 points in the Sixers' 97-81 win over the New York Knicks on Friday night. Noel also added 14 rebounds, five steals and three blocks to help the Sixers record the victory. He has now scored in double figures in 16 of the last 20 games.
The Sixers are 17-52 this season, while the Knicks have the worst record in the NBA at 14-55.
Turning point
The Sixers led by six points at halftime. In the third quarter, they pushed that margin to 15 points.
The Sixers shot just 38.9 percent during the third, but they remained aggressive. The Sixers made 9 of 11 free throw attempts in the quarter, while the Knicks were just 2 of 4 in that span from the charity stripe.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Sixers were up 14 points.
Follow the leader
It was simply Noel's night. He became the first Sixers rookie to ever produce at least 23 rebounds, 14 rebounds, five steals and three blocks. Charles Barkley was the last Sixer to have such a game back in 1990.
Former Sixer Alexey Shved had a career-high 25 points. He was 8 for 14 from the floor, including 7for 8 from three-point range.
Andrea Bargnani added 17 points for the Knicks and Shane Larkin had 13.
Stat-egic
The Sixers held New York to 36.2 percent shooting. They forced them into 20 turnovers and scored 29 points off those errors. Plus, they outrebounded the Knicks, 49-37.
Take a bow
Ish Smith made his third start with the Sixers, and he did his best to find Nerlens Noel early and often. Smith finished with 15 points and nine assists. He did commit four turnovers but he also had four rebounds.
Furkan Aldemir tied his career high with four points, but he had nine rebounds playing 16 minutes
What's next?
The Sixers head west for three games, beginning against the Lakers Sunday. The Lakers are 1-9 in their last 10 games and have the fourth-worst record in the NBA with 17 wins on the season.
Sunday will mark the first of two meetings between the Sixers and Lakers this season. Those two games could potentially have a major impact on both teams, as the Sixers hold the Lakers top-five protected pick in the summer's NBA draft.