NEW YORK – Well, at least one Sixer will remember this night.
Monday will go down in the books as just another loss for the Sixers, a 123-110 defeat at the hands of the New York Knicks (see Instant Replay). The loss is the team’s 17th in a row and creeping up on the franchise-worst mark of 20 straight.
But rookie Michael Carter-Williams recorded his second triple-double in the game with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists at Madison Square Garden. Carter-Williams is the only rookie in Sixers history to have multiple triple-doubles in his first season in the league.
“People are going to see the numbers and the numbers are the numbers,” Brett Brown said of Carter-Williams. “But he is just continuing to grow leadership-wise. You look over and see him making a team huddle. He is a voice in timeouts, he is a voice in the locker room.
“I see a point guard that is starting to figure some stuff out. These stats may say that he played well, but I see something a little bit deeper.”
Carter-Williams will remember the performance, but the point guard will quickly try to put the Sixers’ latest loss out of his memory.
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“I am trying not to think about it,” Carter-Williams said. “We lose, it is on to the next game. I can’t dwell on us losing 17 in a row. That does nothing for me, the team, the coaching staff, nobody. We are going to stay focused as a team and focus on getting a win.”
The Sixers were in position to get that elusive win on Monday night. They trailed 91-85 entering the fourth quarter before allowing the Knicks to go on a 19-4 run to put the game out of reach.
Staying competitive for most of the game and then fading down the stretch has been a common theme during the Sixers’ mounting losses, the last nine of which have come by double digits.
“It seems like every game we compete for the most part and then the other team comes up with a couple plays that decide the game,” James Anderson said. “They got some bounces. They hit a couple threes that got the crowd into it and a couple dunks. There were a couple bad things down the stretch that hurt us.”
Anderson was one of five Sixers who scored in double figures with 17 points. The Sixers shot 51.2 percent from the floor as a team.
However, they let Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith, Amar’e Stoudemire and rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. score at least 20 points. Hardaway was particularly impressive, making 5 of 7 three-pointers for a game-high 28 points.
As a team, the Knicks shot 54.3 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from three-point range. That hot shooting led New York to its fourth straight win, as the club inches closer to the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
“They really have an opportunity. They have a lot of firepower and we saw that tonight,” Brown said. “Tim Hardaway is a player. He is far more than just a shooter. Carmelo is Carmelo and Amar’e is 9 for 10, so you are looking around the gym trying to pick your poison and put your finger in what hole.”
The Sixers return to the Wells Fargo Center for a three-game homestand starting on Wednesday when they host the Sacramento Kings.