New York Knicks’ Raymond Felton (2) drives past Philadelphia 76ers’ Michael Carter-Williams (1) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014, in New York. AP
NEW YORK — Evan Turner scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 110-106 victory over New York on Wednesday night that snapped a three-game skid and sent the Knicks to a fifth straight loss.
Michael Carter-Williams and Thaddeus Young each added 19 points for the 76ers, who won for just the second time in nine games. James Anderson finished with 18 points.
Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points after a slow start for the Knicks, who were at least competitive after losing the previous four by a combined 75 points.
They are 0-3 on their eight-game homestand that matches a franchise record and comes during what coach Mike Woodson said was pivotal to their season. But it’s not helping the Knicks at all, as they started their second half with another loss after going 15-26 through the midpoint of their schedule.
With that in mind, 76ers coach Brett Brown said he expected to see an “angry team” that wanted to fix things. Instead, the Knicks started slowly and finished poorly.
After trailing most of the game, the Knicks ran off 10 straight points to open the fourth quarter and take a 90-84 lead on Tim Hardaway Jr.’s three-point play. Philadelphia then held New York without a basket for more than 5 minutes and moved back into the lead at 96-92 on consecutive 3-poiners by Carter-Williams and Turner.
J.R. Smith ended the Knicks’ drought with a 3-pointer, but baskets by Young and Anderson pushed it to 100-95. New York had one last chance when it got within two, but Young made a wide-open 3-pointer and Turner followed with a basket for a 107-100 cushion that sent fans for the exits.
Andrea Bargnani scored 20 points for the Knicks in his return to the starting lineup after coming off the bench Monday in a loss to Brooklyn. Woodson made the change, wanting to return to the bigger lineup similar to the one that beat the 76ers in the last meeting. But the Knicks also had Amare Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin for that game, and both are out now with sprained left ankles.
The loss to the Nets was a tumultuous holiday for the Knicks, as their blowout loss was followed by quotes from Anthony that seemed critical of his teammates’ effort and Chandler that appeared to question coach Mike Woodson’s defensive strategy.
They probably didn’t feel much better after this one, losing to a team they had defeated eight of the previous 10 times.
Anthony missed all four shots and had just one point in the first quarter while the 76ers hit 56 percent for a 33-26 lead. He came back with 13 in the second, helping the Knicks pull to 61-56 at halftime.