Evan Fournier #13 reacts with Kemba Walker #8 of the New York Knicks during the first half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on October 26, 2021 in New York City. Sarah Stier/Getty Images/AFP
Kemba Walker scored 10 of his team-high 19 points in a decisive second quarter run Tuesday night for the host New York Knicks, who snapped a 15-game losing streak against the Philadelphia 76ers with a 112-99 victory.
Walker was scoreless until he became the only Knicks player with multiple baskets during a 25-8 run that ended the first half. The sharp-shooting New York City native scored his other nine points on a trio of third-period 3-pointers in the midst of a 24-14 run that gave New York a 27-point lead.
Julius Randle (16 points, 11 rebounds) had a double-double while Evan Fournier scored 18 points for the Knicks, who beat the 76ers for the first time since April 12, 2017. Derrick Rose scored 13 points off the bench and RJ Barrett finished with 10 points as New York improved to 3-1 — its best record through four games since the 2012-13 squad opened 6-0.
🔥 @KembaWalker (19 PTS, 5 AST, 5 3PM, 2 STL) powers the @nyknicks to a 3-1 record! pic.twitter.com/1CPZp7NJNZ
— NBA (@NBA) October 27, 2021
Tobias Harris scored a game-high 23 points for the 76ers. Joel Embiid had 14 points, Georges Niang had 13 points off the bench and Danny Green added 12 points.
Embiid scored five points during a 19-8 run that gave the 76ers a 22-16 lead with 2:26 left in the first period. The Knicks pulled within 26-23 at the end of the quarter and scored 10 of the first 14 points in the second quarter. A trio of free throws by Immanuel Quickley gave New York the lead for good at 33-30.
The 76ers twice pulled within three points before the Knicks’ decisive run, during which Philadelphia was just 2 of 11 from the field with five turnovers. Walker scored his 10 points in a span of 2:24, a stretch interrupted only by a pair of free throws by Embiid.
The 76ers mounted a bit of a run at the end of the third quarter, when Harris scored seven points in a 16-7 surge that cut the Knicks’ lead to 90-72. Philadelphia got no closer than 13 from there.