NEW YORK - Joel Embiid and James Harden were greeted with a loud roar from the many Philadelphia fans who packed Madison Square Garden.
Cheers later groaned as one foul after another threatened to leave the matinee until late in the afternoon.
Embiid didn't care how it looked to the audience. What matters is how his partnership with Harden looks to him.
"Unstable," he said.
Embiid scored 37 points and made a career and NBA season-high 23 free throws, Harden had 29 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds, and the 76ers beat the New York Knicks 125–109 to make it two straight wins with his new pair. Of. Sunday.
The 76ers made 39 free throws, most of which were in the NBA this season, and almost all of their work came from the line to open a close game in the middle of the fourth quarter. Embiid scored 23 off 27 free throws and the NBA's leading scorer added nine rebounds.
It was the start of the home and home series, with Wednesday's game being Harden's first in front of his home fans.
"Tonight felt like we were in Philly," Harden said. "But that crowd, it's going to be there (above) and I'm up for it."
After a powerful performance in Harden's 76ers debut Friday in a 133-102 win over Minnesota, it turned out to be a grind-it-out game that the 76ers handled better. It was tied at 100 in the fourth, but Philadelphia pulled back 10 of their next 12 to line up. Embiid made six free throws, Harden four, and the only basket of 76ers during that stretch came when Harden fed Embiid on the fast break.
Once Embiid fouled both opposing centers and the Knicks were forced to play short, the 76ers put Harden and Embiid into a pick-and-roll.
"So now you're rolling the big guy down the middle and it's really hard to come in for help and that's when we rolled him and got all those fouls," said 76ers coach Doc Rivers.
Harden added five steals and had the best of his season in assists.
RJ Barrett and Evan Fournier scored 24 points for the Knicks, who have lost five in a row and nine out of 10. Julius Randall had 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Embiid scored 34 points and Harden made 27 points and 12 assists in Friday's All-Star guard first game as the 76ers defeated Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two future first-round picks for a 10-time All-Star. Starr and Paul Milsap. In a Feb 10 trade.
Harden and Embiid combined scored Philadelphia's first 11 points. Harden scored a 3-pointer that gave the Sixers a back-to-back 38-35 lead.
But the pace slowed towards the end, with Rivers looking at all the fouls and saying to himself: "This game is going to be a while."
The teams together committed 50 fouls. Philadelphia finished 39 for 44 on the line and New York scored 22 for 35.
"He shot 40—whatever it was, a ton of free throws, and we shot a lot," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. "So there was no flow in the game, so that gives you some pain."
Tip-ins
76ers: Rivers said he wasn't concerned about Tobias Harris as just 2 for 9 for six points against Minnesota, while several other Sixers had big nights. "He had great shots," Rivers said. "Listen, we're in the business of winning. We're not trying to keep everyone happy, because if that's true we're making losses." Harris was 3 to 9 Sunday.
Knicks: Thibodeau said he cannot yet say whether Derrick Rose will be able to play next month. Rose had a procedure on Friday for a skin infection on her surgically corrected right ankle, which sidelined her for two months. "You just have to let him go through it and be patient with it," Thibodeau said. ... Rookie Jericho Sims was again joined as backup center for Mitchell Robinson, both of whom were dismissed early in the fourth. Veteran Nerlens Noel did not play as he struggled with foot problems. Thibodeau said the Knicks would rotate their centers.
Doctor at Drummond
Rivers has kept in touch with Drummond, saying that he has known Kendra since he was in high school. Most of the texts are satirical, such as the one he sent after seeing Drummond being thrown out of bounds behind-the-scenes. Drummond had 17 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in the Nets' win in Milwaukee and appears to have played a big part in Brooklyn.
"He's playing well, man," Rivers said. "I'm happy for him because last year, the last few years he struggled and he came over to us and I thought we were really getting his motor running again. Now you see him, he's still So really happy for him."
Next
The 76ers will attempt to split the four-match season series on Wednesday.