The Philadelphia 76ers (36-28) faced the New York Knicks (37-27) at the start of a brief road trip. The two division rivals combined forces to turn the locks back to the early 2000s, duking it out in a wildly low-scoring game. The Sixers won 79-73.

Let’s break down a Sixers-Knicks game straight out of the era of hand-checking and limited three-point shooting.

76ers player notes:

Tobias Harris: 11 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 5-14 FG shooting

Harris received some major praise from Tom Thibodeau ahead of the game. He had a lot of record-scratch moments and brutal turnovers but also managed to hit some shots, which proved pivotal in a game like this. Although he could have easily faded away into the background of most games where he played like this, the level of this game was so low that Harris was able to rise above.

Kelly Oubre Jr.: 18 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 6-19 FG shooting

Once again, Oubre simply having an unshakable desire to attack the hoop remarkably benefitted the 76ers on a night where consistently good offense felt like another galaxy away. Through all his bad shots, of which there were plenty, his movement and aggression created openings and he was a beast on the boards. He also spent a lot of time guarding Brunson while notching his second double-double of the season.

Buddy Hield: 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 6-9 FG shooting

Hield was moved to the bench in this game but it worked. He shot the ball super well, giving the 76ers something they could latch their offense to. It was as if the throwback funk for this game couldn’t reach a player who shoots with such modern volume and efficiency.

Knicks player notes:

Jalen Brunson: 19 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 6-22 FG shooting

The 76ers sold out hard to stop Brunson and did so in the first half, where he shot 2-9 and missed his first five shots. For as tough as it was for any defender to stay in front of him, Philly cut his ensuing space off. It was not an easy task but the Sixers managed to keep the head of the snake in check.

Game recap:

“We've already played this team twice and they've just ran us and pushed us right off the floor twice,” Nick Nurse said before the game. The Knicks indeed stomped the Sixers out in their two meetings this season, winning by a combined 50 points in their two games at the Wells Fargo Center this season. With Joel Embiid still out and Tyrese Maxey still in concussion protocol, Philly looked like it would fare just as badly, if not worse, at Madison Square Garden.

Nico Batum returned to action for the 76ers and Cam Payne started in Hield's place to make it four starting lineups in as many games.

1st half

Kelly Oubre Jr. started off guarding Brunson while Precious Achiuwa started off on Harris. Achiuwa's size made Harris more wary of taking it to the rim, other than on a slam after he secured an offensive board. The Knicks picked their poison on offense with Brunson — posting him up against the smaller Payne and running him off a handoff against the slower Kyle Lowry — while the Sixers tried moving the ball around and hunting for kick-out passes.

Hield and Nico Batum were the 76ers' first subs. Mo Bamba dunked on Achiuwa, showing up his fellow big man who grew up in New York City — Kate Scott had a great call for that one — as both teams struggled to make the good looks they were able to generate. Left and right, shots near and far clanked off the rim. The Knicks committed seven turnovers and the Sixers shot 1-10 from deep. The score after 12 minutes of play: 15-15.

The Sixers were prone to getting beat off the dribble but they played the passing lanes quite well. They also paid a good mind to boxing out on defense, which was not easy against a Knicks team with so many rebound hounds. Batum ended a New York possession with three offensive rebounds by picking off a Josh Hart pass and assisting Hield on a fast-break layup. He tossed an outlet pass over his head that Hield couldn’t immediately take care of but the Sixers ended up scoring on the possession.

Rebounding soon became a huge problem for the 76ers, unable to keep the Knicks' bigs off the glass. Oubre salvaged one possession by forcing yet another turnover and taking it the other way. Brunson, faced with physicality at every turn, turned to dribble handoffs in a flash, putting the Sixers in difficult spots as he started to hit some shots.

Harris coughing the ball up hurt the Sixers' chances of increasing their lead. Donte DiVincenzo poked the ball away from behind and finished with a slam on the other end. Lowry made the pass but helped make up for it by taking a charge on Brunson on one of the last possessions of the half.

At the half, the 76ers led 37-31. The Knicks had more turnovers (14) than field goals (12) and both teams shot in the low-30-percent range from the field and low 20s from deep.

2nd half

Oubre's off-ball movement opened up shots for the offense, though it still remained frozen in the 1990s. The Knicks kept at it, expertly driving along the baseline to pull the defense in when Brunson got a step. That movement opened up shots around the perimeter. But they weren’t falling. They managed to cut the deficit to one point multiple times, trying with all their might to lug themselves over the hump.

DiVincenzo cut across the baseline off of a Brunson drive to tie the game with a reverse layup. The 76ers had started leaving Hart open on the perimeter, gunking up the Knicks' spacing. With less than four minutes left in the game, both teams had made it to 50 points. The sides exchanged buckets, two of which were triples from Hield. Seven combined field goals made in eight shots led to Philly pushing its lead up to seven.

The 76ers let Harris cook in the post and he rewarded the freedom to do his thing by canning a pair of tough shots, a turnaround jumper and a runner across the paint going to his left. Meanwhile, Hart's awful night ensued when he opted not to shoot an open three and instead shot a step-back that missed. On top of being the Knicks' worst offender in turnovers, he halted whatever offensive flow they could muster up. A multi-possession Philly lead felt like double digits.

Unfortunately for the 76ers, Hield went back to the locker room in the fourth quarter. Things got testy in the fourth quarter when DiVincenzo and Oubre were tied up down low. DiVincenzo was hit in the face and then held onto Oubre's leg, bringing him to the ground as both teams barked at one another. DiVincenzo, Isaiah Hartenstein and Paul Reed were T'd up. Reed then hit a corner triple to put Philly up by double digits.

Hield eventually returned from the locker room (heading to the bench) as the 76ers tried to close things out. Hart made the 76ers pay for abandoning him with a triple before Lowry answered with one of his own. Another bucket from Hart made it a five-point game as the game reached its final minute. More chaos kept the score intact with 15 seconds left until Harris added a free throw after an intentional foul before the final buzzer.

Assorted observations:

  • I'm a fan of this alternate Knicks kit, even if the double “New York” looks kinda off. Making it two light colors was not the right choice, in my opinion.
  • DiVincenzo did get smacked in the face but it's crazy that he wasn’t ejected after basically tackling someone. But then again, he has gotten away with tackling an opposing player before.

The 76ers will face the Knicks in Madison Square Garden again on Tuesday.