Tobias Harris on Thursday finished with 34 points to lift the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers over the visiting New York Knicks 115-106.
Al Horford had 15 points and nine assists and Shake Milton scored 19 points, as the 76ers improved to a league-best 28-2 at home.
“Just taking the opportunities that were presented,” said Harris, who added seven rebounds and seven assists. “We had a good pop to our offence.”
Photo: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY
Milton hit all five of his three-point attempts, while Horford hit all four from beyond the arc for the 76ers, who played without injured all-stars Joel Embiid (shoulder) and Ben Simmons (back).
Embiid has been diagnosed with a strained left shoulder and is to be evaluated again before the end of the week.
“We’re missing two All-Stars,” coach Brett Brown said. “You yank that from the team and it’s painful.”
The 76ers swept the four-game season series from the Knicks.
Julius Randle paced the Knicks with 30 points and 10 rebounds, while Maurice Harkless scored 17 points, RJ Barrett added 15, and Elfrid Payton had 18 points and 12 assists for the Knicks, who have lost six in a row.
Josh Richardson appeared to make a three-pointer at the end of the third quarter, but the officials ruled that he did not get the shot off before the buzzer and the score remained 87-79.
Horford hit a pair of three-pointers early in the fourth quarter for a 100-85 76ers advantage with 8 minutes, 34 seconds to go.
The Knicks battled back to within 107-102 with just over 2 minutes left after Randle hit a free throw.
Harris answered with a key three-pointer, and the lead moved back to eight.
Elsewhere, Anthony Davis scored 23 points and Rajon Rondo had 12 as the Los Angeles Lakers routed the Golden State Warriors 116-86.
The Lakers won their seventh straight game, despite giving LeBron James the night off.
Rookie Eric Paschall had 23 points for Golden State. They lost Draymond Green, who was ejected from the game in the second quarter after two technical fouls.
The Warriors were also without Andrew Wiggins, who has a back problem.
The loss was Golden State’s eighth straight overall and eighth in a row at home.
Also, Domantas Sabonis overcame early foul trouble to collect 20 points and 11 rebounds, as the Indiana Pacers registered a 106-100 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Indianapolis.
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