Knicks' rare lineup pairing sparks much-needed win over 76ers

PHILADELPHIA — Desperate times called for desperate measures, and Tom Thibodeau certainly coached that way. 

Thibodeau shook up the Knicks’ starting lineup. He went small. He even gave the Julius Randle-Obi Toppin pairing a long look. 

The result was a much-needed victory over the 76ers, a rally from 12 points down in the final quarter engineered by Toppin and Randle. Toppin, finally given extended minutes, hit the go-ahead 3-pointer on a Randle dish with 1:25 left, and the Knicks snapped a three-game losing streak against the short-handed Sixers, 106-104, at Wells Fargo Center. 

Joel Embiid was out with the flu and the 76ers were playing without a true center, so Thibodeau went to Randle and Toppin together. They duo helped the Knicks rally after a shoddy performance up until that point. Thibodeau was backed into a corner, his team was struggling and Mitchell Robinson was out with a sore right knee he suffered in the second quarter. 

Obi Toppin, right, celebrates with Julius Randle.

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The scuffling Knicks (4-4) were down by 12 and 10:36 remained when Thibodeau inserted Randle into the game and kept Toppin on the floor. The Knicks proceeded to outscore the 76ers by 16 over the next 10 minutes, capped by a Jalen Brunson three-point play with 1:05 left that gave the Knicks a four-point lead. 

Toppin scored 10 points in that stretch, and finished with 17 for the game. Brunson scored a team-high 23 points and added seven assists, while RJ Barrett had 22 points and nine rebounds. Randle added 10 rebounds, five assists and six turnovers — though none in the fourth quarter — and he hit four clutch free throws in the final 24.1 seconds. 

Tyrese Maxey celebrates during the 76ers’ loss to the Knicks.

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Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers (4-6), who were also without James Harden, with 31 points and Tobias Harris had 23. 

The sloppiness from the ugly loss to the Hawks on Wednesday night carried over into the early part of the first half Friday. The Knicks were a step slow and lazy with the ball, committing nine turnovers before the end of the opening quarter. It didn’t get better to start the second stanza, with four turnovers on their first four possessions. 

RJ Barrett dribbles during the Knicks’ win over the 76ers

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Quentin Grimes scores in the second half.

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The 76ers didn’t take advantage of a number of live-ball turnovers, and the Knicks eventually settled down. Barrett, Randle, Brunson, Cam Reddish and Isaiah Hartenstein closed the first half well, outscoring the 76ers 12-5 over the final 2:52 as the Knicks took a five-point lead into the break. 

Brunson was particularly effective, producing 11 points and two assists in the quarter. Reddish, the last of 11 Knicks to get into the game, contributed seven points, two assists, a steal and a block. With 3:25 left in the half, after Robinson picked up his third foul, he came out of the game and went into the locker room. He did not return, due to a sore right knee, the team said. 

With Hartenstein replacing Robinson at the start of the second half, the Knicks built an eight-point lead. But Maxey momentarily took over, scoring 10 consecutive points in a 13-2 run that gave the 76ers the lead. The Knicks were stunned by the body blow, and Philadelphia kept on pushing, taking a nine-point edge into the fourth quarter as the Knicks failed to make a field goal over the final 5:47 of the quarter. In that span, they went 0-for-5 from the field with five turnovers. 

The deficit grew to 12. But the Knicks answered. Eight games into the season, Thibodeau pulled out all the stops — even going to the Randle-Toppin pairing he has been reluctant to use. 

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