EditorsNote: Tweaked headline; Reworked to move mention of Simmons' 3 into lede; Other minor tweaks; Added run details in 10th graf
Joel Embiid had 23 points, 12 rebounds and five assists while Ben Simmons hit the first 3-pointer of his career, and the Philadelphia 76ers overturned a 17-point deficit on their way to a 109-104 victory over the visiting New York Knicks on Wednesday.
Simmons added 18 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds for the Sixers, who earned their second win in a row. Tobias Harris scored 14 points, Mike Scott had 12 and James Ennis III had 11.
The Sixers improved to 5-0 at home and have won nine straight overall against the Knicks.
Marcus Morris scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Julius Randle and Frank Ntilikina scored 17 points each for the Knicks. New York has alternated losses and wins the past five games.
Scott's fourth 3-pointer, with 1:27 remaining, gave the Sixers a 99-95 lead, and Morris missed a jumper on the Knicks' next possession. Embiid then made a trey from the top of the key for a 102-95 advantage to help seal the win.
Simmons hit his much-anticipated 3-pointer with 8:20 remaining in the first quarter, and the crowd exploded. Simmons had missed the first 17 treys of his career before connecting from the corner. It was his lone long-distance attempt of the night and his first 3-point try of the season.
A 16-4 run by the Knicks put them ahead 41-36 with 7:21 left in the second.
Embiid -- who has already received a two-game suspension earlier this season for a brawl with Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns -- and Morris got tangled up with 1:43 left in the half and had to be separated by the officials. Morris was given a flagrant-1 foul.
The Sixers took a 53-51 advantage into the locker room.
New York went ahead 66-53 after a 17-0 spurt that spanned both halves, including the first 15 points of the third quarter as the Sixers went scoreless for the initial 5:34. Morris later hit a 3-pointer from the corner, and the Knicks' lead was extended to 75-60 with 4:42 left in the third quarter. The Knicks made nine consecutive shots as they built the 15-point advantage.
The Sixers made a late run in the third and closed the period within 79-74.
Morris hit a jumper to give the Knicks a 90-88 lead, but the Sixers scored the next five points to pull out to a 93-90 advantage with 4:58 left.
Randle made one of two free throws to close New York within 96-95 with two minutes left.
--Field Level Media
