PHILADELPHIA — Three games into the season, the Knicks look unbeatable and are unbeaten.
This wasn’t a wire-to-wire blowout as their first two games. But it was just as impressive as the Knicks shook off a bad start and wound up pummeling the Sixers anyway, 110-88, to sweep the home-and-home.
The Knicks moved to 3-0 for the first time since 1999-2000. They are off until Friday when they host Dallas. The last time they were 4-0 was 1993-94 – the season they advanced to the NBA Finals. This is also the first time in franchise history that the team has won each of their first three games by ten or more points.
The Knicks average margin of victory in their three wins is 19 points. President Obama could use the defense and karma today the Knicks are playing with. The Knicks beat Philly 100-84 on Sunday at MSG.
Carmelo Anthony put the power in power forward, posting up and moving to the hole like a freight train. He finished with 15 points at halftime and 21 for the game with 7 rebounds. Anthony, who shot 7 of 16, passed well out of the double team. Once, he even scored on a post-up, hitting a fallaway over two Sixers.
The punctuating moment came with 8:35 left when J.R. Smith roared down the court on a fastbreak and threw down a high-flying, onehanded tomahawk jam, setting off a bench celebration. Smith scored 17 points and got into a scrap with Queens native Royal Ivey in the first half, picking up a technical foul.
After falling behind 9-0 and 14-4, the Knicks rallied, put together a 21-7 first-quarter run and took control for the third straight game. They led 56-48 by intermission.
Even Rasheed Wallace put in meaningful minutes. He entered with 4:55 left in the third quarter and the Knicks up 78-58 to a large mixture of boos and cheers. He racked up 7 points to close out the quarter and offered his length on defense. Wallace finished in double figured with 10 points – one of seven Knicks to finish in double figures.
Wallace hit a 3-pointer but followed it up by an airball from downtown that drew jeers. Wallace then scored on a left baseline fallaway and capped his flurry by draining a desperation 3-pointer that put the Knicks up 89-68 after three.
Center Tyson Chandler, playing with a strep throat for the second straight game, was nevertheless a dynamo with 14 points and six rebounds. He found a strong connection with point guard Raymond Felton. Chandler scored on two alley-oop lobs and Felton found him at the end of the half, threading the needle with a bounce pass in the lane for a layup. Felton finished with 16 points and 8 assists.
Anthony was 5 of 12 and made all four of his free throws in the first half. He also ripped down 7 boards. After a fast start, the Sixers finished the half shooting 34.7 percent. They will be a different team once starting center Andrew Bynum makes his Sixers debut but nobody knows when that will be.
The Sixers shot an anemic 33.7 percent.