PHILADELPHIA _ Like their previous two meetings, Friday night's matchup between the 76ers and New York Knicks went down to the wire.
Dario Saric and Justin Anderson came up big, leading the Sixers to a 105-102 victory at the Wells Fargo Center. The game was not decided until Knicks shooting guard Courtney Lee misfired on a 3-pointer as time expired.
But Anderson scored the go-ahead basket from eight feet out on an assist from Saric to give the Sixers a 103-102 lead with 24.3 seconds left.
The Knicks had an opportunity to take the lead after Robert Covington's turnover with 15.7 seconds left in the game. However, Carmelo Anthony missed a jumper with six seconds, then Lance Thomas missed the put-back.
Saric was fouled and made a pair of foul shots to make it a three-point game with three seconds left.
The power forward finished with a team-high 21 points to go with a game-high 10 rebounds. Twelve on his points came in the fourth quarter. Anderson, who was 8 for 12 from the floor, added a career-tying 19 points in 24 minutes, 20 seconds in a reserve role.
The win snapped the Sixers' three-game losing streak as they improved to 23-38. Meanwhile, the Knicks (25-37) failed to win consecutive games for the first time since December.
The Sixers won their first meeting against Knicks, 98-97, on Jan. 11 at the Center, thanks to T.J. McConnell's buzzer-beater. Then the Knicks prevailed, 110-109, on Feb. 25 at Madison Square Garden on Anthony's basket with 0.03 seconds left.
Anthony paced the Knicks with 21 points.
Philly fans got a better understanding of who Anderson is and why the Sixers brass raves over him.
The shooting guard, who was acquired in a trade from the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 23, made his first seven shots before missing on a put-back dunk attempt with 5:20 left in the third quarter.
More so than his point production, Sixers fans will appreciate the grit he displayed. He didn't back down from Anthony, as the two kept jawing at each other. On one occasion, Anthony shoved Anderson as a way to create space. Anderson responded in kind.
A couple of possessions later, Anderson and Anthony received double technical and had to be separated.
Anderson's minutes were the result of Gerald Henderson missing the first of two games because of soreness in his left hip. He will be reevaluated on Sunday with the hope of playing on Monday against the Milwaukee Bucks at home. He sat out of the second half of Wednesday's loss to the Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena because of the soreness, which has hampered him all season.
Meanwhile, the Sixers play on despite mounting injuries. Joel Embiid will miss the rest of the season with a meniscus tear and a bone bruise in his left knee. First overall pick Ben Simmons has been sidelined the entire season with a Jones fracture in his right foot. Jerryd Bayless only played in three games because of torn ligaments in his left wrist. And Tiago Splitter, who the Sixers acquired Feb. 22 from the Atlanta Hawks in a trade, is out with a right calf strain.
This game also marked Justin Harper's debut with the Sixers. The power forward signed a 10-day contract on Friday morning and played 4:46 against the Knicks.
"I think it's an opportunity here to show that I can space the floor, and be another viable option at the four (power forward) for an already solid team," Harper said at after Friday morning's shootaround. "I think it's a great opportunity to show that, and just moving forward and trying to achieve my goals individually."
The 6-foot-10, 225-pounder was called up from the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League. He failed to score after missing his lone shot attempt. He had one rebound and one turnover.
Harper was notified that the Sixers were going to call him up from on Thursday morning in Los Angeles. The team was getting ready to travel to Arizona to face the Northern Arizona Suns. The D-Fenders general manager approached Harper and told him to call his agent. His agent informed him that he would sign with the Sixers.
"Being able to stretch a floor at the power forward position is more and more important in the league now," said the Philly native, who moved to Richmond at the age of 2. "I see myself being able to take the role for whichever team would choose me. I'm thankful the opportunity to showcase that."
Friday night was a homecoming of sorts for Knicks reserve point guard Chasson Randle, who did not see action.
The Sixers waived him on Feb. 23 to create in order to acquire Anderson, Andrew Bogut and a protected top-18 pick from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Nerlens Noel. Randle had two 10-day contracts with the Sixers before signing a multiple-year deal with them on Jan. 30.
"With the trade happening and them getting too guys back it was a numbers game at the point," said Randle, who doesn't have any ill will toward the Sixers. "I respect the way they did it. Mr. (Bryan) Colangelo and everybody, they handled it really well and let me know right away."
Randle headed to New York to join the Knicks on Feb. 25. The ironic thing is that he was waived by the Knicks in the preseason and later played for their D-League team, the Westchester Knicks, before being called up the Sixers. His first game with was against the Knicks. Now, his third game as Knicks was against the Sixers.
"It's kind of like a back-and-forth thing," he jokingly said. "But I'm fortunate to be in this position."
