PHILADELPHIA _ The 76ers have played three straight games against teams that entered Thursday with 17 wins, and while now depleted by injury, they were still facing three of the bottom-feeders in the Eastern Conference.
If the Sixers are going to hold the fort while All-Stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are out, they will have to show a better killer instinct.
On Thursday they had enough to put away one of those 17-win teams, earning a 115-106 win over the New York Knicks at the Wells Fargo Center. Yet there was probably much more suspense than needed, especially since the Sixers owned a 20-point lead late in the second quarter.
Even though it wasn't an artistic win, the Sixers will take it after their 108-94 clunker Wednesday in Cleveland.
The Sixers began the week by taking a 21-point lead then trailing 92-91 after three quarters to another 17-win team, Atlanta. The Sixers eventually pulled away for a 129-112 victory.
The Knicks got within 107-102 when Julius Randle hit one of two free throws with 2 minutes, 8 seconds left.
Tobias Harris, who scored 34 points, then hit a 3-pointer, making it 110-102 with 1:52 remaining, and the Knicks couldn't respond.
That the Knicks made the Sixers sweat shouldn't be surprising. Even though the Sixers earned a 4-0 season sweep, the first three wins came by a total of 14 points.
There is no question that Harris has to be the Sixers' go-to player in the absence of his two All-Star teammates, He got the Sixers going by scoring their first nine points and had 23 by halftime, when the Sixers had a seemingly comfortable 61-46 advantage.
The Sixers (37-23) have plenty of questions, but one of them shouldn't be Harris' production.
He was coming off an 11-point, 4-for-13 shooting performance against Cleveland and was determined to have a turnaround effort.
A big question will be who else will be a consistent scorer in the absence of Embiid and Simmons.
Shake Milton has stepped up with his recent chance. Starting his third straight game at point guard, Milton scored 19 points and now is plus-63 in his last four outings. Al Horford added 15 points for the Sixers.
New York was led by Randle, who scored 30.
After the Cleveland loss, Josh Richardson questioned the Sixers' heart. The heart was there against the Knicks, but it always seems to appear on their home court.
The Sixers are an NBA-best 28-2 at home. They haven't discovered the formula on the road, where they are 9-21. The Cleveland loss was the seventh straight on the road.
Now the Sixers will hit the road for four straight games, beginning Sunday at the Los Angeles Clippers.
