Sixers 141, Knicks 127 (OT)

In the most famous arena in sports, the New York faithful were treated with a high scoring, record setting, fourth quarter lead disappearing, overtime thriller for the Knicks home opener. The Knicks were being dominated for the entire game by a balanced night from the Sixers, led by Andre Iguodala’s 32 points,11 boards, and 7 dimes, until the Knicks outscored Philly 41-26 in the fourth quarter to relinquish a 17-point lead and send the game into overtime. The Knicks were led by Al Harrington’s 42 points (16-22 from the floor) off the bench, setting a New York record, with the help from Danilo Gallinari’s 30 points from shooting 8-16 from 3-point land, a career best.

One would assume New York would have all the momentum entering the extra period, but the Sixers quickly ended all hope by finishing the game with 17-0 run highlighted by Iguodala’s posterizing slam. This is the second night in a row that New York came back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter just to come up short. On Friday night, the Knicks erased an 15-point lead against the Bobcats in the fourth quarter to eventually lose by two in double overtime. After getting blown out by the Heat on Wednesday night, the Knicks have demonstrated their best and worst potential by supplying both offensive surges and horrific droughts. The Knicks host the New Orleans Hornets on Monday.

On the other hand, the Sixers come off a 99-86 victory against Milwaukee the night before. They fired on all cylinders for the majority of the game with Thaddeus Young dropping 25 points and Lou Williams being 3 assists shy of a triple double with a stat line of 27 pts, 10 rbs, and 7 asts. Mareese Speights also contributed a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. The Sixers host the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.

This is by far the best game in this early season.

Stat of the Night: Field Goal Percentage
Sixers: 60.7 %
Knicks: 47.5%

-The Ref