New-look Sixers topple Knicks

Philadelphia, PA (Basketball News) - Andre Iguodala netted 20 points as Atlantic Division rivals squared off with the new-look Philadelphia 76ers pounding the streaking New York Knicks, 98-77, at the Wachovia Center.

Chris Webber posted 18 points and nine rebounds for the Sixers, who won their second straight and finally had newly-acquired Andre Miller and Joe Smith in uniform. The pair were obtained from Denver on Tuesday along with a pair of first-round picks for All-Star Allen Iverson and Ivan McFarlin.

Miller finished with nine points and 11 assists, while Smith had four points and seven rebounds. Kyle Korver scored 16 points and Samuel Dalembert added 11 points and eight boards.

"The way we ran our offense and certainly having Andre Miller run the offense the way he is capable of running an offense," Philadelphia coach Maurice Cheeks said. "Certainly he does not know everything about running our offense but just putting the basketball in his hands you see the advantage of having a guy who knows how to run the game."

Jamal Crawford scored 21 points for the Knicks, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Renaldo Balkman scored 10 points and David Lee added 10 points and 13 boards.

"We just didn’t have enough gas in the tank tonight," New York coach Isiah Thomas said. "I was real concerned about us being flat and we were flat. I helped the guys give as much as they could but we were a step slow. We just didn’t have the same balance."

Philly closed the first quarter on a 22-6 run ignited by a Kevin Ollie jumper with 7:47 remaining, and led 26-17 heading into the second.

The Sixers went on a 17-6 run midway through the second capped by a Willie Green layup with 3:41 left, and led 52-37 at halftime.

Philly outscored New York by four in the third to lead 75-56 heading into the final stanza.

The Sixers will now embark on a season-long seven-game road trip. They are scheduled to visit the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Game Notes

This was the first of four meetings between the clubs this season...New York has lost nine of its last 12 at Philadelphia. The 76ers have won four in a row in this series.

NYK PHI

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