Kevin Knox Drops 21 in Knicks' 131-109 Loss to Joel Embiid, 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the New York Knicks 131-109 on Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Joel Embiid posted 24 points, 10 rebounds and one block in the victory, and Jimmy Butler scored 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

Returning to the lineup after missing Monday's loss to the Phoenix Suns, Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with a game-high 27 points. Rookie forward Kevin Knox had 21 points and six rebounds, while Emmanuel Mudiay chipped in with 11 points and five assists.

Efficient Long-Range Shooting Adds Different Dimension to Sixers Offense

Given the structure of the Sixers roster, three-point shooting probably isn't going to be a strength of Philadelphia's offense.

The team entered Wednesday's game 13th in made threes (11.1 per game) and tied for 17th in three-point percentage (.348). That's going to happen when Embiid, Butler and Ben Simmons are your three best players.

Against the Knicks, the Sixers leaned into what makes them successful and used it to set up their long-range game.

As a team, Philadelphia shot 15-of-30 from beyond the arc, with the bench, in particular, stepping up in a big way. The pair of Landry Shamet and Mike Muscala combined for seven three-pointers.

The Athletic's Derek Bodner alluded to how bad the Knicks are on defense. They're allowing opponents to shoot 36.8 percent on three-pointers, third-worst in the NBA. Some of Philadelphia's success is undoubtedly owed to that.

But this has been a question for the Sixers going back to the offseason. They lost Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova to free agency and exacerbated the issue by trading Robert Covington and Dario Saric to the Minnesota Timberwolves to land Butler.

If Shamet, Muscala, JJ Redick and Wilson Chandler can start doing more to capitalize on the open shots Philly's Big Three are creating for them, then the Sixers will be a lot more dangerous in the postseason.

Kevin Knox Providing Knicks with Small Victories

ESPN.com's Ian Begley shared pregame comments from Knicks head coach David Fizdale, who discussed how he needed to shift his priorities based on how far away the franchise is from contention:

Knox didn't get a double-double but was reasonably close. More importantly, he shot 8-of-17 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range. Although the Knicks lost, Fizdale and his staff have to be happy any time Knox efficiently puts up 21 and six.

In addition to presumably going for a top-five pick, all of the losing will be worth it if Knox establishes himself as a foundational piece in New York. And he has been doing exactly that over the past few weeks.

The Knicks also have to like how Hardaway's four-year, $70 million contract isn't turning out to be the overpay many expected it to be when he signed last season. He's averaging a career-high 21.2 points despite battling a persistent foot injury.

New York obviously has question marks lingering over the next six months. Kristaps Porzingis' recovery from torn ACL continues to hang over the team, the defense is dreadful, and the franchise's outlook doesn't look quite so rosy if the Knicks strike out in their pursuit of a marquee free agent this summer.

Fizdale is limited in what he can do to address those concerns right now. Knox's development is one thing he can control, and the recent results are promising after a slow start to the year.

What's Next?

The Knicks head home to host the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden on Friday. The Sixers don't return to the court until Saturday when they play the Toronto Raptors in Philadelphia.