Matt Slocum/Associated Press
Carmelo Anthony (7) and the Knicks failed to contain Jrue Holiday (11).
PHILADELPHIA — The Knicks had Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, J. R. Smith, Jason Kidd, Iman Shumpert and Raymond Felton — their full complement of talented, confident and expensive pieces — at their disposal. The 76ers needed only one player, the lithe and agile All-Star Jrue Holiday, to humble them all.
The ball looked attached to Holiday's hand the way he crossed over, hit jumpers and glided for layups. Holiday's dribble drives were so mesmerizing, his jump shot so smooth, that even the Knicks stopped to watch. He scored 35 points as the 76ers beat the Knicks, 97-80, but both Holiday's total and the margin felt more robust.
The 76ers won with two plays, the Knicks would say: isolations to Holiday and high pick-and-rolls to Holiday. And yet the Knicks could not keep up.
"He dominated the whole game, in terms of where he wanted to go with the basketball, and a lot of it was at the rim," Knicks Coach Mike Woodson said. "We just didn't sit down and defend."
Felton played for the first time since breaking his right pinkie Dec. 25, and he looked rusty. Shumpert, in his fourth game back from an injury, missed all six of his shots. Kidd, who played with a sore lower back, appeared to grimace with each miss.
Not every Knick had an excuse. Smith missed all eight shots he took. Anthony wrestled with Thaddeus Young and jostled with Evan Turner, sometimes on the same possession. Philadelphia's 24-year-old forwards should have been overmatched against Anthony, one of the league's top scorers, but he struggled with their quickness and energy.
Anthony stayed on the court for 39 minutes and scored 25 points, but he shot 9 of 28 from the field. Every shot Anthony took looked as difficult as every one of Holiday's looked easy.
"I couldn't throw a rock in the ocean today," Anthony said. "It happens."
The 76ers (18-25) looked younger and hungrier. They dived for loose balls and high-fived on their way back on defense. Young jumped so high for one dunk, he appeared to throw it through the net. Nick Young chirped after each successful possession, up and down the court.
On one drive, Holiday found himself guarded by Stoudemire. Before Stoudemire took one step, Holiday yo-yoed the ball and ran past him. All Stoudemire could do was grab him. The 76ers ran circles around the Knicks (26-15).
From the start the 76ers followed the lead established by Holiday, who began the game with three quick layups and a smooth 17-foot jumper. His penetration meant that 18 of Philadelphia's 24 first-quarter points came within two feet of the basket. He fit a whole night's worth of production into the first half — 19 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists — and the Knicks trailed, 53-41.
"We just didn't have any effort tonight, and it started right from the beginning," Woodson said. "I mean, layup after layup, we just didn't come to compete tonight. That's kind of disappointing."
He added, "Across the board, we were awful."
If anything positive came from the Knicks' debacle, it was that Stoudemire again validated Woodson's decision to bring him off the bench. In the second quarter, Stoudemire made four layups and re-established the Knicks inside. In 27 minutes, he scored 20 points.
The Knicks' starting lineup Saturday — Felton, Shumpert, Kidd, Anthony and Chandler — could be the team's starting lineup in the playoffs. Woodson has said he prefers having Stoudemire, Smith and Steve Novak come off the bench. Smith not making a single shot was a "major concern," Woodson said, but having Stoudemire excel in his role was encouraging.
But on Saturday, the 76ers seemed to go faster and harder as their lead grew. It swelled to 29 points in the third quarter, when Nick Young added 14 points. Turner found his stroke at midrange and finished with 20 points.
The 76ers led by more than 20, and Holiday kept going. He knocked down a 13-foot jumper, and then a 16-footer, eventually setting a career high only days after being chosen by the coaches as a reserve on the All-Star team.
As the game ran away, Woodson told Kidd, who played 15 minutes, to get treatment on his ailing back and be ready to play the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday at Madison Square Garden .
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