Sixers
PHILADELPHIA -- T.J. McConnell hit a short jumper at the buzzer as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the New York Knicks 98-97 on Wednesday night, the Sixers' fourth victory in five games.
McConnell, a second-year guard, connected from the left baseline, capping a rally that saw the Sixers erase a 13-point deficit in the final 8:17.
Joel Embiid had 21 points and 14 rebounds for Philadelphia, and Ersan Ilyasova scored 16 points.
Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points and Derrick Rose had 25 to pace the Knicks, who lost for the ninth time in 10 games.
Rose's layup with 34.5 seconds left gave New York a 97-94 lead, but Philadelphia's Gerald Henderson hit two free throws with 27.8 seconds left.
Henderson also rebounded a missed 3-pointer by Kristaps Porzingis in the closing seconds and sped downcourt. He passed to Ilyasova, who fired the ball to McConnell. He dribbled, spun away from Anthony and fired as Porzingis flew at him.
The ball dropped through as the buzzer sounded.
McConnell finished with eight points and seven assists.
Rose returned after skipping Monday's loss to New Orleans to deal with what he has called "a family issue" in his hometown of Chicago.
The absence was unexcused, and Rose not only failed to inform team officials that he would miss the game, he also did not respond to attempts to contact him. The Knicks as a result fined him an undisclosed amount.
Rose made all but one of his seven shots from the floor while scoring 12 first-quarter points, helping the Knicks establish a 32-27 lead.
As is often the case against the Sixers, an opponent thrived when Embiid went to the bench. He sat down with 5:34 left in the quarter and Philadelphia trailing 20-18, and New York immediately took advantage, scoring their last six baskets of the quarter within 10 feet of the rim.
Kyle O'Quinn, who finished the half with 10 points and 11 rebounds in just under 15 minutes, contributed three baskets.
The Knicks extended their lead to 49-32 with 5:08 left in the second quarter, but the Sixers ended the half on a 15-3 run to cut the gap to 52-47 at halftime.
Anthony and Rose both had 13 points in the half for the Knicks. Embiid generated 11 points and seven rebounds for the Sixers, who continued their charge in the third quarter.
A 3-pointer by Robert Covington with 8:34 put the Sixers ahead 55-54, their first lead since the first quarter. The game remained tight until Anthony exploded for 11 of his 15 third-quarter points in the final 3:28, putting New York up 75-71 heading into the fourth quarter.
Anthony's 3-pointer with 16.3 seconds left in the quarter triggered a 12-0 Knicks run extending into the fourth quarter. Joakim Noah notched five of those points, including the layup with 8:17 left in the game that put New York up 84-71.
NOTES: Asked before the game why G Derrick Rose wasn't suspended for his unexcused absence Monday, Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said the team determined that a fine was punishment enough. Hornacek also said that while he believes Rose should have notified team officials of the situation he was facing, the coach also understands what might have been going through Rose's mind. "It happens," Hornacek said. "He knows that he'll handle it differently, if it ever happens again, but we have to move forward." ... The NBA announced earlier in the day that Knicks C/F Kyle O'Quinn was fined $25,000 for his flagrant foul-2 on New Orleans F Anthony Davis in the third quarter of New York's loss to the Pelicans on Monday.