36 • March 10, 2022 - March 16, 2022
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
Sports The Nets and 76ers finally meet since the Harden for Simmons trade By VINCENT DAVIS Special to the AmNews
a “little flare-up.” The 25-year-old No. 1 overall pick in 2016 hasn’t played in an NBA game since last When the Nets and Philadelphia June when the 76ers were elimi76ers made an NBA trade deadnated in the Eastern Conference line deal that sent Nets guard semifinals by the Atlanta Hawks. James Harden to the Sixers for forSimmons felt he was made the ward Ben Simmons with other scapegoat by his former head pieces involved, one of the first quescoach Doc Rivers and fans, and tions basketball fans asked was “when last summer demanded a trade. do the two teams face each other?” Harden, 32, who forced a trade Tonight is the answer. The Nets will from the Houston Rockets to the be in Philadelphia tonight to take on Nets in January of 2021, wanted out the 76ers in the first meeting between of Brooklyn a year later. On Monday, them since the trade. The Nets, who he played his fifth game with the played the Charlotte Hornets on the 76ers, a 121-106 win against the road on Tuesday, fell to under .500 Chicago Bulls to improve the Sixers’ (32-33) with a tough 126-120 loss in record to 40-24, second best in the Boston on Sunday versus the Celtics. East. Embiid led the way with 43 While Harden has played at the points and 14 rebounds. level of a league MVP—which he The Nets were the No. 9 seed won in 2018—alongside this seain the conference as of Tuesday. son’s leading most valuable player Philly was 5-0 since acquiring candidate, 76ers center Joel Embiid, Harden going into last night’s Simmons has yet to suit up for the The Nets and 76ers will meet tonight for the first time since last month’s trade in (Wednesday) game hosting the which Brooklyn dealt guard James Harden to Philadelphia for forward Ben Simmons Nets, working on his conditionPhoenix Suns. He was averag(Bill Moore photos) ing and mental wellness. Harden is ing 24.6 points, 12.4 assists and ready to take the floor against former 7.4 rebounds as a Sixer. He also teammates Kevin Durant and Kyrie ly stated date. head coach Steve Nash before Sunday’s tied Reggie Miller for third on the Irving; Simmons is gradually preparing “He’s just doing some light shooting, game. Nash revealed that Simmons has NBA’s all-time three-pointers made for his Nets debut at a yet-to-be public- and just physical therapy,” said Nets had a back issue that he described as list with 2,560.
The Knicks try to find wins and confidence on the road By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor
Philadelphia 76ers on March 2 followed by an abjectly deflating 30-foot, 3-point buzzer It has been a dispiriting 2022 for the beater by the Phoenix Suns’ Knicks. They went into Dallas last night Cam Johnson last Friday to end (Wednesday) to play the Mavericks with the night stunned and on the a record of 27-38, 11 games under .500 wrong side of a 115-114 score. and an excruciating 10-19 in 29 games The finish marked the Knicks’ since the turn of the new year. On Jan. seventh straight loss. So it was 1 the Knicks were 17-19 with optimistic uplifting for them to come back visions of being a playoff team. At that on Sunday and impressively time there were still 45 games remain- dominate the Los Angeles Cliping on their schedule. pers by 116-93 and 24 hours Head coach Tom Thibodeau’s later demonstrate admirable squad was sitting in the 10th spot in resilience in erasing a 20-point the Eastern Conference but only one late second quarter deficit to game behind the then 8th seed Wash- run the Sacramento Kings out ington Wizards, just two below the of Golden 1 Center, their home 7th seed Charlotte Hornets and trailarena, in the game’s final 24 01024 AM NEWS AM NEWS ing the 6th seed Philadelphia 76ers by minutes to take a confidence AM NEWS 03/03/22 a close three. But February was 01/06/22 the boosting 131-115 victory. 01/06/22 0 7 74470 22784 Knicks’ undoing. Knicks forward Julius They began the month with a 120- Randle was spectacular in Heading into last night’s game versus 108 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at scoring a career-high 46 the Dallas Mavericks on the road, Knicks Madison Square Garden, then a crush- points. RJ Barrett continforward Obi Toppin had missed the previous ing 122-115 overtime defeat to LeBron ued his ascension by adding three games with a strained left hamstring James and the Los Angeles Lakers on 29 and Immanuel Quickley, (Bill Moore photo) national television after blowing aAM 21- NEWS who is in a two-week stretch 01034 AM NEWS AM NEWS point lead. The Knicks would ultimateof playing the best he has this season, a row from Jan. 10 through Jan.15. 01/13/22 03/10/22 01/13/22 0 The win gave the7 Knicks ly drop 10 of the 11 games they played registered 27. The Knicks were without Derrick Rose 74470 22784 in February, and the tailspin carried their first two-game winning streak in (out since Dec. 15 with an ankle injury over into this month, as they fell to the nearly two months. They won three in and subsequent surgery), Obi Toppin
(left hamstring strain), Nerlens Noel (plantar fasciitis) and Quentin Grimes (right patella injury). “Julius got going and it was pretty terrific what he did,” said Thibodeau. “When he plays with that type of intensity, it lifts everyone. He was attacking the basket, he was shooting the 3, he was making hustle plays. It was a great all-around game from him in so many different ways.” “Sacramento plays [at] a really high pace,” Randle evaluated, “and we had to get our transition in order and get stops and get our rhythm. Once we got stops, offense came a lot easier.” The Knicks will play the sixth game of their current seven-game, 12-day road trip against the Grizzlies tomorrow 01104 and end it versus the Nets in Brooklyn AM NE on 0Sunday afternoon. 7They’ll be back 03/03/ 74470 22784 at Madison Square Garden for the first time since Feb. 27 next Wednesday to host the Portland Trailblazers.
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