After slowing down New York Knicks All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson in a grueling 79-73 win for the Philadelphia 76ers, Kelly Oubre was spent.
Oubre said he needed a good dip in the ice tub after his punishment for shadowing the Knicks star.
“They came into our house a couple of weeks ago and punched us in the mouth for 48 minutes so we wanted to come out here and do the same thing,” Oubre told ESPN’s Katie George during his postgame interview. “But, you know, they’re a really tough basketball team. Coach [Thibodeau] is a tough coach and [Brunson] is a tough guard, but guarding him for 48 minutes, I need to go in the ice tub.”
It was the Knicks’ first loss to the 76ers this season after a pair of blowout wins in Philadelphia — the last a 110-96 on February 22 after the All-Star break.
On Sunday, March 10, the 76ers returned the favor.
They held Brunson to 6-of-22 shooting for just 19 points. He epitomized the Knicks’ ugly performance in a winnable game as the 76ers were without their top two players, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
Oubre rose to the occasion, producing his second double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds and made Brunson’s night a living hell on the other end.
As a result, the Knicks reset this season’s lowest-scoring mark just two days after their defense held the Magic to the previous-low 74 points.
Oubre limited Brunson to 2-of-9 shooting when he was his defender, per NBA.com’s matchup tracker.
That felt like a ’90s game. Old school, straight East Coast basketball — very defensive-[oriented] game. They played good defense as well, but we played a little bit better defense [Sunday night],” Oubre told reporters, per New York Daily News.
Both teams shot below 40% from the floor — the 76ers shooting a little better on 38.8% compared to the Knicks’ atrocious 32.5% stinker.
Kelly Oubre-Donte DiVincenzo Skirmish
Oubre just laughed off the skirmish between him and Donte DiVincenzo in the fourth quarter.
“It’s just frustration,” Oubre told reporters, per NBC Sports Philadelphia. “This is a game of basketball. It’s high energy [game]. We are at The Garden. But I’ve got no enemies in this league. All that stuff was funny to me. I don’t know why. I just laugh. Because nobody’s gonna fight. So at the end of the day, I’ll see you Tuesday bro.”
Oubre got into DiVincenzo’s skin with 4:04 left after they got entangled underneath the Knicks’ basket. DiVincenzo wrapped his arm around Oubre’s legs, sparking the scuffle which also saw Isaiah Hartenstein pushing Oubre to the ground and Paul Reed getting into it.
Oubre, who just laughed, escaped with a regular foul while DiVincenzo, Hartenstein and Philadelphia center Paul Reed were hit with a technical foul each.
“[Tuesday night will] be more physical,” Oubre warned, per New York Daily News. “Faster pace, obviously higher scoring. We’ve just got to do what we did [Sunday night], but better.”
Philly Star, Knicks Defensive Ace Return
Maxey, who missed Sunday’s win due to concussion protocol, will return for the rematch, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
On the other hand, OG Anunoby will also make his much-anticipated comeback from elbow surgery, per The Athletic’s Shame Charania.
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