PHILADELPHIA — The Knicks played like their vacation hinged on the final result. The 76ers played like they were already in Cabo.
And in the end, the Knicks were rewarded with an All-Star break that started a little earlier than expected.
Their victory Wednesday over Philly was forged in the first quarter and secured by halftime, when the Knicks took a 30-point lead into the locker room before cruising to a 138-89 final.
Coach Mike Brown pulled all his starters for the last 10 minutes, then removed the second unit for the final seven.
See you in a week.
“I’m checked out now,” Josh Hart said in the postgame locker room. “I’ve got my wine right here. I’m living my best life.”
Jose Alvarado, in his third game as a Knick, lit up the Sixers for a season-high 26 points as visiting fans serenaded their new acquisition with chants of “Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose.”
The scrappy point guard was activated in the first quarter by a dustup with Philadelphia’s Trendon Watford — which occurred in the aftermath of Mitchell Robinson being fouled hard by the Sixers forward — and the Knicks launched a game-breaking 27-9 run.
Alvarado picked up his first technical foul for shoving Watford and subsequently connected on eight 3-pointers, tying his career best.
He also finished with a season-high five steals as the Knicks outscored the Sixers by 35 points in his 18 minutes.
He was awarded his first defensive player of the game, given by the Knicks coaches after victories.
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“That’s what we need. That’s what we want from him,” Hart said of Alvarado. “Obviously that toughness, ability to help us get organized, ability to knock down shots. And defensively bring energy, bring physicality, get in the passing lanes, those kind of things. That’s why he’s here.”
Among the starters, Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns set the tone with a balanced scoring attack, combining for 43 points on 17-for-28 shooting.
It left Brown’s side with a 33-20 record before the weeklong break, which is on pace for roughly the same 51 wins as their last regular season.
The Sixers (30-24) were missing Joel Embiid (knee) and were overwhelmed by New York’s defensive energy, cutting and ball movement.
The Knicks, who didn’t have OG Anunoby (toe injury), shot 53 percent and racked up a season-high 41 assists.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen this before,” Brown said. “We had 48 baskets and 41 assists. So unbelievable night in that regard.”
It was a beatdown and a bounce back.
A day earlier, the Knicks fell in OT to the Pacers, who are better than their record but nonetheless at the bottom of the East. That result was disappointing.
And their response was immediate.
The Knicks led by double digits after just three minutes and never looked back.
“They are a resilient group of guys. We’re not going to go up the whole year,” Brown said. “Everybody expects us to go up the whole year and win it all. But this is a process. We’re going to up, we’re going to take a step backwards, we’re going to figure it out. That’s why there’s coaching, that’s why there’s practice, that’s why there’s shootaround. That’s why we have those guys in the locker room we have figured out and just go out and play the next game and figure out if you can play better the next game and that’s what our guys did.”
They also required very little Wednesday from star Jalen Brunson, who logged just 30 minutes and finished with eight points on six shots.
The Sixers blitzed Brunson on pick-and-rolls — a faulty strategy from coach Nick Nurse — and the Knicks point guard responded by consistently finding his cutting teammates.
Brunson’s next stop is All-Star Weekend in L.A. Same for Towns.
The rest of the rotation players are getting a week off in addition to Wednesday’s second half.