The Knicks (25-22) are trying to avoid missing the postseason for the first time since Patrick Ewing was a pup.
Motivation? The Sixers (26-20), who lost for the first time in six games, could have clinched at least the eighth and final slot in the Eastern Conference. Now, they must wait. A Charlotte loss at home to Chicago tonight would put the Sixers in. So would a Sixers win tomorrow at home against Toronto.
Unless they pull a 1964 Phillies, the Sixers are making it. But at this point, do they really want to settle for No. 8? They're tied for fifth, with Milwaukee and Detroit. But they own the tiebreaker over the Bucks (2-1 this season). They are 2-0 against the Pistons, whom they play twice in their final four games.
Settled it's not. Opportunity squandered.
"We talked about how important this game was," Brown said. "With our team, we know there's still 11 teams with a chance to make it, especially with our schedule. We can't wait and hope that other teams help us.
"I saw a lot of guys put their head down. That affects the way we play. We can't do that with this team. I don't know if we played great whether we would have been able to beat them."
What we do know is the Knicks, after missing their first 11 shots, made just over 50 percent (33-for-65) the rest of the way. And the Sixers, after scoring 23 points in the first 10 minutes, managed just 14 apiece in each of the last two quarters.
"In the second half, we didn't execute, and that's what it's going to take in the playoffs," said forward George Lynch, who has experienced the postseason with the Lakers. "We had to play the way we played in the first half. We played aggressive, and we got away from that.
