Anfernee Simons waited a little while for his breakout in a 76ers uniform, and Friday night against the Knicks finally gave him the kind of night he’d been expecting.
With 76ers All-Star Jaylen Brown sidelined for the NBA Cup matchup, Philadelphia needed someone to grab the second-unit spotlight. Simons did exactly that, leading the bench with 21 points and drilling five threes in the win over New York.
Afterward, Simons said the performance felt like something he’d been building toward since the start of the regular season.
“It was great. Long overdue, especially in this building,” Simons said.
“I'm just excited I was able to get going. My teammates have been encouraging me to keep shooting, keep shooting.
a microwave scorer ♨️@PennMedicine pic.twitter.com/fZyd3xJcJD
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 31, 2026
I knew it was going to fall. They've seen me make shots every day in practice.
So, it was only a matter of time before it was going to come. I'm glad it was tonight against a great team, the defending champs, and a cup game, too.”
The victory pushed Philadelphia to 4-0, with two of those wins coming against the defending champion Knicks.
“I feel like that's what we came here to do,” Simons said. “But it took everybody.
We've shown that we can battle through adversity. Up/down runs.
No matter what, we always stand tall.”
It wasn’t a comfortable ride to the finish. The Sixers had built a 14-point cushion in a game that still felt up for grabs, then watched New York briefly grab a one-point lead in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia settled in from there and held the Knicks off down the stretch.
Next up for the 76ers: the Charlotte Hornets on the second night of a back-to-back.
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76ers Suddenly Face A Starting Five Dilemma In Charlotte
After taking care of the Knicks, the 76ers now have to solve a different kind of problem in Charlotte: how to piece together a starting group without LeBron James and Joel Embiid for the second night of a back-to-back. Nick Nurse is already weighing his options, and the decision could shape everything from the opening tip to how Philadelphia matches up across the floor.
One path would be to lean into size and give Adem Bona and Dean Wade a look in the first five, while another would be to go smaller and use Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to help cover the gaps. Jaylen Brown is also questionable, and the Hornets own availability questions around Jabari Walker and Tacko Fall could add another wrinkle to a game that already looks like it may come down to lineup math as much as execution. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Let Another Tight Game Slip As Tempers Boil Late
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For Charlotte, the bigger concern was not just the result but the way the night unraveled as emotions flared late in a game the Hornets had a chance to grab. Philadelphia moved to six wins on the season and into the top seed in the Western Conference, while the Hornets were left to sort through another close call that slipped away in front of their home crowd. [Read more 🡒]
76ers Momentum Gets Tested As Philly Heads To Charlotte Short-Handed
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The injury list does not stop there, either, with Dominick Barlow and Ariel Hukporti also out and Jaylen Brown listed as questionable. For a team trying to keep its momentum intact, the challenge now is less about star power and more about how deep the rotation can hold up in a game that suddenly looks a lot less straightforward. [Read more 🡒]