Philadelphia loses its 23rd-straight game to Knicks

Armed with a 15-point lead with just over four minutes remaining against a team that's lost 22 straight games, Knicks coach Mike Woodson pulled his starters.

It nearly cost New York the game.

The result though was the Knicks won their eighth straight contest and sent Philadelphia to its 23rd consecutive defeat 93-92 at Wells Fargo Center.

Amare Stoudemire scored 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, and Carmelo Anthony tallied 21 points for the Knicks.

Michael Carter-Williams had 22 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists for the Sixers, who nearly tied the game in the final seconds.

Anthony went 1-of-2 from the foul line with 7.3 seconds left. Carter-Williams raced up the court, but his shot from the top of the arc caromed off the backboard and rim. Thaddeus Young was credited for the putback hoop at the buzzer, but the Sixers extended their franchise-record skid and fell for the 18th straight time at home.

The Sixers are now three games shy of the NBA record skid of 26, held by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2010-11 season.

Philadelphia faces Chicago, San Antonio and Houston, all on the road, in its next three contests before returning home for a March 29 game against Detroit, when the Sixers could possibly break the league mark for futility.

[SportsNetwork.com]