Sixers vs. Knicks takeaways: Team lacks maturity, poor rim protection, and P.J. Tucker’s scoring

NEW YORK — The 76ers lack basketball maturity.

The team definitely needs to add a rim protector off the bench. And P.J. Tucker can make scoring contributions.

These three things stood out during Sunday’s 108-97 loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The Sixers sound like a broken record after every time they lose a game in which they had a commanding lead.

The players always point to lack of energy, no ball movement and poor defensive effort as the reasons for these types of losses. They also talk about relaxing too much after establishing large leads. As expected, the Sixers said those things again after blowing a 21-point first-quarter lead during their double-digit loss.

» READ MORE: Sixers fall apart after first quarter, lose to Knicks, 108-97

But why do those things keep happening?

“For one, it’s kind of human nature sometimes to think you can coast at times when you have a lead, a little bit,” Harris said. “But for us as a group, we can’t think that way.

“And I think we have a mature group, as it’s basketball maturity as well as understanding we are up 20, we should win by 35. We should dominate, and I think that’s the next level for our group.”

Instead, they were outscored, 96-64 over the final 38 minutes, 14 seconds.

Sunday was also a prime example of why the Sixers are looking for a backup center before Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline or in the buyout market.

The Sixers lost a lot of momentum whenever six-time All-Star Joel Embiid rested on the bench.

Backup center Montrezl Harrell was a minus-15 in 3:17 of action before being benched. Third-string center Paul Reed was a little bit better, finishing a minus-14 in 8:25.

While he is a great scorer, opponents are scoring at around 70% at the rim when Harrell in the game.

None of this should come as a surprise.

Harrell (6-foot-7) and Reed (6-9) both are undersized and more in the center/power forward model. The Sixers have expressed interest in a trade for Detroit Pistons center Nerlens Noel, a former Sixer.

» READ MORE: Sixers interested in acquiring Nerlens Noel from Pistons

The forward had 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting, including making 2 of 4 three-pointers. This was Tucker’s second-highest scoring game of the season. He had 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting against the Washington Wizards on Oct. 31.

Tucker could open things up to Embiid and James Harden by consistently continuing to make a few shots during games.

Just don’t tell that to him.

A selfless player, Tucker is just as happy to set screens for Embiid and others as he is scoring the bal

“Some games you get your shots; some games you’re not,” he said. “It doesn’t matter. It’s team winning, and the progression of our team is the only thing that really matters and to give ourselves a chance to play for a championship at the end of the year.”

» READ MORE: Inside Sixers: Subdued reactions to Kyrie Irving trade, Whataburger debates and more from an uneven week

Best performance: This goes to Evan Fournier on a night Embiid finished with 31 points and 14 rebounds and Julius Randle paced the Knicks with 24 points to go with nine rebounds and seven assists. But Fournier scored 17 points while making 5 of 8 three-pointers before fouling out late. He scored nine of his points while shooting 3 of 5 from three in the fourth quarter.

Worst performance: I had to give this to Harrell, who was overmatched on this night.

Best defensive performance: I had to give this to Harden The Sixers point guard had a team-high two steals and a block. And he tied Embiid with a game-high, plus-25.

Worst statistic: This goes to Sixers making just 3 of 16 shots in the fourth quarter, including going 0-for-6 on three-pointers.

Best statistic: This goes the Knicks’ 10 second-chance points in the fourth quarter.