PHILADELPHIA — The Knicks owned the crowd, owned the 76ers, and soon may own their first Atlantic Division title in 18 years. It’s a reality now as Knicks interim coach Mike Woodson is alive for five.
The Knicks’ voracious defense forced the division-leading 76ers to miss their first 14 shots, then Jeremy Lin swatted away Philadelphia’s second-half rally to pull off a dazzling 82-79 victory Wednesday night before a sold-out Wells Fargo Center crowd filled with loud Knicks fans, most of them in Linsanity jerseys.
With Lin carrying the Knicks home by scoring 16 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, Woodson moved to 5-0 as interim coach. The surging Knicks (23-24) moved within three games of the 76ers for the Atlantic Division lead. The Knicks will own the tiebreaker as they win the season series, 2-1.
Before Lin’s big fourth quarter, Amar’e Stoudemire, in a throwback performance from last season, carried the Knicks for much of the night with a monster 21-point, nine-rebound night that included a giant block of Elton Brand in the final two minutes as he went to dunk the ball.
“We could do whatever we put our minds too,’’ Stoudemire said. “If we continue to play like this and stay focused, we have a great chance to win the division.’’
Despite a wayward offensive showing by Carmelo Anthony, Lin shook off a slow start with another spectacular fourth quarter, charging the rim, getting to the foul line and making the right pass. After three quarters, Lin was 1 of 13 from the field and still finished 4 of 17 but kept the 76ers at bay by going 10 of 10 from the free-throw line.
“A credit to my teammates that they kept the game close for me,’’ Lin said. “The way they defended was unbelievable. We were everywhere. That’s why we were able to stay in. Me and Melo didn’t have the best offensive nights, but defense will keep you in every game.’’
The Knicks’ confidence under Woodson and since Mike D’Antoni resigned can not be higher.
“I learned our guys are not going to buckle,’’ said Woodson, whose Knicks were blown out by the 76ers 10 days ago at the Garden when he was the defensive assistant coach. “I honestly believe they feel they can win every game they step on the floor.’’
Lin keyed a game-breaking 8-0 run in the fourth after starting 1 of 11, and is showing he is best during crunch time. In the fourth, Lin also had a key block on a Jodie Meeks jumper with two minutes left.
“A lot of defense, a lot of rebounding, a lot of guts,’’ Lin said.
Anthony finished with 10 points on 5-of-15 shooting, with two points in the second half. Anthony’s shooting has been well off during the Woodson Era, but he hasn’t sulked a bit and played hard on defense and hasn’t forced things.
“This was a big win for us in a playoff atmosphere,’’ Anthony said. “I’m not worried about my shot. “Just doing the little things to help this team win.’’
After four straight blowouts, this was the first close win but the most telling. Woodson had entered as the first coach to win his first four games by a combined 90 points. He’s the second coach in history (Bill Sharman being the other) to win his first four games by at least 14 points in each contest.
Now Woodson has them playing championship-caliber defense.
“When we play defense like this like we have the last [five] games, we can beat any team in the league,’’ said Chandler, who blocked two straight shots on the game’s second possession to force a shot-clock violation. “We have 10, 12 guys at different times giving the same pressure.”
They needed a strong defensive effort because Lin’s jump shot was flat. He clearly was weary on the second night of the back-to-back. Lin shot 1 of 9 in the first half for two points, missing a lot of open jumpers. Lin missed his first two jumpers in the third quarter to go to 1 of 11 when Woodson hooked him for Baron Davis, who made his return from a two-game absence despite still feeling pain in his right hamstring.
But then Lin came on like a gangbuster in the fourth quarter. D’Antoni always has called Lin “a winner’’ and he showed that again.
Lin hit a floater for a 61-58 lead with 10:00 left. Then after three straight misses, the Knicks still got the offensive rebound and got it back to Lin, who brought the ball back to midcourt.
Lin then snaked to the rim and hit a fallaway off-balance runner to put the Knicks up 63-60. He then scored on a burst to the hole for a 69-63 lead amidst a tiebreaking 8-0 run.
The run started on a tick-tack-toe play as Lin fed Anthony down low but saw the double-team and flicked it to Stoudemire all alone for a dunk and 65-63 lead with 8:00 left.
The 76ers missed their first 14 shots, with the Knicks playing the same relentless defense they have mastered the whole week. The Knicks stormed to a 9-0 lead as Philadelphia didn’t score until two free throws with 6:19 left in the first and didn’t notch their first field goal until Brand sank a jumper with 4:12 left, bringing the score to 17-5.
The 76ers had five points after 10:30 and trailed 19-11 after one quarter. The eleven points was the lowest the Knicks have allowed in the first quarter all season as the 76ers shot 3 of 17 (17.6 percent).