Brunson scores 31 points to lift the Knicks over Embiid and the 76ers, 112-109

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 31 points, OG Anunoby added 23 and the New York Knicks followed their most lopsided win in franchise history with a 112-109 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.

The Knicks crushed the Nets 120-66 on Wednesday and then exploded with a 30-point third quarter in a stiffer road test that sent them to their first win in three tries this season over the 76ers.

Joel Embiid had 38 points and 11 rebounds, but turned the ball over on the final play of the game after the Knicks seemingly tried to intentionally foul him. Tyrese Maxey scored 22 points for the Sixers but shot an airball on a late tying 3-point attempt from near halfcourt as he anticipated an intentional foul that didn't come.

The 76ers had pulled within two late until Anunoby and Landry Shamet followed with consecutive 3s that helped the Knicks stave off the late-game collapse.

Led by Brunson, the Knicks opened the quarter on a 21-7 run and made Philly sound a bit like the inside of Madison Square Garden. The “Let's go Knicks!” chants that had largely been tamped down by boos in a competitive first half, instead filled the arena with each big Knicks bucket.

Brunson gave a little wave after he buried a 3 for an 84-72 lead. Embiid tried to rally the Sixers and his three-point play in the fourth — aided by a sixth foul on Karl-AnthonyTowns — cut it to 98-92.

It wasn't enough and a Knicks team that had lost nine of its previous 11 games heading into the Nets game has now won two straight. Modest, yes, but good enough to ensure the Sixers didn't gain ground on them in the East standings.

Embiid played a season-high 46 minutes in an overtime win over Houston on Thursday and followed with 28 points on 10-of-12 shooing in the first half Saturday.

He never looked more like his old self this season than when he barreled down the lane and hammered a one-handed dunk that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Embiid has scored at least 30 points in four straight games and has reached 20 in a season-high 16 straight games.

Knicks: Host Sacramento on Tuesday.

76ers: Visit Charlotte on Monday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Philadelphia 76ers' Kelly Oubre Jr., left, tries to regain control of the loose ball as New York Knicks' Miles McBride, center, and Jalen Brunson, right, defending during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

New York Knicks' Mitchell Robinson, center, tries to pass the ball with Philadelphia 76ers' Kelly Oubre Jr., right, and Quentin Grimes, left, defending during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

New York Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns, right, goes up for the shot as Philadelphia 76ers' Adem Bona, center, fouls him with VJ Edgecombe, left, defending during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson, center, goes up for the shot over Philadelphia 76ers' Paul George, left, and VJ Edgecombe, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid, center, goes up for the shot as New York Knicks' Mitchell Robinson, left, and Miles McBride, right, looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

CAIRO (AP) — Arab Gulf states reported new missile and drone attacks Sunday after Iran threatened to widen its campaign as the war in the Middle East entered its third week.

Israel and the United States attacked Iran on Feb. 28, saying they were striking nuclear and military sites and encouraging the Iranian people to rise against their leaders. Iran has responded with attacks against Israel and neighboring Gulf states. The war, which shows no signs of ending soon, has upended global air travel, disrupted oil exports from the region and sent fuel prices rising across the world.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates warned residents on Sunday that they were working to intercept incoming projectiles, a day after Iran called for the evacuations of three major UAE ports, threatening for the first time a neighboring country’s non-U.S. assets.

Iran earlier accused the U.S. of using “ports, docks and hideouts” in the UAE to launch strikes on Kharg Island, home to the main terminal handling Iran’s oil exports, without providing evidence. The UAE and other Gulf countries that host U.S. bases have denied allowing their land or airspace to be used for military operations against Iran.

Iranian strikes have killed at least a dozen civilians in Gulf states, most of them migrant workers. In Iran, the International Committee for the Red Cross said more than 1,300 people have been killed so far. That includes 223 women and 202 children, according to Iranian Health Ministry figures reported by Mizan, the judiciary's official news agency.

In Israel, 12 people were reported dead by Iranian missile fire, said the national rescue service Magen David Adom. At least 13 members of the U.S. military have also been killed since the war began, including seven in combat and six who died in a plane crash over Iraq last week.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he hoped allies would send warships to secure the Strait of ​Hormuz.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s humanitarian crisis deepened, with over 820 people killed, according to the Ministry of Health, and 850,000 displaced as Israel launched waves of strikes and sent additional troops into southern Lebanon.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the U.S. attacked Kharg Island and Abu Musa Island from two locations in the UAE, Ras Al Khaimah and a place “very close to Dubai,” calling that dangerous and saying Iran “will try to be careful not to attack any populated area” there.

U.S. Central Command said it had no response to Iran’s claim. A diplomatic adviser to the UAE’s president, Anwar Gargash, rejected accusations that the U.S. used its land or air as a base for its attacks on Kharg Island.

Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Arab Gulf neighbors during the war, but it has said it was targeting U.S. assets, even as hits or attempts were reported on civilian ones such as airports and oil fields.

Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz was closed only to “those who are attacking us and their allies.”

As global anxiety soars over oil prices and supplies, Trump said Saturday that he hopes China, France, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and others send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz “open and safe.” Britain, in response, said it was discussing with allies a “range of options” to secure shipping.

Araghchi, in a social media post, urged neighbors to “expel foreign aggressors” and described Trump’s call as “begging.”

Iran’s joint military command has reiterated its threat to attack U.S.-linked “oil, economic and energy infrastructures” in the region if the Islamic Republic’s oil infrastructure is hit.

The U.S. Department of Defense on Saturday identified six service members who died when the military refueling aircraft they were aboard crashed Thursday while supporting operations against Iran.

The service members were Maj. John A. Klinner, 33; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31; Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34; Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, according to U.S. officials.

The crash in western Iraq followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace,” according to U.S. Central Command. The other plane landed safely.

A missile struck a helipad inside the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad late Saturday. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The embassy complex, one of the largest U.S. diplomatic facilities in the world, has been repeatedly targeted by rockets and drones fired by Iran-aligned militias.

The State Department again warned citizens in Iraq to leave “now,” and by land since commercial flights were not available. It noted that Iran and Iran-aligned militia groups “may continue to target” U.S. citizens, interests and infrastructure.

Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut and Tia Goldenberg in Washington contributed to this report.

Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, early Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Smoke rises from the U.S. embassy building in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Jabar)

Mourners react during the funeral ceremony for Gen. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Defense Council and a senior adviser to the Supreme Leader who was killed in a strike, at the courtyard of the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Two men ride their motorbike past a billboard of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Fire and plumes of smoke rise from an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

A man chants slogan while the body of Gen. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Defense Council and a senior adviser to the Supreme Leader who was killed in a strike, is being buried at the courtyard of the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)