PHILADELPHIA -- When the Philadelphia 76ers traded center/forward Nerlens Noel to Dallas on Feb. 23, the perception was that they did not receive enough in return.

Second-year forward Justin Anderson, who was part of the package that came to Philadelphia, is doing all he can to alter that view.

Anderson matched his career high of 19 points and made the go-ahead basket with 24.3 seconds left as the Sixers beat the New York Knicks 105-102 on Friday night.

"That's a pretty good introduction to our program," Sixers coach Brett Brown said.

Anderson made his first seven shots and finished 8-of-12 from the floor. He was also frequently matched against Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks' All-Star forward, on defense. Anthony scored 18 points, but shot 5-of-18 from the floor.

Anderson fouled Anthony hard at one point in the game, and the two of them drew technical fouls for jawing at each other in the third quarter.

Afterward Anderson called Anthony "a great man" and "a terrific human being."

"Out there tonight we were just playing basketball," he said. "There was really nothing said that was any harm or anything. I don't back down from anyone. I want to play hard regardless. There really was nothing to it."

With Philadelphia trailing 102-101, Dario Saric drove the lane but was met under the basket by 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis, who stopped him dead in his tracks.

"It doesn't feel like we have too much," Brown said. "He made something up."

Saric fired a wraparound pass to Anderson, who hit a short jumper in the middle of the lane to put the Sixers ahead.

After an exchange of turnovers, Anthony missed a jumper from the left wing. Saric rebounded and made two free throws with three seconds left.

New York's Courtney Lee then came up empty on an off-balance 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

It was the third time in as many meetings that the two teams have gone down to the wire. Philadelphia guard T.J. McConnell hit a buzzer-beating jumper in a 98-97 victory on Jan. 11, and Anthony's jumper with three-tenths of a second remaining gave New York a 110-109 victory on Feb. 25.

Saric finished with 21 points -- including 12 in the final 8:42 -- to lead the Sixers, who snapped a three-game losing streak. The rookie forward also contributed 10 rebounds and four assists.

The double-double was his ninth of the season, matching injured teammate Joel Embiid for the most among first-year players.

"How can it not be that the Rookie of the Year goes through Philadelphia?" Brown asked.

Saric, averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds since the All-Star break, tries not to think too much about the award.

"I just try to push myself every game, try to win every game, try to support my teammates, try to get them to believe we can win the games like today without Gerald (Henderson), without Joel, without Ben (Simmons)," he said.

Embiid is done for the season with a knee injury. Simmons, the first overall pick in the 2016 draft, will miss the entire season with a bad foot. Henderson, a veteran guard, is out with a sore hip.

Lance Thomas scored a season-high 21 points and Derrick Rose had 20 for the Knicks, who are 4.5 games out of the Eastern Conference's eighth and final playoff spot.

"This one hurts," New York coach Jeff Hornacek said.

Anthony, who scored 37 points against Philadelphia in the teams' last meeting, did not disagree.

"This is a game we should've won," he said. "But on to the next one now."

He did, however, enjoy his battle with Anderson.

"He was feeling good today," he said. "I like that, though. You have to respect that. I'd rather somebody do that than not show any fight out there. He showed some fight. He battled, he competed and I respect that."

New York built an 11-point lead early in the game, and was still up 52-47 with 4:33 left in the second quarter, but Philadelphia closed the first half on a 16-1 run to go up 63-53.

Jahlil Okafor, who left the game for an extended stretch earlier in the half with a bruised right rib, had six of his 10 first-half points in that flurry, as well as five rebounds and an assist.

Robert Covington finished the half with 13 points to lead Philadelphia.

Thomas topped the Knicks with 14.

New York surged ahead, 81-76, courtesy of an 18-4 third-quarter rush featuring eight points by Rose. By the end of the period, the Knicks were ahead 81-79.

The Sixers regained the lead on a 3-pointer by Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot 38 seconds into the fourth quarter, but the Knicks forged a tie at 84 moments later when Porzingis converted Ron Baker's steal into an uncontested dunk.

NOTES: Earlier in the day the Sixers signed F Justin Harper to a 10-day contract. The 27-year-old Harper was averaging 16.2 points and seven rebounds for the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League. Harper, who had 19 prior games of NBA experience with Orlando and Detroit, played nearly five minutes but did not score. ... Philadelphia G Gerald Henderson (hip) will not play against Detroit on Saturday. ... Knicks F Willy Hernangomez missed his second straight game with a sprained left ankle.