By FRANK WARD
DailyPhiladelphian.com

No Andre Iguodala? No problem.

The Sixers, playing without their most marketable guy who was out with an Achilles strain, outran the Knicks to post a victory behind Elton Brand and Jrue Holiday.

Brand, playing like he is finally healthy after inking a six year deal with the Sixers a couple summer ago, again dropped 20 points and crashed the glass for seven rebounds to go with two blocks. Holiday, the second year guard that Doug Collins fell in love with, added 19 points to go with eight dimes and five boards.

Elton brand dropped 20 points to pace the Sixers past the New York Knicks at MSG on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Evan Turner added 14 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in his first career start. Turner looked like a lottery pick for the first time since opening night against the Heat.

After the game, Brand told Comcast SportsNet that he’s proud of the guys in the locker room and hopes they build on this. The team has lost close games this year and likes how they played a full game Sunday.

“Keep working hard,” Brand said. We could be 4-2 right now and have a winning record. Keep playing hard and turn this around. We’re much better than what our record shows.”

Amare Stoudemire paced the Knicks with 21 points and 15 boards.

The Sixers scored more than 100 points for the fourth straight time, tying their longest such streak from all of last year. Scoring is not the Sixers Achilles heal this year; defense is. On Sunday, they held the Knicks to less than 100.

Philly has now won two of its last three games and has a 2-5 record. Yes, even our Sixers have a better record after seven games than the Dallas Cowboys. Different sports but that still just makes Philly fans feel good.

If Holiday, Turner and Brand can keep playing this well, maybe Iggy can move back to his natural small forward slot in the starting lineup.