For the first time since 1989, the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks meet in the NBA Playoffs. Game 1 of the first-round series between No. 2 New York and No. 7 Philadelphia is Saturday at 6 p.m. EDT (NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN, and 97.5 The Fanatic) at Madison Square Garden.
The Sixers officially earned the No. 7 seed with a 105-104 Play-In Tournament victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday. Nico Batum came off the Philadelphia bench to score 17 of his 20 points in the second half of the 14-point comeback.
Following Friday’s practice at the Penn Medicine Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex, Kelly Oubre Jr. discussed his playoff excitement:
“I’m ready. I think we all got the jitters out last game. This is the highest level of basketball that we all wake up everyday to work towards. So just relishing the moment, keeping my feet where they are, and staying 10 toes down.”
Oubre Jr. also praised the team’s head coach, Nick Nurse:
“At the end of the day, Coach Nurse is a wizard when it comes to understanding game plans, and getting us ready to play. I’m going to listen to whatever he has to say, and go out and do it.”
New York captured the regular season series, 3-1, with all four meetings taking place in the new year:
- Jan. 5 at PHI: 128-92 NYK
- Feb. 22 at PHI: 110-96 NYK
- Mar. 10 at NYK: 79-73 PHI
- Mar. 12 at NYK: 106-79 NYK
Joel Embiid only played in the first game and scored 30 points. Danuel House Jr., Patrick Beverley, Marcus Morris Sr., and Jaden Springer - none of whom are on the Sixers’ playoff roster - led the team in bench minutes for that pre-trade deadline contest.
Tyrese Maxey scored a game-high 35 points in the second game before missing the third meeting with a concussion. Neither Maxey nor Embiid was available in that Mar. 10 outing – a Sixers’ win – and New York’s 73 points were the fewest allowed by Philadelphia since Jan. 28, 2015 (69 vs. DET).
“Defensively, we were on point,” Nurse said at the time. “We were physical, we were doing everything we were supposed to do, we turned them over 20-plus times, we were fighting like heck for rebounds against a team that really rebounds. Basically, we were just fighting and executing the schemes really well.”
OPPONENT OUTLOOK
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks to a 50-32 regular season record with 28.7 points (4th NBA) and 6.7 assists per game, shooting 40.1% from 3-point range on nearly seven attempts per contest.
New York earned the No. 2 in the Eastern Conference on the final day of the regular season last Sunday, with an overtime win over Chicago and a Milwaukee loss at Orlando. Brunson’s former Villanova teammates Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo now join him in the Knicks’ starting lineup. DiVincenzo (also 40.1% from 3) was third in the NBA in made threes this season with a franchise-record 283, trailing only Stephen Curry (357) and Luka Dončić (284).
Like Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey, Brunson was a first-time NBA All-Star in February. Fellow All-Star Julius Randle (24.0 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 5.0 apg) - who has been out since Jan. 27 - had season-ending surgery on his right shoulder earlier this month.
The Knicks traded RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to Toronto on Dec. 30 in exchange for OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn, with Flynn then being traded to Detroit (along with Ryan Arcidiacono, Evan Fournier and Quentin Grimes) on Feb. 8 for Bojan Bogdanović and Alec Burks.
76ERS-KNICKS INJURY REPORT
Philadelphia’s injury report includes Joel Embiid as questionable (left knee injury recovery) and De’Anthony Melton (back injury recovery) and Robert Covington (left knee bone bruise) as out. Julius Randle (right shoulder surgery) remains out, and is the lone player listed for the Knicks.
WEDNESDAY’S TOP PERFORMANCES
Joel Embiid
- Embiid posted a team-high 23 points, game-high 15 rebounds, five assists, and one steal in 38 minutes of action in the Play-In Tournament win over the Heat.
Nico Batum
- Batum shot 6-for-10 from beyond the arc in his 20-point performance off the bench. He added five rebounds and the game-sealing blocket shot in his 28 minutes.
Tyrese Maxey
- In a game-high 44 minutes of play, Maxey tallied 19 points, three rebounds, and a team-high six assists.
Kelly Oubre Jr.
- In 37 minutes against Miami, Oubre Jr. added 11 points and eight rebounds.
QUOTE TO NOTE
Joel Embiid on the Play-In Tournament win over Miami…
“It means a lot. Being down a lot… We stuck together. It just shows you that - I don’t play my best, I don’t get to my spots the whole game until the fourth quarter, and we still found a way to win.”
FOLLOW ALONG
Saturday’s series opener is a 6 p.m. EDT start in New York.
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN
Listen: 97.5 The Fanatic
UNIFORMS
The Sixers are scheduled to wear their red Statement Edition uniforms, with the Knicks in their white Association Edition uniforms.
@SIXERS SOCIAL