Knicks will play 76ers in 1st round: 3 things to know about the series
The Knicks finally know opponent for the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Tom Thibodeau’s team, the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, will host the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday at Madison Square Garden (6 p.m., ESPN/MSG) in Game 1 of their first-round series.
The Sixers earned the No. 7 seed by beating the Miami Heat 105-104 in their play-in game at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia Wednesday night.
The Sixers pulled off a stirring comeback after trailing by 14 points. Joel Embiid tied the game at 74 with a three-pointer early in the fourth quarter, and it was a close fight from there.
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Philadelphia ultimately secured the victory to move on.
Here are three things to know about the Sixers:
1. How the Philadelphia 76ers got here
The Sixers went 47-35 during the regular season and finished in the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference.
But that finish was somewhat deceiving.
The Sixers lost star center and reigning Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid for two months due to a knee injury.
The difference with and without Embiid was stark – the Sixers went 31-8 during the regular season with him, and 16-27 in the 43 games that Embiid missed.
Embiid still isn’t 100 percent, but he’s still massive threat. Knicks centers Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein are in for a big task.
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2. The Sixers are rolling at the right time
Philadelphia has won nine straight games heading into its first-round series against the Knicks.
3. How the Knicks fared against the Sixers this season
The Knicks went 3-1 against the Sixers during the regular season.
Three of those games came while Embiid was out – the Knicks won two of them.
The one game Embiid did play in against the Knicks, Philadelphia lost in a 128-92 blowout on Jan. 5 in Philadelphia.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Knicks vs. 76ers: NBA playoffs series preview for first round
