On Saturday, the Philadelphia 76ers head to Madison Square Garden, known as the world's most famous arena, to face the New York Knicks.
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On Saturday, the Philadelphia 76ers head to Madison Square Garden, known as the world’s most famous arena, to face the New York Knicks in the first game of their first-round Eastern Conference Playoff series.
The Sixers secured the 7th seed after defeating the Miami Heat in the opening round of the Play-In Tournament. Meanwhile, the rejuvenated Knicks clinched the second seed in the Eastern Conference by surpassing the Milwaukee Bucks in the final two games of the regular season. Game one is set to begin at 6:00 PM EST.
The Philadelphia 76ers have had a season marked by fluctuations, resulting in them being seeded 7th and matched up against the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs.
The New York Knicks are aware that the Sixers approached game one of the Play-In Tournament as crucially as if it were the seventh game of a series. Their aim was to secure victory, potentially leading to a matchup against the Knicks, rather than risking facing the Celtics in the first round by losing.
For the Knicks, Randle will not be playing the game. Besides, Brown and Washington are questionable for the game. As for the 76ers, Covington will be sitting this one out. Besides, Embiid and Melton can also miss the game.
The 76ers faced a significant portion of the season without their star player, Joel Embiid, who was the NBA MVP in the 2023-24 season. Consequently, they transitioned from a team contending for a top-three seed in the conference to one that had to compete in the Play-In Tournament simply to secure a spot in the playoffs.
On Wednesday night, it seemed like the Sixers would need more than just one game to secure a playoff spot, as they trailed the Miami Heat 51-38 at halftime on their home court.
With a streak of five consecutive victories and six out of their last seven, the Knicks are confident they can compete against any team and are eager to face the Sixers starting this Saturday. Leading the Knicks is point guard Jalen Brunson, who boasts an average of nearly 29 points per game and leads the team in assists per game and field goal shooting percentage.
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