Sun, Mar 21, 2021
By Jim Vassallo (Veri.bet Writer)
The Philadelphia 76ers (29-13, 10-9 away) visit the New York Knicks (21-21, 12-7 home) on Sunday, March 21, at 8 PM ET at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The Knicks have won four straight at home and the 76ers are coming off a dominating win over the Sacramento Kings Saturday night 129-105. Tobias Harris led the 76ers with 29 points with Embiid, Simmons, and Curry out of the lineup.
"He really set the tone tonight with his attitude and then obviously his play," Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers said. "His total play was phenomenal."
Philadelphia is the top-seed in the Eastern Conference coming into tonight’s game, holding a one-game lead over second-place Brooklyn.
"Are we willing to fall into the distraction of, ‘Hey, we don't have two of our top dogs?' Or are we willing to embrace it?" Harris said. "I take that stuff personal when people believe we can't win without those guys because I know how much talent we have as a group. And I know how well we play together as a team as a whole. We have a culture and a system here that works. When we trust it and do what is asked of us, we're a hell of a team."
New York is sitting in the six-seed, eight games out of first behind the 76ers.
The 76ers haven’t been particularly good on the road this year, going just 10-9, while the Knicks have fared better at home than on the road. The Knicks will look to win their fifth straight home game when they host the 76ers tonight.
New York’s last outing resulted in a 94-93 win over the Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden. Julius Randle recorded his third triple-double (18 points, 17 assists, 10 rebounds) of the season in the victory. It was Randle’s ninth triple-double of his career. He is the first Knick to record three in a season since the 1981-1982 season when Michael Ray Richardson accomplished the feat with seven.
"It's just how the game was going," Randle said when asked if he felt he needed to play a facilitating role. "I was going to find my teammates."
Both teams are dealing with a slew of injuries. The Knicks have the following players on the injured list:
Mitchell Robinson: day-to-day (hand)
Derrick Rose: out (health and safety protocols)
Austin Rivers: out (health and safety protocols)
Immanuel Quickley: day-to-day (ankle)
Elfrid Payton: day-to-day (hamstring)
The 76ers will be without Ben Simmons (knee), Seth Curry (ankle), and Joel Embiid (knee) against the Knicks.
It comes as no surprise that the Knicks are slight favorites (-1) in this contest being as the Sixers are without three of their top players. The money line is even for both sides at -110. The over-under is set at 213 total points. Even with the Knicks favored, it’s best to bet on the Sixers with the -110 money line on the road Sunday night.
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