76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers entered their Christmas Day matinee at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks having won seven straight games, ...

So many Knicks at this point have played really strong individual defense on James Harden, whether because he's their man or because they switched onto him. The 76ers' zone has slowed the Knicks' tempo, but the trade-off is that the Knicks are up to rebounding 32 percent of their misses, including several in the second quarter. But the Harden-Embiid pick-and-roll got going late, and after that completely unlikely Shake Milton half-court heave at the buzzer, they only go into the locker room trailing by three points. The Knicks have begun the second half spamming Julius Randle at the top of the key, which is understandable considering he scored 25 first-half points. Halftime has arrived with the 76ers down just 63-60 points to the Knicks thanks to a hot second quarter. The Knicks and 76ers combined to score on 17 of their first 20 third-quarter possessions. And it’s that specific type of sequence, with an overwhelming level of offensive talent choosing from a menu of appealing options to toy with even good opposing defenses, that makes you wonder how the Sixers arrived here at this point, just 2.5 games behind the best record in the NBA. Once the ball dropped through the net, Embiid walked to the corner to scream at the New York crowd. So, Embiid pointed at the man known as “The Minivan” to do just that while he stood in the corner. He was sitting on 31 points, a performance that had the makings of another monster night for the NBA’s scoring leader. They got a boost off the bench from Georges Niang, who nailed four 3s in the fourth quarter to finish with 16 points. Led by a dominant fourth quarter, the 76ers (20-12) defeated the Knicks (18-16), 119-112.

Joel Embiid scored 35 points and James Harden added 29 as Philadelphia beat host New York 119-112.

Poole was tossed for the first time in his career with 9:20 left and Golden State had six technical fouls. “We left it in the locker room at halftime.” had 16 of his 26 points in a huge third quarter for Dallas and the Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 124-115.

After leading the 76ers to a Christmas day victory, James Harden downplays rumors of him reuniting with the Houston Rockets next off-season.

5](https://www.si.com/nba/rockets/news/houston-rockets-growth-double-overtime-victory-76ers-jalen-green-james-harden) inside the Toyota Center. Harden played for the Rockets for nine seasons. harden finished with 21 points on 4-of-19 shooting in the loss. [overtime victory over the 76ers on Dec. His future with the 76ers remains a fluid situation. And Houston has since added a young corps of talent headlined by Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr.

Maxey has been sidelined since Nov. 18 due to a foot injury.

Reliable (and Unreliable)](https://theathletic.com/4016043/2022/12/26/nba-power-rankings-week-11/) Melton is nowhere near the offensive player Maxey is (and does not have the same status as a no-doubt franchise building block, which could make this a moot point) but the Sixers are on a roll now with [James Harden](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/james-harden-xj359Qh34ugWFbVp/) and [Joel Embiid](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/joel-embiid-jcKI7IrySH9vZuXQ/) rounding into form around Melton. Melton ranks second in the [NBA](https://theathletic.com/nba/) in steals per game and is third in deflections per game. Maxey gives a Sixers offense that still is underperforming (14th in efficiency) another major offensive weapon. [De’Anthony Melton](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/deanthony-melton-vBKwxnLRDiw6TF9d/), who has been starting in Maxey’s place, has provided the backcourt with a jolt of athleticism and defense that this Sixers team is sorely lacking. Perhaps the biggest question is if Maxey will be in the starting lineup when he returns to the rotation.

The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the New York Knicks 119-112 on Christmas Day and here is what stood out the most from this matchup.

All of those teams have length and strong rebounders on their roster, which is why this game on Christmas was somewhat concerning for the Sixers. New York outrebounded Philadelphia 46-32 in this game and 12-5 on the offensive glass. Be on the lookout for a new episodes every Friday. Isaiah Hartenstein, Jericho Sims and Miles McBride are not offensive threats and any scoring the Knicks get from them is a bonus. With Tyrese Maxey missing the team’s last 17 games, Melton has averaged 14.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 40.8 percent from three-point range in this span. With Maxey out though, De’Anthony Melton has stepped up into the starting rotation for the Sixers and he has been fantastic. Philadelphia defeated New York 119-112 on Christmas Day, putting them just three games out of first-place in the Eastern Conference. being in the starting lineup is tremendous. This loss for the Knicks is not necessarily concerning in the sense of who they lost to, as Philadelphia is a contender in the Eastern Conference, but games like this are concerning for the Knicks from an offensive standpoint because this is yet another example of their glaring weakness – the fact that this team truly struggles to score. The Knicks did not pull out a victory in this one, but their rebounding kept them in this game and really allowed them to take a big lead over the 76ers in the first-half. Every championship-level team in this league needs to have a guy that can hold things together on both ends of the floor and so far this season, De’Anthony Melton has stepped up and proven to be this guy for the 76ers. As for the Knicks, they are now 18-16 on the season and still clinging to the 6-seed spot in the East with a handful of teams looking to pass them.

Joel Embiid scored 35 points, James Harden had 29 points and 13 assists and the Philadelphia 76ers blew by the New York Knicks in the final quarter, ...

With the 76ers rolling, Harden didn't want to think about his future. He made another 3 in the opening minute of the fourth to tie it at 98, then found Niang for a 3 that gave the 76ers their first lead with 10:37 to play. Bernard King, who set the Christmas record with 60 points in 1984, was at the game. ... The Knicks played their final home game of 2022. Embiid, the NBA's scoring leader, started slowly and the Knicks led 37-25 after one. “It was one of those games where you’ve just got to stick around,” Harden said.

76ers guard Tyrese Maxey seems to be on pace to return this week.

The Sixers are set to take on the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night in DC. Ahead of the Sixers’ Friday night matchup against the [Philadelphia 76ers](http://si.com/nba/76ers) guard [Tyrese Maxey](https://www.si.com/search?query=Tyrese+Maxey) could make his return to the floor this week. Initial reports indicated that Maxey could return to the court in three-to-four weeks. The following day, Maxey was diagnosed with a small fracture in his foot. Maxey went down with a foot injury during the team’s November 18 matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Sixers G has a foot injury. We take a look at his status going forward.

Maxey has missed 16 games with a foot injury, and he’s set to miss a few more including the Christmas Day game. The guard was initially set to be re-evaluated in three weeks and head coach Doc Rivers said he would likely miss a few more weeks about 10 days ago. Will he be able to suit up Sunday against the [New York Knicks](https://www.postingandtoasting.com)?