76ers Beat Knicks for Eighth Straight Victory

The NBA had it’s usual slate of wall to wall games on Christmas Day, leading it off with the Philadelphia 76ers at the New York Knicks. Philadelphia got off to a mediocre start to the season, and was just 12-12 after a loss at Houston on December 5th, not the kind of start one would expect for one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference. But the Sixers got it in gear after that, and were on a seven game winning streak going into the Christmas Day game. The Knicks, who seldom fail to disappoint their fans, came into the game having dropped their last two, but New York had an eight game winning streak just prior to that.

The Knicks led 37-25 after the first quarter, but the lead was just one at 96-95 after three. The 76ers then broke it open with a 24-9 run to start the fourth quarter and take a 14 point lead. That proved to be too much for New York as Philadelphia won 119-112. Joel Embiid led the 76ers with 35 points, and James Harden added 29 with 13 assists. Julius Randle led the Knicks scoring with 35 points.

Philadelphia improved to 20-12 on the year, and New York is now 18-16. The Sixers are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, and the Knicks are sixth. Philadelphia is in third place in the Atlantic Conference and New York is in fourth. The Atlantic is pretty stacked, with Boston (24-10 after beating Milwaukee on Christmas, the best record in the NBA), Brooklyn (21-12) followed by Philadelphia and New York, with Toronto (15-18) in fifth. All would qualify for the post season if they held these positions, with Toronto in the play in round.