Community Picks: New York Knicks 0% vs New Orleans Pelicans 0%

Veteran Amir Johnson scrolled through his phone, selecting songs to set the tone of the season. Around the room, boxes of Beats by Dre headphones were at each locker, a gift from Ben Simmons. Monday was a work day for the Sixers, but the team still was in the holiday mood. Continue to Article

December 25, 2017 7:37:pm EST

The NBA paired the Sixers and Knicks for a Christmas Day showcase and the teams delivered at Madison Square Garden. With Monday's win on Broadway, the Sixers pulled within two games of the Knicks, who currently possess the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Continue to Article

December 25, 2017 4:39:pm EST

The two teams combined to shoot 14 of 44 from three-point land - the Knicks didn't even make a triple until the second half - and the game was instead won and lost down low and on the glass, with Sixers franchise everything Joel Embiid (yes, he played, thank all religious deities) battling with Knicks bigs Enes Kanter and Kristaps Porzingis (in that order, surprisingly) for 34 extremely hard-fought minutes. The Sixers escaped with the 105-98 win - barely, but it counts - in their first Christmas game since 2001, largely thanks to the beyond-Herculean efforts of Embiid and huge work around the margins by Best Supporting Processor T.J. McConnell. Without our JoJo, entirely possible this thing was over by halftime -- the Sixers' offense was miserable to start, nobody else could do anything about Kanter (31 and 22!!) underneath, and the Knicks guards essentially paraded to the rim. Continue to Article

December 25, 2017 4:05:pm EST

When Joel Embiid is on the court, the Philadelphia 76ers are a very good team — the equivalent of a 57-win team (in terms of point differential). Just ask the Knicks how good he is — when Embiid was on the court at Madison Square Garden Christmas Day, Philadelphia outscored New York 90-65. Embiid finished the game with 25 points and 16 rebounds. Continue to Article

December 25, 2017 3:23:pm EST

On a sleepy Christmas Day afternoon, we all expected to down a little bit of eggnog, turn on the TV and wake up to Joel Embiid and Kristaps Porzingis taking over a 76ers-Knicks holiday clash. Instead, we got extra servings of Enes Kanter and T.J. McConnell. As entertaining as it was to observe two of the NBA's best unicorns—Embiid pirouetting on the block and Porzingis knocking down shots at every level—it was Kanter and McConnell who had the most meaningful performances in Philadelphia's 105-98 win over New York on Monday. Continue to Article

December 25, 2017 3:11:pm EST