(1-0) -- (0-1)
| Venue | TV | TIME |
| Madison Square Garden, New York, NY | MSG | 7:30 PM EST |
Probable starters:
Injury Report
| Philadelphia 76ers | New York Knicks |
| No injuries to report for the team | Obi Toppin - Calf (DOUBT) |
| - | Immanuel Quickley - Hip pointer (DOUBT) |
| - | Omari Spellman - Sore right knee (Day-2-day) |
| - | Austin Rivers - Sore right groin (Day-2-day) |
Game Preview
The New York Knicks spent two-plus quarters exceeding expectations Wednesday night before looking like a team in the beginning of yet another long rebuild.
The Philadelphia 76ers waited until the fourth quarter Wednesday to fully perform like a perennial contender with its rebuild in the rearview mirror.
Both the Knicks and 76ers will be looking to establish more consistency Saturday night when they face off in New York in the second game of the season for both teams.
Each squad was off Christmas Eve and Christmas Day after opening the season at home Wednesday night. The Knicks faded in the second half of a 121-107 loss to the Indiana Pacers and the 76ers stormed back from a double-digit, second-half deficit to edge the Washington Wizards, 113-107.
The Knicks, whose seven-season playoff drought is the longest among Eastern Conference teams and the third-longest in the NBA, offered some signs of progress Wednesday night.
Fueled by RJ Barrett, who drained his first eight shots, and Julius Randle, who flirted with a triple-double before finishing with 17 points, nine assists and nine rebounds, New York led the Pacers for much of the game's middle stretch before being outscored 47-30 over the final 18-plus minutes.
The decent start wasn't enough to satisfy first-year head coach Tom Thibodeau, who arrived in New York with the reputation as a defensively minded taskmaster. He directed the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves to six playoff berths in his previous seven full seasons as a head coach.
"Our schedule tells us we have to be ready to be better everyday," Thibodeau said. "We played about 24 minutes of good basketball. To win on the road, you have to do a lot better than that."
The 76ers are no stranger to long processes -- they've made the playoffs in each of the last three seasons following a well-documented five-year bottoming out -- and are now at the point where they can get away with 24 or fewer good minutes.
Philadelphia led by 13 with five minutes left in the first half before the Wizards went on a 22-8 run to take a 59-58 lead at halftime. The 76ers were down by as many as 12 points in the third quarter and trailed 83-73 entering the fourth quarter before they outscored the Wizards 40-24 over the final 12 minutes.
"You know what I loved about the game is we didn't play well," 76ers head coach Doc Rivers said after winning his debut with Philadelphia.
"We had stretches that we played well. You can see in that little third quarter -- body language is struggling, (they) caught themselves and they just find a way to win. The execution down the stretch of the fourth quarter for a team that hasn't been together was unbelievable on both ends. So we love that part."
The 76ers didn't play on Christmas for the first time since 2016. The Knicks, who have played on Christmas Day an NBA-record 53 times, were off on the holiday for the second straight season.
--Field Level Media
(STATS / cbssports.com)
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