After a long rest, the Philadelphia 76ers get back to action for back-to-back games this weekend, beginning with a showdown against the 2025 NBA Cup champions New York Knicks. 

Catch this game live on Saturday, December 20, 2025 at 8:00 AM, Manila time

Away: Philadelphia 76ers (14-11, 6-4 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Tyrese Maxey (DTD)
  • VJ Edgecombe
  • Quentin Grimes
  • Paul George
  • Joel Embiid (DTD)

Coming off a long rest, the 76ers are looking to bounce back from a loss. Philadelphia last saw action on Sunday, suffering a 120-117 defeat at the hands of the Trae Young-less Atlanta Hawks on the road. But Philly also did not have Tyrese Maxey in that contest due to illness.

 Maxey has missed the last two 76ers games, but he could be returning to the court for this marquee matchup against the reigning NBA Cup champs. Meanwhile, Paul George has been looking like old PG3 as of late, having scored at least 20 points in three of his last two outings, including a 35-point night against Atlanta. 

In five games so far in December, George has put up 20.2 points while shooting an incredible 54.8 percent from deep for the 76ers, who are averaging 116.8 points this season.

Philadelphia is 4-0 against the spread in its last four outings as the home team.

Home: New York Knicks (19-7, 13-1 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Jalen Brunson
  • Josh Hart  (DTD)
  • Mikal Bridges
  • OG Anunoby 
  • Karl-Anthony Towns (DTD)

It hasn’t been several days since the Knicks tasted a championship, and while it’s not the real thing, the NBA Cup title intensified their belief that they have what it takes to win it all. And in there was no NBA Cup title hangover either for the Knicks, as they returned to work on Friday and (barely) defeated the Indiana Pacers on the road, 114-113. 

New York was missing a lot of players in that game, with  Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart, Deuce McBride and Landry Shamet all out. But KAT, Robinson and Hart could be back for this matchup against the 76ers after what appears to be a maintenance day for them. Meanwhile, Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges had 25 and 22 points, respectively, against Indiana. New York has now won seven games in a row.

The Knicks have won all of their last three home games against Philadelphia at Madison Square Garden, covering the spread in two of those contests.

Picks

Spread: Philadelphia 76ers (+5.5)
Over/Under: Under (229)