New York @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 13, 2019 ) Philadelphia 126, New York 111

The Philadelphia 76ers salvaged the finale of a three-game road trip on Sunday and did the New York Knicks a favor in the process. The 76ers will try to make it two straight wins when they host the suddenly pesky Knicks on Wednesday.

Philadelphia fell at Orlando and Oklahoma City but bounced back with a 114-95 drubbing of Cleveland on Sunday that saw it get back to its defensive roots while holding the Cavaliers to 37.8 percent from the floor. "We just had to lock in," 76ers point guard Ben Simmons told reporters. "Everybody knew what we needed to do. Everybody came in with the same mindset. We just got to finish the right way. Regardless of what happened on this trip, we got to stay focused and locked in each day and try to get better." Philadelphia's physical play against Cleveland proved to be a bonus for the Knicks, who caught the Cavaliers on the second half of the back-to-back on Monday and grabbed a 123-105 win - their second in three games. "We're just taking it one game at a time," New York forward Marcus Morris told reporters. "We're going to go in there, we're going to fight. We'll see how it goes. We'll worry about ourselves and we're not backing down."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), NBCS Philadelphia

ABOUT THE KNICKS (4-10): New York forward Julius Randle broke out for 30 points on 12-of-17 shooting on Monday after shooting 41.4 percent from the floor in the first eight games of the month. "You get frustrated sometimes when you don't get the results you want," Randle told reporters. "I'm very impatient. And that's something - basketball requires patience and I've learned better over the course of my career. But I'm impatient. And it's frustration sometimes. But games like tonight show the potential or whatever. But I'm on to the next one." Morris added 23 points in Monday's win and is averaging 19.8 over the last four contests.

ABOUT THE 76ERS (8-5): Forward Tobias Harris is pulling out of a deep shooting slump that saw him go 0-for-18 from 3-point range over a five-game span and scored 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting - 3-of-4 from 3-point range - in an overtime loss at Oklahoma City on Friday before going 12-of-14 from the floor in Sunday's triumph. "(I) took what was there for me, took what the defense gave me, and got in a flow and a good rhythm," Harris told reporters after scoring a team-high 27 points against Cleveland. Sunday provided a step in the right direction also for forward Al Horford, who went 4-of-6 from the floor after going 10-of-30 in the previous two contests.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Knicks PG Elfrid Payton (hamstring) sat out the last 10 games and remains questionable.

2. 76ers SG Josh Richardson slumped to eight points on 2-of-12 shooting Sunday after going 17-of-29 from the field over the previous two contests.

3. Philadelphia swept the four-game series in each of the last two seasons.

PREDICTION: 76ers 113, Knicks 105