76ers vs. Knicks Odds for Christmas Day: Sixers Are Road Favorites at MSG (December 25)

76ers vs. Knicks Odds

The New YorkKnicks are short home underdogs against the Philadelphia 76ers on Christmas Day at Madison Square Garden. Both of these teams enter this matchup with momentum as they are two of the hottest teams in the NBA.

At the time of writing on Dec. 23 before their matchup with the Clippers, the 76ers have won six straight games as Joel Embiid has recorded a double-double in five of these six wins. Embiid leads the NBA in scoring average (32.5 points per game) and is the anchor of the NBA’s third-best defense (with a 109.1 Defensive Rating, per Cleaning The Glass).

While the 76ers offense ranks 16th this season with a 112.8 Offensive Rating, they are seventh in Offensive Rating over the last two weeks (117.4) with Embiid, James Harden, Tobias Harris and De’Anthony Melton leading the way while Tyrese Maxey has been injured.

The Knicks have surged recently after inserting Quentin Grimes, who had been playing sparingly, into the starting lineup just over a month ago and has become one of the team’s most impactful players. Grimes has been a lockdown perimeter whom coach Tom Thibodeau has put on the opposing team’s best perimeter player. He is scoring just under 13 points per game while shooting nearly 45% on 3s this month.

The Knicks, led by free agent acquisition Jalen Brunson and a more efficient Julius Randle, rank among the top 11 most efficient offenses and defenses in the NBA. They recently had their eight-game win streak snapped on Wednesday but are looking for a statement win against MVP candidate Embiid and the 76ers.