NEW YORK (Interstat) — The New York Knicks will aim to solidify their status as the Eastern Conference’s top seed when they host the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.

New York (58-32) enters the regular-season finale having won six of its last seven games, a stretch punctuated by Thursday’s 140-89 demolition of the Atlanta Hawks. Philadelphia (50-40) comes in riding a three-game winning streak after Saturday’s 109-100 victory at Boston, a game in which the 76ers avenged an earlier blowout loss in the first-round series.

The Knicks have dominated the season series, winning three of four meetings, including a 138-89 throttling of the 76ers on Feb. 11 in Philadelphia. That victory marked the largest margin of defeat for the 76ers this season. New York also won a nail-biter 112-109 on Jan. 24, while Philadelphia’s two wins — 130-119 on Jan. 3 and 116-107 on Dec. 19, 2025 — both came at the Garden. The Knicks’ average margin of victory in the series is 17.8 points.

Players to watch

Philadelphia guard Tyrese Maxey has been the engine of the 76ers’ late-season surge. Over his last 10 games, Maxey is averaging 28.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists while logging heavy minutes. In Saturday’s win over the Celtics, he played 45 minutes — his second consecutive game above 43 minutes — and posted 30 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. In the 76ers’ two wins against New York this season, Maxey averaged 28.5 points and 7.0 assists. He has scored at least 20 points in nine of his last 10 outings.

Knicks forward OG Anunoby has been equally pivotal for New York. In Thursday’s rout of Atlanta, Anunoby scored 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting with seven rebounds and two assists in just 27 minutes. He has been a consistent two-way presence, averaging 19.9 points and 7.9 rebounds over his last seven games while shooting 52.3% from the field. In the Knicks’ massive win over Philadelphia in February, Anunoby contributed 22 points and six rebounds.

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Philadelphia completed its first-round series against Boston with a 4-3 victory, bouncing back from a 96-128 loss in Game 4 to win three straight. Joel Embiid posted 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in Saturday’s clincher, while rookie guard VJ Edgecombe added 23 points, six rebounds and four assists.

New York swept its first-round series against Atlanta, 4-1, with the lone loss coming by one point in Game 3. Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a triple-double (12 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) in the series-clinching win, and Mikal Bridges has averaged 18.4 points during the postseason.

Monday’s game will determine playoff seeding for both teams. The Knicks hold a one-game lead over Boston for the seed, while Philadelphia is locked into the seed but can improve its positioning with a win and help from other results.