New York Knicks Help Keep 76ers’ In-Season Tournament Hopes Alive

The 76ers are still alive in the NBA's In-Season Tournament.

The Philadelphia 76ers expressed a lot of disappointment in their inability to advance to the bracket phase of the NBA In-Season Tournament. Despite entering the 2023-2024 NBA season as favorites to come out of their group play on top, the Sixers dropped two critical matchups, which took the results in a different direction.

The Indiana Pacers punched their ticket to Las Vegas officially on Tuesday night. As they battled it out against the Atlanta Hawks, the Sixers fell short against the Cleveland Cavaliers in overtime, which eliminated Philly’s chances of winning their group.

"Say what you want about the In-Season Tournament, but it is for players, we are competitive," said Sixers veteran Tobias Harris on Tuesday. "It's more than a regular season game. Those types of games, they get you ready for playoff basketball, those types of environments."

Although elimination was likely on Tuesday, the Sixers weren’t totally down and out. There was a chance the Sixers could be eliminated officially on Friday night, depending on what happened in the matchups between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Washington Wizards, along with the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks.

76ers Disappointed In-Season Tourney Elimination is Likely

As expected, the Bucks defeated the Wizards. However, the favored Heat couldn’t close out their matchup against the New York Knicks despite having a notable lead. With a Knicks win, the Sixers’ hopes of landing a wildcard spot remain in place.

Several other teams are in the hunt. Each of the four teams in front of the Sixers holds a 2-1 lead. The Heat have a plus-11 point differential, which puts them in the lead. The Nets (plus-8), Cavaliers (plus-six), and Celtics (0) all have the upper hand on Philadelphia, with fewer losses at the moment. 

Tournament play will resume next Tuesday. In the East, the Bucks will face the Heat, the Bulls will visit the Celtics, the Raptors and the Nets will battle it out, while the Hornets and the Knicks will match up. As for Philly’s group, the Hawks and the Cavaliers will go toe-to-toe. 

As they finished their tournament play, the Sixers can only sit back and hope everything falls in their favor.