Call it the Curse of Maurice Ndour. Ever since the ex-Knicks’ game-winner in the final game of the 2016-17 season, the Knicks have been utterly incapable of beating the Philadelphia 76ers. Last season, the losing streak hit 15 games, as the Philly tormentors swept New York.
The 76ers finished the season as the first seed in the Eastern Conference last season, and were a team that looked like they had finally figured it all out. Joel Embiid played like the MVP the city had long trusted The Process to produce, Tobias Harris had finally found his footing and became a consistent scoring threat, the team finally had more shooting help in the form of Danny Green and Seth Curry, and Ben Simmons played elite defense.