December was not kind to the Philadelphia 76ers. They saw injuries pile up and the losses inevitably followed, dropping below .500 after what had been a promising 13-9 start to the season. Heading into their Christmas Day game with the Knicks, it looked like Philly might be back in the lottery battle.
Things turned around, though. Joel Embiid, who missed three games with a bad back, returned in the game prior, a loss in Toronto. That meant Embiid was healthy for his first career game in MSG — a game they would end up winning on national T.