New York @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 18, 2020 ) Philadelphia 90, New York 87

Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid is expected to sit out Thursday's game against the visiting New York Knicks after injuring his left shoulder during Wednesday's 108-94 road loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Embiid is slated to undergo an MRI exam on Thursday to determine the severity of the injury.

Embiid appeared to hurt the shoulder while being fouled by Cleveland's Ante Zizic with 49.2 seconds left in the first quarter and he missed both free throws while displaying obvious pain before leaving the contest and the 76ers struggled without him. "With the group that we had, we just didn't get it done," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown told reporters afterward. "Defensively, we didn't get it done and you felt it tremendously in the paint. I think they had 52 points in the paint." The injury to Embiid comes at a time when All-Star point guard Ben Simmons (lower back) will be sidelined for at least two weeks amid a stretch in which the 76ers are faltering with just a 5-6 mark. New York dropped a 107-101 road decision to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday for its fifth consecutive loss and the Knicks have lost 11 straight contests against Philadelphia, including three this season.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: MSG, NBCS Philadelphia, Sportsnet One

ABOUT THE KNICKS (17-41): Second-year backup guard Allonzo Trier scored 15 points in 16 minutes off the bench on Wednesday and is 9-of-12 shooting over the past two games after not once being inserted into a contest over the prior 13 outings. "If my number is called, I have to come in and be productive," Trier told reporters afterward. "But if it's not, then I have to be supportive of my teammates, try to help in different ways, tell them what I am seeing and doing those different things." New York received 57 points from the bench against Charlotte with power forward Bobby Portis (17 points) and center Mitchell Robinson (season-high 16 rebounds to go with 12 points and three blocked shots) also performing well.

ABOUT THE 76ERS (36-23): Embiid scored a career-high 49 points two nights earlier against the Atlanta Hawks and Brown was unsure if Embiid will be sidelined for a period when he met with reporters after the contest. However, veteran power forward Al Horford was concerned over the possibility, especially considering how much the team struggled without the big man while dropping to 9-21 on the road. "It had a big impact," Horford told reporters. "Obviously, we play through him and once he was out, we didn't really know what was next. We didn't quite know how to play."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The 76ers' three wins over the Knicks this season are by an average of 4.7 points.

2. New York rookie SG RJ Barrett had just five points on 2-of-11 shooting versus Charlotte after averaging 18 points over the previous three contests.

3. Philadelphia SG Josh Richardson tallied just nine points against the Cavaliers and has scored in single digits in five of seven February appearances.

PREDICTION: 76ers 108, Knicks 101