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Sizzling Sixers face off with Knicks at MSG

Jan 11, 2012 - 3:47 PM (Sports Network) - The red-hot Philadelphia 76ers go after their seventh straight win this evening when they close out a three-game in three-night stretch versus the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The Sixers continued to roll on Tuesday, as Elton Brand scored a season-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, helping Philadelphia rout the Sacramento Kings, 112-85.

"I was kidding Elton after the game saying that tonight is really opening night [as it's 30 days since the team met in training camp, the normal time spent before a seasons starts]," said coach Doug Collins. "Elton had 21 and 10 and I don't think that there was anybody that was in that locker room that wasn't incredibly happy for him, coaches and players, knowing how hard he works and what an incredible professional he is. He's been struggling and to see him play like that tonight, that's the E.B. we had last year and we're going to need him. It was good to see that."

Jrue Holiday added 17 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals while Evan Turner had 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for Philadelphia, which has outscored its opponents by 21.8 points-per-game during the streak.

The win also capped a perfect 4-0 homestand.

"We needed to have this win, finishing a four-game home stand," said Brand, who had totaled 20 points and 15 rebounds combined in his three previous contests. "It was important for us to get this victory. It was a big win for us.

The Sixers, who last won seven in a row from Jan. 6-17, 2009, held an opponent under 40 percent shooting for the fourth-straight game, are leading the league with a plus-16 point differential, and are off to their best start of the season since beginning 10-0 in the 2000-01 campaign.

"Great job of our guys taking care of the home court. You are always concerned when you have a ton of home games. Sometimes you get home and see a little slippage because you get comfortable. I thought our guys were incredibly professional in the way they handled it," Collins said of his team, who are in the midst of playing 18-of-22 games at home after they began the season with five consecutive road games.

On the injury front for Philadelphia, center Spencer Hawes was forced to leave Tuesday's game at halftime with a strained lower back and his status for tonight is questionable.

New York, meanwhile, enters with a little momentum of its own with wins in each of its last three games. On Monday, Amare Stoudemire had 25 points and 12 rebounds while Carmelo Anthony scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Knicks defeat the Charlotte Bobcats, 91-87.

Although Stoudemire and Anthony combined to shoot just 13-of-43 from the field, they both took 13 foul shots.

"It was just a will to win out there tonight," Anthony said. "Shots were going in and out, we weren't making shots, myself, Amare. We shot 30-something percent from the field, so we had to grind it out on the defensive end and then crunch time we had to make something do."

Tyson Chandler added 20 points and 13 boards for New York, which had lost four of five before this run.

The Knicks have had the upper hand in their series with the Sixers of late, winning five of the last seven meetings. Philly, though, has won four of its last six at MSG.