So Close For Sixers, But Melo Pulls Knicks Ahead

The Sixers couldn’t hit a shot the first three quarters. Meanwhile, Toney Douglas and Carmelo Anthony were throwing daggers. Melo was impossible to defend for most of the night and scored 31 points on 23 shots, including a few big ones right in the face of Andre Iguodala.

By the time Thaddeus Young and Elton Brand brought the Sixers back from a double-digit deficit, there was only about three minutes remaining. While it got close, Melo hit the final dagger after Andre hit one to give the Sixers a brief lead. Thad was everywhere, playing as well as he has in his whole career, viciously throwing down dunks and leaking out on the break to the tune of 25 points on 11-16 shooting. Elton stayed unguardable for the Knicks, adding 25 and 9 of his own, playing like a much younger man. If this is the Elton we see in the playoffs, Miami or Boston is in for a surprise.

With the win, the Knicks tie the season series with the Sixers and move a half-game up on them with 4 games to play for Philly. Doug Collins will take the time to go back to the board at practice and rebound from three straight losses with a game against Toronto on Friday.

2011 NBA Playoff Picture: Philadelphia 76ers Battle New York Knicks For Position

A playoff berth for the Philadelphia 76ers seemed improbable after they sputtered to a 3-13 start, but the team cleaned up its act and has clinched a postseason appearance for the third time in four seasons. At 40-37, Philadelphia has a strong hold on the East's sixth seed, but the New York Knicks (38-38) lag just 1.5 games behind. Additionally, the Sixers have a slim chance of catching the Atlanta Hawks (44-33) for the fifth seed. Here's a more specific breakdown of the various scenarios:

• If the Sixers go 5-0 to close out the season, they will guarantee the Knicks can't catch them for the sixth seed. Additionally, closing 5-0 gives Philly a faint shot of overtaking the Hawks for the fifth spot; Atlanta would have to lose out or go 1-4 in this scenario.

• Should the Sixers finish 4-1, the Knicks would need to win their remaining games, beginning tonight against the Toronto Raptors, in order to seize the sixth seed from Philadelphia. The head-to-head matchup between these teams tomorrow night is pivotal: if the Sixers win, they guarantee a better seed than the Knicks. But if they lose, the door remains open for New York to overtake them.

• In the event Philly finishes 3-2, the Knicks would need to do no worse than 5-1 the rest of the way and beat it tomorrow night to leapfrog it in the standings.

The tiebreaker after head-to-head record is division record. Philadelphia has three games remaining against Atlantic Division clubs; New York has four. If the Sixers win just one divisional game the rest of the way, the Knicks would have to win all four of their divisional games to own the tiebreaker. And, as always, the Knicks must beat the Sixers on Wednesday to keep their hopes of overtaking them alive.

Projecting the Sixers' likely playoff position if they close the season 2-3 or worse gets tricky because it involves delving deeper into the specific tiebreak scenarios. In a nutshell, the Sixers guarantee themselves a seed no worse than sixth with a win against the Knicks. Even if they lose that game, they still stand a great chance of holding the sixth seed. It would take an unlikely meltdown for Doug Collins' crew to slip to seventh.