The Philadelphia 76ers (0-11) are getting closer to their first win after taking a late lead against Dallas on Monday. For the second straight game though, their late fourth quarter mistakes led to their demise, sinking them to 11 straight losses to begin the 2015-16 campaign. Things don't get any easier tonight as the Pacers (6-5), fueled by a hot-shooting Paul George, visit Wells Fargo Center.
On Monday night against the Mavericks, the Sixers had a great opportunity to earn their first win, but fourth quarters hiccups hindered them yet again. Trailing by as many as 19 in the first quarter, Philadelphia stormed back to take an 82-81 lead with just under four and a half minutes to go in the game. The Mavericks responded by going on a 9-2 run, thanks to seven points from veteran forward Dirk Nowitzki. The Sixers put themselves in a whole from the start of this contest, committing eight turnovers in the opening quarter and finishing with an abysmal 27. Dallas scored 28 points off of the Sixers turnovers.
The Pacers fell by one-point to the Bulls on Monday but Paul George continued to shoot lights out with 26 points. Limited to just six games due to injury last season, George has scored 26 or more in seven straight games and have averaged 28.9 points per game in that span. Monta Ellis contributed with 20 points.
Game Notes:
- Purely for matchup sake, Nerlens Noel will come off the bench and Robert Covington will get the start at three guard. This will put Jerami Grant up against Paul George with the Pacers small starting lineup.
- Jahlil Okafor has put together back-to-back double-double efforts and leads the rookie class in scoring with 19.2 points per game while also grabbing 7.6 rebounds a contest. Monday was the first game he and Nerlens Noel both had doubles. The second year forward out of Kentucky scored 12 points and tallied 12 boards.
- Sixers rookie point guard T.J. McConnell leads all first-year players in assists with an average of 6.9 per game. He scored 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting against Dallas on Monday and dished out six assists.
- Philadelphia is six losses away from tying the franchise-worst losing streak (17) to start a season that they set last season.
- The Sixers have limited opponents to 39.5 percent shooting over the past three games.
- Before losing to the Bulls on Monday, the Pacers had won three straight.
- The Pacers will be without George Hill, averaging 14.0 points per game. He did not travel on this two-game trip due to an upper respiratory infection.
Projected Lineups:
Sixers:
PG – T.J. McConnell – 6.5 ppg, 6.9 apg
SG – Nik Stauskas – 9.7 ppg, 2.7 apg
SF – Robert Covington – 5.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg
PF – Jerami Grant – 10.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg
C – Jahlil Okafor – 19.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg
Injuries: Tony Wroten (right ACL tear, out), Kendall Marshall (right ACL tear, out), Joel Embiid (broken right foot, out), Carl Landry (torn ligament right wrist, out), Richaun Holmes (right hamstring strain, out).
Pacers:
PG – Monta Ellis – 13.3 ppg, 5.0 apg
SG – C.J. Miles - 12.8 ppg, 1.0 apg
SF – Paul George – 24.5 ppg, 8.6 rpg
PF – Lavoy Allen – 4.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg
C – Ian Mahinmi – 7.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg
Injuries: George Hill (upper respiratory infection, out), Rodney Stuckey (sprained right ankle, out), Myles Turner (chip fracture left thumb,out)
Game Information
Tip-off: 7:00pm
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Brandon Apter is a contributor to Sixerdelphia.com
