By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers (8-24) return home this evening for a match-up with the Minnesota Timberwolves (11-23) after posting a 1-3 record on their west coast trip. During the first meeting of the two teams this season, Minnesota dominated in front of a national television audience, something that didn't set well with Sixers rookie center Joel Embiid.
“I think it’s payback time,” Embiid said after practice Monday. “Since that game ended last time, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Tomorrow I’m excited to go up against them again.” [CSNPhilly.com]
Embiid will remain on his 28-minute restriction as we head into the first games of the new year. In injury news, Gerald Henderson (left hip soreness), Sergio Rodriguez (left ankle sprain) and Richaun Holmes (concussion) remain out.
Last Meeting:
The Sixers trailed Minnesota from the get go back on November 17 and found themselves down 61-33 at the half. Andrew Wiggins led the way with 35 points and 10 rebounds while Karl-Anthony Towns added 25 and 10. Philadelphia shot just 37.3 percent overall, including 28.1 percent from beyond the arc. Dario Saric scored 16 off the bench to lead the Sixers. Joel Embiid finished with just 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting. Wiggins made 14 of his 20 shots and Minnesota shot 50.6 percent en route to a convincing 110-86 win.
Embiid, Ilysova pairing excelling:
While there may be many people ready to see Joel Embiid paired up with Nerlens Noel, if the team plans to win more games, the starting combo of Joel Embiid and Ersan Ilyasova should be the one they go with. The Sixers are 4-5 this season when Embiid and Ilyasova are both in the starting lineup and their last game in Denver showed how successful the two could be together. They both scored 23 points, playing big parts in a crazy 124-122 win over the Nuggets to close out a four-game west coast roast trip. Embiid leads the team and all rookies in scoring (18.9), rebounds (7.3) and blocked shots (2.4). Meanwhile, since joining the Sixers earlier this season from the Thunder, Ilyasova is averaging 14.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 47 percent from the floor and 40.1 percent from three-point range in 29 games, 16 of which have been starts. While we likely haven't seen the last of the twin towers pairings, the Sixers went 1-5 in games that had Embiid and Okafor in the starting lineup.
Defensive Distaster:
The Sixers and Timberwolves have a combined 19 wins this season and while Minnesota doesn't have much trouble offensively with Wiggins, Towns and LaVine, they rank 26th in the NBA when it comes to defensive efficiency, allowing 108 points per 100 possessions. The Sixers are 21st in the league with 106 points per 100 possessions. Philadelphia has issues on offense as well though, ranking dead last in offensive efficiency with 99.1 points per 100 possessions. The Sixers allow 106.5 points per game, ranked 23rd in the NBA while Minnesota (105.3) is a few spots ahead in 19th.
Previous Game Rewind:
Sixers: They finished up their road trip with a 124-122 win over the Nuggets, but almost coughed this one up after a rough loss to Utah earlier in the week that saw the Sixers score just nine points in the final period. A T.J. McConnell three-pointer put the Sixers ahead 117-113 with just under two minutes to play, but Denver converted a four-point play to tie things up. Joel Embiid hit one of two from the line to put Philadelphia ahead and then came up with a big steal at the other end, resulting in two free throws to take a 120-117 lead.
Timberwolves: Minnesota led 49-37 at halftime, but Portland outscored them 32-15 in the third en route to a 95-89 win. Trailblazers guard CJ McCollum scored 43 points while the 'Wolves got 24 points from Andrew Wiggins. Karl-Anthony Towns struggled, scoring just 11 points on 3-for-15 shooting. With 7:23 left in the game, Minnesota tied things up, but Portland responded with eight straight points to put the game out of reach.
| Matchup Preview | January 3, 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Minnesota Timberwolves (11-23, 5-11 Away) |
Philadelphia 76ers (8-24, 5-14 Home) |
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Game Information:
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
TV: CSN Philly
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Stream Live: CSNPhilly.com, NBC Sports Live Extra
