By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Tip-off: 7:00 pm ❖ Location: Philadelphia, PA ❖ TV: NBCSP ❖ Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
The Philadelphia 76ers (46-30) look to nab their 11th straight win tonight as the Brooklyn Nets (25-52) visit the Wells Fargo Center. If the Sixers manage to earn the victory sans Joel Embiid and Dario Saric, it'll be their longest winning streak since the 1990-91 season, when they won 12 straight behind Charles Barkley. Philadelphia has been dominant inside their home arena in 2018, posting a 19-1 record since the turn of the calendar year.
The Sixers remain in the fourth seed heading into play against Brooklyn, a half game up on the Pacers, who are in Denver tonight for a 9:00 p.m. matchup. Philadelphia is a half game behind Cleveland for the three seed and the Cavs play host to top-seeded Toronto this evening. The Cavs and Sixers could be playing for the third-seed when the two teams meet in Philadelphia on Friday.
Tonight's game will mark the final meeting between the Nets and Sixers this season, with Philly currently leading 2-1. After losing their first game against Brooklyn on the road, the Sixers have won two straight against the Nets and look to close out the series win tonight on their home floor.
Philadelphia's bench has been a big part of their strong recent play. Since March 1, the Sixers reserves are averaging 36.6 per game, well above the season average of 29.3 points per game.
Philadelphia is coming off of a convincing 119-102 win in Charlotte. Already without Joel Embiid, the Sixers would also have to play without Dario Saric due to a bacterial infection. With that duo, it isn't crazy to imagine Dwight Howard having a big game, but the Sixers didn't skip a beat. After trailing by one after 12 minutes, the Sixers outscored Charlotte by 10 in the second. Midway through the third quarter, the Hornets went on a 16-3 spurt to pull to within one, but the Sixers answered with 14 straight points to pull away.
Five Sixers scored in double figures, led by Marco Belinelli's 22 points off of the bench. Ben Simmons had an extremely impressive stat line, tallying 20 points, 15 assists, eight rebounds, three steals, two blocks and just one turnover in 32 minutes of action. J.J. Redick also had 20 points while Ersan Ilyasova, filling in for Saric, scored 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. The Sixers defense held Dwight Howard and Kemba Walker to a combined 20 points on 6-for-14 shooting.
For the Nets, after putting together consecutive wins against the Magic and Heat on the road, they lost by 12 against the Pistons in their last game, which involved a shoving match between big men Quincy Acy and Detroit's Andre Drummond, both of whom were fined today. Brooklyn trailed by five after the first and 14 at the half and could never make inroads to a comeback. Joe Harris and Jarett Allen each had 15 points for the Nets, who committed 22 personal fouls resulting in 25 points for the visiting Pistons.
Former Sixers center Jahlil Okafor has played in just three of the Nets' last 19 games, with two of those appearances coming against the Sixers. On Monday, Okafor talked with the New York Post about his future in Brooklyn.
“Saying a full offseason would help me, I’ve been with these guys for three or four months now, done everything they’ve asked of me. I’m not sure what they want. But everybody’s treated me really well.”
In three games against Philadelphia this season, Jah is averaging 7.3 points and 2.3 rebounds. Fellow former Sixer Nik Stauskas has also fallen out of Brooklyn's rotation, appearing in just three games since March 1. In 30 games for the Nets, he's averaging 4.7 points, shooting 39 percent from the floor and 41.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Notable Sixers vs. Nets Player Stats This Season
Ben Simmons vs. Nets: 3 GP, 18.7 points, 8.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds
D'Angelo Russell vs. Sixers: 3 GP, 18.7 points, 5.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds
J.J. Redick vs. Nets: 3 GP, 18.3 points, .485 FG%, .500 3PT%
Spencer Dinwiddie vs. Sixers: 3 GP, 18.0 points, .410 FG%, .333 3PT%
| Matchup Preview | April 3, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Brooklyn Nets (25-52, 11-26 Away) |
Philadelphia 76ers (46-30, 26-11 Home) |
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