By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers (4-17) are in Memphis tonight for a match-up with the Grizzlies (14-8) for the second half of a back-to-back. The two teams met during Thanksgiving week in Philadelphia with Memphis earning a double overtime win despite trailing for the majority of the game. The Grizzlies have won eight straight games against the Sixers, who are currently on a seven-game slide.
Last Meeting:
The Sixers and Grizzlies played at the Wells Fargo Center on November 23 with Memphis emerging as a 104-99 winner in double overtime. Philadelphia saw an 11-point second half lead go to waste as Memphis chipped away to go ahead in the fourth. The teams headed to overtime, shooting a combined 1-for-11 before a Zach Randolph layup made it 91-88 in favor of memphis. Jerryd Bayless tied it up with a three to send it to a second overtime. Randolph scored the first four points of the second OT and the Sixers inched closer 99-98 following a Bayless layup, but that's all they'd get as Memphis closed out a five-point win. Philadelphia got 22 points from Ersan Ilyasova while Memphis was led by Marc Gasol with 27 points and Mike Conley with 25.
Road woes:
After playing nine of their last 10 games at home, the Sixers embark on a three-game road trip with stops in Memphis, New Orleans and Detroit. Philadelphia has lost 22 on the road dating back to last season and Tuesday night will be a tough one with two of their best players not in the lineup. You'd have to go all the way back to January 20 to see the Sixers last road win, 96-87, in Orlando against a Magic team they've already lost to twice this season. Philadelphia did beat New Orleans once last season and Thurday's match-up with the Pelicans could put Joel Embiid head-to-head with Anthony Davis.
Walking wounded:
Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor are both unavailable for the Sixers tonight, leaving them with just one true center in second-year player Richaun Holmes. Embiid played last night and is not cleared for back-to-backs while Okafor is staying behind with gastroenteritis. The Sixers are 1-6 in games without Embiid. In addition, Jerryd Bayless is questionable with left wrist soreness, Robert Covington is out with a left knee sprain and Nerlens Noel isn't cleared to play yet. That means that Brett Brown will have just nine players at his disposal against the Grizzlies, who are also on the second half of a back-to-back. Richaun Holmes is the only center, so expect both Ersan Ilyasova and Dario Saric to get time at the five against Marc Gasol.
On the other side of the court, Memphis is equally as depleted as they will be without Mike Conley, Vince Carter, Tyler Ennis and Chandler Parsons while Zach Randolph is expected to return after missing seven games following the death of his mother.
Previous Game Rewind:
Sixers: Philadelphia got out to a nine-point lead over the Nuggets at home on Monday, but were outscored by 17 the rest of the way, losing by a final score of 106-98. Joel Embiid looked human for the first time in a while. Despite scoring 16 points, he shot just 5-for-15 from the field and turned the ball over three times. He remained a presence on the defensive end though, blocking a career-high five shots. Meanwhile, Dario Saric followed up a 21 point, 12 rebound effort on Saturday with 17 points and eight rebounds against Denver.
Grizzlies: Memphis has won three in a row, most recently 110-108 on Monday against the Pelicans in double overtime. Not only did Marc Gasol hit the game-tying triple in regulation, but he also made a game-saving block in overtime and hit the decisive basket in the second overtime. Gasol finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists while reserve Troy Daniels contributed with 29 off of the bench.
| Matchup Preview | December 6, 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Philadelphia 76ers (4-17, 0-6 Away) |
Memphis Grizzlies (14-8, 7-4 Home) |
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Game Information:
Tip-off: 8pm
Location: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee
TV: CSNPhilly
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Stream Live: CSNPhilly.com, NBC Sports Live Extra
