Just three days ago, we saw a Sixers (15-51) team nearly upset the top team in the East. Instead, it resulted in a loss which was followed by another loss on Saturday, against Memphis. Losers of 20 straight, the Sixers hit the road to Indiana to face the same Pacers (49-17) team they saw on Friday night. If Philadelphia fails to get a win, they will set the record for the most consecutive losses in franchise history. Tonight's game is set for 7PM and can be seen on Comcast Sportsnet.
The Sixers didn't let a 17-point first half deficit stop them from making a comeback on Friday night, when they hosted the Pacers. Behind a strong night of 25 points and a career-high 10 assists from Thaddeus Young, the Sixers cut the lead to three late in the fourth. Indiana answered with a layup and a three-pointer to put the game away by a final score of 101-94. Michael Carter-Williams added 12 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the loss. After playing tough against Indiana, the Sixers came out stale the next night against Memphis, losing 103-77. MCW had 23 points and eight rebounds in the loss while Young contributed with 20 points and seven rebounds.
The big story headed into Friday night was the return of Evan Turner to Philadelphia. He didn't play much of a role, scoring two points on 1-for-4 shooting while dishing out four assists and grabbing four rebounds. On a surprising note, former Sixer Lavoy Allen found plenty of success on Friday, scoring 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting. Lavoy also had four rebounds and blocked two shots. Paul George led the Pacers with 25 points. The Pacers played the Pistons on Saturday and rallied from a 25-point deficit to beat Detroit 112-104 in overtime. Paul George had 30 points, Turner had 20 and Andrew Bynum had 15 to go along with nine rebounds.
Game Notes:
- The Pacers are 30-4 at home this season.
- Michael Carter-Williams averaged 17.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists in the Sixers’ four games last week.
- The Sixers released Eric Maynor and signed D-Leaguer James Nunnally to a 10-day contract. He averaged 18.1 points per game in 35 games in the D-League this season.
- The Sixers shoot the lowest three-point percentage in the NBA this season at 30.5 percent.
- Tony Wroten gets the start tonight over James Anderson, who is listed as inactive.
Starting Lineups:
Sixers Lineup
PG Michael Carter-Williams
SG Tony Wroten
SF Hollis Thompson
PF Thaddeus Young
C Henry Sims
Pacers Lineup
PG George Hill
SG Lance Stephenson
SF Paul George
PF Thaddeus Young
C Roy Hibbert
Injury report
Sixers: Brandon Davies (finger), Nerlens Noel (knee) and Jason Richardson (knee)
Pacers: Ian Mahinmi (ribs) is day to day and CJ Watson (hamstring) is also day to day
Prediction…
After playing the Pacers tough on Friday, the Sixers will have a much harder task this time around, playing in Indiana. Pacers take this one, 109-91.
Brandon Apter is a writer for Sixerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ApterShock
