The 76ers (49-31) begin their final weekend of the regular season by welcoming the Indiana Pacers (25-55) to South Philadelphia for their only visit on Saturday afternoon.
Entering the contest, the season series between the Sixers and Pacers stands at an even 1-1, with both of those meetings taking place in Indianapolis.
Thursday in Toronto, the Sixers fell to the Raptors, 119-114, to conclude a three-game road trip. The middle game of the trip was a Tuesday win at the Pacers in which the Sixers set a franchise record with 23 threes.
Joel Embiid recorded a 45-point, 13-rebound double-double in the Indiana game. He shot 18-for-30 from the floor, 2-for-3 from long range, and 7-for-10 from the foul line.
As of Friday morning, Embiid leads the NBA in scoring at 30.4 points per game.
Tyrese Maxey finished with 30 points, three rebounds, and seven assists against the Pacers. He knocked down a career-high eight 3-pointers on 11 attempts.
In 73 games this season, Maxey is averaging 17.4 points per game on 48-percent shooting and a .435 mark from beyond the arc. Through Thursday’s games, Maxey’s 3-point percentage is second in the league behind only Detroit’s Luke Kennard (.450).
On the Friday injury report, five 76ers were listed as out for the next game: Charles Bassey (right shoulder pain/G League assignment), Charlie Brown Jr. (G League two-way), Georges Niang (left knee; patella tendinopathy), Myles Powell (G League two-way), and Jaden Springer (G League assignment).
Saturday’s Sixers-Pacers matchup is a 1 p.m. ET start.
Opponent Outlook:
The Pacers (25-55) have been off since hosting the Sixers on Tuesday.
Buddy Hield was the Pacers’ leading scorer in that one with a 25-point, 11-rebound double-double, plus five assists.
Indiana’s injury report included eight players entering gameday, with three of those players listed as questionable: Goga Bitadze (right foot soreness), Malcolm Brogdon (lower back soreness), and Jalen Smith (left groin soreness).
Chris Duarte, Ricky Rubio, Myles Turner, and T.J. Warren remain out, plus Nate Hinton (health and safety protocols).
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Blue Coats Playoff Update:
The Delaware Blue Coats, the NBA G League affiliate of the 76ers, advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 124-116 road win over the Motor City Cruise (Detroit Pistons) on Friday.
76ers rookie Jaden Springer led the way with 30 points and four steals. Charlie Brown Jr. notched a double-double with 28 points and 10 rebounds, while fellow Sixers two-way contract player Myles Powell poured in 22 points in 23 minutes of play.
The No. 3 seed Delaware now visits the top-seeded Raptors 905 (Toronto Raptors) on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
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