From Texas, to Chicago and…back to Texas.
Monday’s road win over the Chicago Bulls, coming on the heels of an overtime win at San Antonio, extended the Philadelphia 76ers’ (44-21) winning streak to five games.
The 76ers are now 24-4 with their primary starting lineup available this season. The team is also a league-best 24-8 in clutch games.
Next, they’ll visit the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
Philadelphia is 23 games over .500 for the first time this season and a game and a half up on the Nets for first place in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn suffered its second straight loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday. With two fewer losses and the tiebreaker over the Nets, the 76ers will be the East’s No. 1 seed if they go at least 5-2 over their last seven games.
Joel Embiid stressed the importance of confidence up and down the lineup.
“To be able to win, I need my teammates. And I need them to have the most confidence they’ve ever had going into the playoffs…I’m just trying to get guys to be confident in themselves because, when we get there, we’re going to need everybody. And I’m going to need everybody if I want to win a championship.”
The 76ers defeated the Rockets earlier this season, 118-113, on Feb. 17. Embiid had 31 points, 11 rebounds and a season-high nine assists, while Tobias Harris went for 24 points and 15 boards. Seth Curry poured in 25 points of his own.
More recently, Curry is 20 for his last 33 attempts from three-point range.
The 76ers return to Texas seeking their sixth straight victory.
Wednesday's matchup tips off at 8 p.m. ET.
Opponent Outlook:
The Rockets have the worst record in the NBA at 16-49.
Houston’s Kevin Porter Jr. had 50 points and 11 assists in a win over Milwaukee last Thursday. Porter Jr., who turned 21 on Tuesday, became the youngest player in NBA history to post 50-plus points and 10-plus assists in a game.
Five-time All-Star John Wall finished with 28 points and seven assists against the 76ers the first time around, but the Rockets’ guard is sidelined for the remainder of the season due to a hamstring injury.
Sterling Brown, Dante Exum, Eric Gordon, David Nwaba and D.J. Wilson are other Rockets listed as out ahead of Wednesday's game. D.J. Augustin (questionable - left ankle sprain) and Danuel House Jr. (doubtful - right ankle soreness) were also listed on the injury report entering gameday morning.
Philadelphia's Furkan Korkmaz is out with a right ankle sprain.
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