The 76ers (29-13) have embarked on a season-long five-game road trip, tipping off Thursday in Indianapolis, visiting the Pacers (24-20).
The trip continues with subsequent visits to the defending champion Denver Nuggets (31-14), Portland Trail Blazers (12-31), Golden State Warriors (18-22), and Utah Jazz (22-23).
The team is headed on the road on the highest of notes - on the heels of Joel Embiid’s career-high 70-point outing in the team’s 133-123 win over San Antonio Monday.
Embiid became just the ninth player in NBA history to reach 70 points in a single game. His 70 points also mark a new franchise record for the 76ers, passing Wilt Chamberlain.
“To be in the same conversation [with Chamberlain] - that’s pretty cool,” Embiid said postgame. “It was just a great night.”
“You can’t take Jo for granted,” Tyrese Maxey said. “What he’s doing right now is special.”
The reigning MVP completed his line with 18 rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block in 37 minutes of play. He shot 24-for-41 from the field, 1-for-2 from deep, and 21-for-23 from the free throw line in the historic performance.
Following Wednesday’s practice in Camden, Maxey discussed the on-and-off-court opportunity on the long trip ahead.
“I think this team is really tight,” Maxey said. “So it’s going to be easy for us to go out on the road and have a lot of fun. Bond on the plane, bond in the meetings, bond in the hotel, and then go out there and compete with each other.”
“When you go on the road, you have nothing but your team. That’s all you have. So you’ve got to bond, got to go out there and fight for each other, play for each other.”
The Sixers and Pacers split a two-game set in Philadelphia in November, with the Sixers winning the first matchup, 137-126, and the Pacers taking the second (132-126).
The Sixers’ Nov. 12 win marked Tyrese Maxey’s first career 50-point game, as Maxey finished with a game-high 50 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals. He shot 20-for-32 overall in the performance, and 7-for-11 from long range in his 39 minutes of play.
OPPONENT OUTLOOK
The Pacers (24-20) are on a three-game skid, most recently losing to Denver, 114-109, Tuesday in Indianapolis.
The team will look for its first win with two-time All-Star and new Pacer Pascal Siakam, who was acquired by Indiana last week after playing for the Raptors since his NBA debut in 2016.
Siakam has scored in double-figures in all three of his appearances as a Pacer thus far. He notched a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double, plus four assists, in his most recent performance versus Denver Tuesday.
Fellow Pacer All-Star Tyrese Haliburton is expected to miss Thursday’s matchup (hamstring). Haliburton and Siakam shared the floor in Siakam’s Indiana debut versus Portland Friday, but have not played together since.
MONDAY’S KEY PERFORMANCES
- Joel Embiid
- Embiid’s historic night concluded with 70 points, 18 rebounds, five assists (and just a single turnover), a steal, and a block.
- Tyrese Maxey
- Maxey added 18 points, four rebounds, and eight assists. He shot 7-for-15 from the field and made both of his free throws.
- Tobias Harris
- Harris finished with 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting, plus two rebounds and six assists. He finished at a game-high +21.
QUOTE TO NOTE
Following Wednesday’s practice, Maxey stared down the trip ahead:
“A lot of different styles we’re going to play against. Tomorrow we’ll play against a fast-paced team that wants to get up a lot of 3’s, get up and down, score in transition. So we’ve got to be ready for that. Then we’re going to go to Denver. We know how they play - (Nikola) Jokić on their team, Jamal (Murray) - a two-headed monster. Then we’ll go from there. Just try to get as many dubs as we can.”
FOLLOW ALONG
Thursday night’s game is a 7 p.m. ET start in Indianapolis.
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus
Listen: 97.5 The Fanatic
UNIFORMS
The Sixers are scheduled to wear their blue Icon Edition uniforms, while the Pacers will wear their white Association Edition uniforms.
@SIXERS SOCIAL