The season series is tied at one game apiece and the Pacers are primed to take the lead with Joel Embiid out with an injury.

HOME TEAM: Indiana Pacers (24-15, 15-5 at home)

The Indiana Pacers are on a pretty bumpy road as of late. They have lost six of their last 10 games, and some of the losses have come from teams at the bottom of the standings. The good news, though, is they are coming off a good win. On Saturday, they beat the Chicago Bulls, 116-105, and shot a season-high 57.1% from the floor.

The Pacers lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in their first meeting in early December, 119-116, and then returned the favour on New Year’s Day courtesy of a commanding 115-97 victory. TJ Warren is pacing his teammates in scoring and shooting in the season series at 25 PPG at 63.3 FG%.

Warren (17.9 PPG) will have to continue producing such numbers as co-starters Malcolm Brogdon (back) and Domantas Sabonis (knee) are questionable to play – the former has only played eight minutes in the Pacers’ last nine games, while the latter has missed the previous contest and will undergo an MRI.

Myles Turner, Jeremy Lamb, and Aaron Holiday, among others, will help out Warren in scoring. Holliday is averaging 13.8 points and 6.9 assists per game in his last nine.

ROAD TEAM: Philadelphia 76ers (25-15, 7-13 on the road)

The Sixers continued their struggles on the road Sunday as they got clamped by the Dallas Mavericks, 109-91, and shot a season-low 37.8% — a complete opposite from what the Pacers are coming from. It was Philly’s fifth-straight loss on the road.

Tobias Harris (19.4 PPG), Ben Simmons (14.9 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 8.5 APG), and Josh Richardson (15.5 PPG) will be the team’s main guys with All-Star big man Joel Embiid (hand) out for at least the next two weeks. Harris and Richardson have both scored 20 or more points against the Pacers, while Simmons double-doubled in both meetings.

The other man in the middle, Al Horford, also has an increased workload. He’s been slowly building some rhythm as of late, averaging 15.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game on 51.3%-shooting over his last three games.

PREDICTION:

The Pacers pile up on the Sixers’ terrible road record and get a 109-101 win. Warren and Harris will be the key match-up for the game, and we should see the two lead their respective teams in scoring. With Embiid gone and Sabonis not taking away opportunities, Turner might be able to produce higher than usual.