Fresh off a win on the strength of a historic Joel Embiid performance, the Philadelphia 76ers will look to soar to their seventh game in a row when they square off against the reeling and Tyrese Haliburton-less Indiana Pacers. Will the Sixers keep their streak alive? Or, will the Pacers take the air out of Philly’s momentum?

Catch this game live on Friday, January 26, 2024 at 8 AM, Manila time

Away: Philadelphia 76ers (29-13/12-7 Away)

Projected Starting Fiv-e:

• Tyrese Maxey
• Kelly Oubre Jr.
• Tobias Harris (Questionable)
• Nicolas Batum
• Joel Embiid

The last time the Sixers took to the floor, Joel Embiid morphed into a mythical basketball creature and uncorked an unreal performance that had him going off for 70 points in a 133-123 takedown of the San Antonio Spurs at home last Tuesday.  Embiid is not going to score that many points again this Friday because back-to-back 70-point performances are outside of human limitations.

In any case, Embiid is definitely a man to watch out for against the Pacers for obvious reasons. Not only that, but the Sixers, as a team, are on a roll. They have won all of their last six games, and that includes a notable victory over the reigning NBA champions on Jan. 17 at home (126-121). And don’t count out Tyrese Maxey getting his turn to shine on Friday, as he had 50 points in the Sixers’ 137-126 win against the Pacers on Nov. 13 before Embiid dropped 39 points in a 132-126 loss to Indiana two days later. The Sixers, who have averaged 119.3 points in their last six outings, are 11-8 against the spread on the road this season.

Home: Indiana Pacers (24-20/13-9 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

• T.J. McConnell
• Buddy Hield
• Aaron Nesmith
• Pascal Siakam
• Myles Turner

The Pacers are moving in the opposite direction of Philadelphia, as Indiana is on a three-game losing skid. It has also lost four of its last five games. In their most recent outing, the Pacers suffered a 114-109 setback at the hands of the Nuggets at home on Wednesday. With Tyrese Haliburton sidelined by injury, Indiana just couldn’t dig deep enough to upset Denver. The Pacers will have to find a way to win against the Sixers without Haliburton again. There is still plenty of quality in Indiana even without Haliburton, especially since the Pacers had just recently acquired Pascal Siakam, who had 16 points and 10 boards in the Nuggets game. 

Andrew Nembhard, who started in lieu of Haliburton, manufactured 15 points and seven assists, while TJ McConnell had 17 points and seven assists off the bench. Indiana struggled heavily from deep versus the Nuggets, going just 5/21 on its 3-point attempts, but the Pacers may be able to get their touch back from behind the arc, as they had at least 47 threes on a 42.3% conversion rate in the three games prior. The Pacers are 7-3 against the spread in their last 10 home games versus the 76ers, dating back to 2019.

PREDICTIONS:

Spread: The Pacers (+4.5) cover the spread.

Over/Under: The total (236.5) hits the Over.