The Philadelphia 76ers will be looking to snap their run of two defeats in the opening two games when they take on the Indiana Pacers at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday.
This will be just the second meeting between the two teams this year, with the Pacers picking up a 134-122 victory on January 26, when Pascal Siakam knocked down a team-high 26 points on home court.
Match preview
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The Indiana Pacers were on the wrong end of a 25-point blowout on Friday night as they fell 123-98 against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
In a dominant display, four of the Knicks' starters finished with 20+ points, led by floor general Jalen Brunson who knocked down 26 points, and offseason acquisition Karl Antony-Towns, who tallied a 21-point, 15-rebound double-double.
Bennedict Mathurin shot 8-13 from the field to put up a team-high 20 points off the bench for Indiana, as star offensive leader Tyrese Haliburton failed to register a basket as he missed all eight of his shot attempts.
This was a far cry from their impressive opening-night display when Rick Carlisle's men overturned an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to claim a 115-109 victory over the Detroit Pistons at the Little Caesars Arena last Thursday.
With the result to the Knicks, the Pacers have now lost five of their most recent six NBA outings, including four straight defeats in the playoffs, when they got swept by eventual winners Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
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The Philadelphia 76ers, on the other hand, were condemned to a second defeat in their second game of the new regular season campaign as they fell 115-107 against the Toronto Raptors at the Scotiabank Arena on Friday night.
Kelly Oubre notched a game-high 28 points in 39 minutes of action, including 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range, to keep the 76ers in the contest but Scottie Barnes' 27 and Jakob Poltl's 19 helped the Raptors secure a second straight victory.
This followed a 124-109 defeat against the Milwaukee Bucks in the season curtain-raiser on Thursday, when Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped a combined 55 points to hand Doc Rivers's men a comfortable opening-day victory.
Despite their slow start to the campaign, the Philadelphia 76ers have their eyes set on improving their performance from last term, where they reached the playoff courtesy of a 105-104 victory over the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament before losing 4-2 against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference first round.
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Team News
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Mathurin has been a solid offensive option off the bench for the Indiana Pacers, netting 19 and 20 points respectively in the opening two games and the Canadian Guard will be looking to make an impact on Monday.
Having finished without any points in 26 of action against the Knicks, Haliburton, who averaged 20.1 points per game last season, will look to put Saturday's horror shooting display behind him and bounce back at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
On the injury front, the Pacers will be without 23-year-old center James Wiseman, who is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after having recently undergone surgery over an Achilles injury.
Philadelphia 76ers will have to cope without offseason acquisition Paul George, who has been ruled out since picking up a knee injury in the pre-season clash against the Atlanta Hawks on October 15.
Joel Embid's absence remains a major cause for concern for the 76ers going into the season as the 2023 MBA MVP continues his long road to full fitness after picking up a knee injury in August.
Indiana Pacers possible starting 5:
Halibrton, Nembhard, Turner, Nesmith, Siakam
Philadelphia 76ers possible starting 5:
Maxey, Lowry, Drummond, Martin, Oubre
We say: Indiana Pacers to win by 3+ points.
With George and Embid recuperating from injuries, a shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers side have stumbled into the new regular season campaign and will be looking to secure their first win on Sunday.
However, the Indiana Pacers have won 11 of their last 13 games at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse and we are backing them to bounce back from their disappointing display road defeat against the New York Knicks.
