76ers at Pacers
On the brink of a franchise record for futility, the Philadelphia 76ers have to deal with the best home-court team in the NBA when they travel to face the Indiana Pacers on Monday. The Pacers wiped out a 25-point deficit in a 112-104 overtime win at Detroit on Saturday, rallying for their 17th victory after trailing at halftime. While the Pacers hold the best record in the Eastern Conference, the 76ers are plummeting toward the cellar, having dropped 20 straight after a 103-77 loss to Memphis.
Another loss would put Philadelphia into a tie for the sixth-longest skid in NBA history, matching the Detroit Pistons' 21-game drought spanning the final 14 games of the 1979-80 season and the first seven contests of the 1980-81 campaign. "This is not slit-your-wrist time. This is not even close to that," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown told reporters. "This is about building a program and understanding the short-term pain for a lot of long-term gain." The Pacers, who have won three straight, are three games clear of Miami for the top seed in the East.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, FSN Indiana
ABOUT THE 76ERS (15-51): Philadelphia is only six losses shy of tying the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers for the longest skid in league history, and the Sixers face only one team with a losing record (New York) before they would tie the record. They never had a chance Saturday against Memphis, shooting 37.3 percent overall and going 6-for-23 from 3-point range en route to a season-low point total. The only thing Philadelphia has to be excited about the rest of this season is the development of young stars like Michael Carter-Williams, who leads all rookies in points (16.8), rebounds (5.7), assists (6.2) and steals (1.94).
ABOUT THE PACERS (49-17): Indiana has won three in a row following a season-high four-game losing streak and is trying to beat the Sixers for the second time in four days. The Pacers hope to get more from Evan Turner than they did in his first meeting with his former team, as he managed only two points in 21 minutes off the bench in Friday's 101-94 win at Philadelphia. Reserve guard C.J. Watson has missed four of the past five games, first bothered by a sprained elbow and now by a strained hamstring, and is doubtful to play Monday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Pacers have won the first two meetings this season and are trying to sweep the season series for the first time since 2003-04.
2. Indiana is 23-3 when it commits fewer turnovers than its opponent. The 76ers force a league-high 17.2 turnovers per game.
3. The 76ers are 6-46 when scoring fewer than 110 points and 3-33 when failing to reach 100.