MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MARCH 07: Tyrese Maxey #0 of the Philadelphia 76ers celebrates his three-point basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves with teammate Joel Embiid #21 in the fourth quarter of the game at Target Center on March 7, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 76ers defeated the Timberwolves 117-94.
The 76ers return home after a successful 5-game road trip. They took four during the trip and the last three. Tonight they kick off a two-game home weekend schedule beginning with a visit from the Trailblazers and an old friend.
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The Sixers remain the third seed in the Eastern Conference standings. They sport a 43-22 record after a very good win in Minnesota, 117-94, wrapping up the five-game roadie. Philadelphia is now 19-12 away from The Center, 24-10 at home. The Blazers come to town following a 115-93 loss at Boston on Wednesday night. It dropped their record to 31-35 on the season, 14-20 on the road. This is the second game of the two-game series as the 76ers took the first matchup in Portland on January 19th, 105-95. The win over the Trailblazers was the fourth as part of their five-game sweep out West.
Joel Embiid led all scorers on that Friday night with 32 points, collecting nine boards. James Harden put together a triple-double of 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assists, Tyrese Maxey came off the bench to drop 15, Tobias Harris added 11 and Shake Milton rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10. Georges Niang made three 3’s to lead the squad. As a team, Philadelphia shot 50 percent from the field but were a little off from beyond making just eight total threes on 26 tries.
Returning tonight with the Trailblazers is former Sixers first-round pick Matisse Thybulle. Thybulle, the two-time all-defensive performer, was traded to the Trailblazers at the deadline in February and has played in 10 games since joining the team, starting in them all with averages of 7.5 points, four rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.8 steals, and a block. The four-year man is shooting close to 41 percent from three-point range on four-plus attempts with Portland. It will be interesting to see him match up against his former team, trying to slow down the offense guided by point guard James Harden.
Probable Starters:
PHI: Embiid, Harris, Tucker, Maxey and Harden
POR: Jusuf Nurkic, Grant, Reddish, Thybulle and Lillard
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