Philadelphia @ Indiana preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 31, 2019 ) Philadelphia 97, Indiana 115

The Philadelphia 76ers are going to have to get used to playing without star center Joel Embiid again and weren't quite as smooth on the road without the big man on Saturday. The 76ers will try to bounce back and knock off an Eastern Conference contender when they visit the Indiana Pacers on Monday.

Embiid, who underwent finger surgery on Friday and will sit out at least two weeks, was missed in the second half on Saturday in Dallas when Philadelphia was outscored 68-41 to let an early lead slip away and drop the team to 7-13 on the road. The 76ers earned a 109-98 home win over the Boston Celtics at home in their first game without Embiid on Thursday but are just 2-5 over their last seven games, including a 115-97 setback at Indiana on Dec. 31. The Pacers are trying to pull out of their own funk and won for the third time in eight games when they earned a 116-105 victory at Chicago on Friday. Indiana was missing its own frontcourt double-double machine with Domantas Sabonis sitting out to rest a knee injury that leaves him questionable for Monday.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: NBCS Philadelphia Plus, FS Indiana, Sportsnet One

ABOUT THE 76ERS (25-15): Embiid leads Philadelphia in scoring (23.4 points) and rebounds (12.3), and Tobias Harris (20 points, 10 rebounds) led the team in both categories on Saturday. Mike Scott moved into the starting lineup and delivered nine points along with six rebounds while Al Horford slid over to the center spot and struggled to 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting. All-Star point guard Ben Simmons collected 11 points and 11 assists in Saturday's loss but went scoreless in the second half.

ABOUT THE PACERS (24-15): Sabonis' absence gave center Myles Turner a chance to step up, and he responded with season highs of 27 points and 14 rebounds. "I thought we did a good job of next-man up with Domantas not playing tonight," Indiana coach Nate McMillan told reporters after the win. "Myles was involved a lot more because of the absence of Domantas, he was at the five position and he did a good job of making plays. He took the shot when it was there and really got us off to a good start and had an impact on this game on both ends of the floor." JaKarr Sampson started in place of Sabonis and managed eight points on 4-of-4 shooting against the Bulls and Aaron Holiday went 8-of-9 off the bench as the team shot 57.1 percent.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Pacers PG Malcolm Brogdon (back, illness) missed the last five games and is day-to-day.

2. Philadelphia SG Matisse Thybulle is 0-of-8 from the floor in two games since returning from a knee injury.

3. The home team took each of the first two meetings this season, with Embiid sitting out the Dec. 31 meeting at Indiana.

PREDICTION: Pacers 110, 76ers 107