Philadelphia @ Detroit preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 5, 2018 ) Detroit 78, Philadelphia 114

The Philadelphia 76ers lost another big man but kept on rolling Tuesday night at home. They hope to stay hot and keep the heat on in the Eastern Conference playoff race when they put an 11-game winning streak on the line at the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.

Days after All-Star center Joel Embiid was sidelined with an orbital fracture, forward Dario Saric was held out of Philadelphia's 121-95 win over the Brooklyn Nets due to cellulitis in his right elbow, the result of a cut suffered last week at the New York Knicks. Ersan Ilyasova stepped into the starting lineup against the Nets and responded with 11 points and 13 rebounds, while rookie Ben Simmons continued his recent tear with 15 points, 12 boards and six assists as the Sixers stayed within a half-game of third-place Cleveland in the East. The Pistons' playoff chances are hanging by a thread but they've won five in a row and seven of eight to stay alive. They survived the ejection of All-Star center Andre Drummond in a 108-96 win at Brooklyn on Sunday.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCS Philadelphia, FS Detroit

ABOUT THE 76ERS (47-30): Veterans JJ Redick and Marco Belinelli are playing perhaps their best basketball at the most important time for Philadelphia. Redick scored 19 points against the Nets - his fifth straight game with at least that many - and Belinelli added 17 on 7-of-11 shooting, the eighth time in his last nine games that he's shot at least 50 percent from the floor. Rookie Markelle Fultz scored exactly 10 points for the third time in five games since returning from a shoulder injury and saw some time on the floor with Simmons in the third quarter, a scenario coach Brett Brown indicated he will "continue to try to look at."

ABOUT THE PISTONS (37-40): It's likely too little too late to save Detroit's season, but the team has to be encouraged by the play of Reggie Jackson since he returned from a lengthy injury layoff, as the 27-year-old scored a season-high 29 points at Brooklyn and is averaging 18.8 over his last five games. Anthony Tolliver continues to fill in for the injured Blake Griffin and posted 16.2 points per game average during the same stretch. "Whenever things are not going your way or you have some guys go out – whether it be by injury or by whatever – you just have to figure out a way to win," Tolliver told reporters after knocking off the Nets. "We had guys step up."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Drummond managed a double-double prior to his ejection and he needs one more to reach 60 in that category for the second time in his career.

2. Simmons has at least a double-double in seven straight games.

3. Philadelphia took each of the first three meetings, including a 114-78 rout Jan. 5 at home.

PREDICTION: 76ers 109, Pistons 105