Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia plays conference foe Boston

Published Jan. 9, 2020 3:13 a.m. ET

Boston Celtics (25-10, third in the Eastern Conference) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (24-14, fifth in the Eastern Conference)

Philadelphia; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: The Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics meet in a matchup of two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

The 76ers are 16-8 against Eastern Conference opponents. Philadelphia has an 11-4 record against teams below .500.

The Celtics are 6-4 against the rest of their division. Boston is second in the Eastern Conference giving up only 104.3 points and holding opponents to 44 percent shooting.

The teams meet for the third time this season. The 76ers won 115-109 in the last matchup on Dec. 12. Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 38 points, and Kemba Walker led Boston with 29 points.

TOP PERFORMERS: Ben Simmons ranks second on the 76ers with 7.5 rebounds and averages 14.9 points. Simmons has averaged 9.4 rebounds and added 16.6 points per game over the last 10 games for Philadelphia.

Jayson Tatum is averaging 20.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists for the Celtics. Enes Kanter is shooting 58.9 percent and has averaged 10.3 points over the last 10 games for Boston.

LAST 10 GAMES: 76ers: 4-6, averaging 111.1 points, 46.2 rebounds, 27.3 assists, 7.2 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 46.0 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 111.2 points on 46.6 percent shooting.

Celtics: 7-3, averaging 111.4 points, 47.3 rebounds, 23.4 assists, 8.2 steals and 6.6 blocks per game while shooting 46.4 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 104.8 points on 45.7 percent shooting.

INJURIES: 76ers: Joel Embiid: out (finger), Matisse Thybulle: day to day (knee).

Celtics: Romeo Langford: day to day (illness), Vincent Poirier: out (finger), Robert Williams III: out (hip).