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Tyrese Maxey poured in 36 points to lead the 76ers over the Rockets on Jan. 22.<\/p>\n
The Philadelphia 76ers (43-36, 8th in Eastern Conference) take on the red-hot Houston Rockets (50-29, 5th in Western Conference) for an interconference tilt on Thursday night (8 ET, League Pass<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n Here are three storylines to know before tonight\u2019s matchup:<\/p>\n 1. Sixers trying to avoid play-in: Following a 6-2 span that included important victories over Charlotte and Minnesota, Philly has lost two in a row, falling to the No. 8 seed in the East<\/a>. With only three games remaining in the 2025-26 regular season, the Sixers are running out of time to clinch a postseason berth, but there\u2019s still room for them to move up by the end of the week. Just two games separate the ninth-place Hornets from the fifth-place Hawks, so a 3-0 or 2-1 record to close out the campaign would do wonders for the City of Brotherly Love.<\/p>\n The main thing to note is that Philly\u2019s fully healthy at the perfect time. Philadelphia\u2019s \u201cBig 3\u201d of Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Paul George are all active and gearing up for a possible postseason run. Add in talented rookie VJ Edgecombe and veterans Kelly Oubre, Jr. and Quentin Grimes, and this is a dangerous team for any opponent in the SoFi Play-In Tournament or first round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n 2. Rockets sharing the rock: Houston has rattled off an impressive seven-game winning streak after going 4-6 over their previous ten outings. They have identical records as the fourth-place Los Angeles Lakers (50-29), but with Los Angeles in a tailspin and banged up with injuries to Luka Don\u010di\u0107 (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique), the Rockets have a solid chance at leap-frogging them come the final day of the regular season.<\/p>\n The Rockets have blasted off during this crucial span, particularly on the offensive end. In their last seven contests, they rank sixth in scoring (122.7 ppg<\/a>), second in offensive rating (128.0<\/a>), first in 3-point percentage (41.5), seventh in assists (30.6) and second in plus-minus (16.3). They\u2019ve dished 30 or more assists in all but one outing while limiting their miscues, as their 12.0<\/a> turnovers a night are third-best since the start of the win streak.<\/p>\n 3. Reed Sheppard providing a spark: Although his numbers may not jump off the page, the second-year guard has earned a starting role down the stretch, and it\u2019s paid huge dividends for Ime Udoka and the Rockets. Following back-to-back losses at the hands of the Lakers in mid-March, Sheppard shifted to the first unit alongside Kevin Durant, Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. <\/p>\n In 11 appearances since March 20, Sheppard is averaging 14.8 points<\/a>, 3.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.9 steals and only 1.4 turnovers on 46.5 \/ 44.4 \/ 100.0 shooting splits with a plus-7.8 plus-minus rating in 28.7 minutes. Houston has gone 9-2 during this stretch and ranks fifth in offensive rating (123.0<\/a>), eighth in defensive rating (110.9) and fourth in net rating (12.1). Their fourth-quarter offense has looked much cleaner and more efficient with the playoffs approaching, something that should only help in their chase for a championship.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tyrese Maxey poured in 36 points to lead the 76ers over the Rockets on Jan. 22. 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