76ers Look to Rebound at Indiana as Short-Handed Pacers Host Wednesday Night

The Philadelphia 76ers visit the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. ET. Philadelphia arrives at 3-1 and hoping to bounce back from its first loss of the season, while Indiana sits at 2-2.

DraftKings Sportsbook lists the 76ers as 5.5-point favorites. The over/under for total points is 236.5, and the moneyline has Philadelphia at -198 and Indiana at +164. SportsLine's computer model projects a 121-115 Philadelphia win.

The 76ers opened the year with three victories before falling to Detroit on Sunday. Detroit started the game on a 15-1 run and went on to win 106-93. Tyrese Maxey scored 29 points in the loss, but Philadelphia made only seven of 27 3-point attempts. Joel Embiid sat out for injury management, and VJ Edgecombe also missed the game.

Embiid had played the night before, when he finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 127-116 win over Milwaukee. He is expected to return Wednesday, and Edgecombe was not listed on the latest injury report. Maxey is averaging 28.8 points through four games, and Jaylen Brown gives the team another scoring option when defenses focus on Maxey.

Indiana has been inconsistent. The Pacers scored 136 points in a win over Brooklyn, then managed 102 in a loss at Milwaukee. They put up 61 points in the first half against the Bucks but scored just 17 in the fourth quarter as Milwaukee pulled away. In that game, Tyrese Haliburton had 22 points and nine assists, and Pascal Siakam added 20 points and 13 rebounds.

The Pacers' lineup is the bigger question. Zubac is out with an ankle sprain suffered in Brooklyn, which leaves Jay Huff and Larry Nance Jr. to handle the center minutes. Andrew Nembhard is questionable with neck soreness, and the preview also lists Haliburton as questionable. Haliburton is averaging 21.8 points and 9.5 assists through four games.

History favors the visitors, as the 76ers swept all four meetings between the teams last season, although both rosters look different this year. The preview backs Philadelphia on the moneyline and leans toward the under on 236.5 points, priced at -108.

The under case rests partly on Philadelphia's recent scoring. Three of its first four games finished below 236.5 combined points, with totals of 206, 220, 243 and 199. The 76ers have averaged 110 points per game so far. The Pacers and their opponents have gone over 236.5 in three of Indiana's eight combined games, so the early results point in both directions.