The top two teams in the Eastern Conference do battle in Philadelphia on Wednesday as the 76ers host the Brooklyn Nets.
Philadelphia and Brooklyn are tied atop the conference going into a mouth-watering clash.
Yet the Nets will again be without their full complement of stars at Wells Fargo Center, with James Harden struggling due to a hamstring issue and Kyrie Irving having missed Tuesday's game in Minnesota for personal reasons.
But they do have Kevin Durant at their disposal for a contest in which the Nets must try to contain an MVP candidate.
TOP PERFORMERS
Joel Embiid - Philadelphia 76ers
Embiid is expected to miss out on the NBA's top individual honour, with Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets the firm favourite, but he has continued to present a strong case.
He is averaging a career-high 29.6 points per game and has been key to each of the 76ers' past four wins, scoring 24, 35, 27 and 36 points in those contests.
Kevin Durant - Brooklyn Nets
Durant has had his fair share of injury issues this season, but the Nets' sole healthy superstar carried them in a rearranged meeting with the Timberwolves on Tuesday.
The two-time NBA Finals MVP shot 11 of 15, including four of six from three-point range, to rack up 31 points. He will need similar production if the Nets are to see off the Sixers on this unanticipated back to back.
KD beats the clock pic.twitter.com/z72AwqyC3s
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) April 13, 2021
KEY BATTLE - A DUEL BEHIND THE ARC
Durant's performance was indicative of how the Nets have thrived this season. Their three-point field goal percentage of 39.0 is the third-best in the NBA.
In the Sixers, however, they are coming up against a team that has done an impressive job of stopping teams getting hot from deep. Only six teams have allowed fewer three-point makes per game than Philadelphia (11.8).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Sixers came out on top in February's meeting with the Nets, prevailing 124-108 and they have dominated this matchup in recent times.
Philadelphia have won three of the previous four meetings between the two and have not lost a home game to the Nets since December 2018.
