3-Game NBA SWEEPER PASS
(NBA) Indiana vs. Philadelphia,
Total: 210.00 | -105.00 Under
Result: Loss
The set-up: The Indiana Pacers jumped into third place in the Eastern Conference with a win over the No. 2 Boston Celtics on Sunday but with just 3 1/2 games separating the No. 3 and No. 8 seeds in the East, the Pacers are well aware that there is no rest for the weary. The 39-28 will visit Philadelphia tonight and will try to hold off one of those five teams chasing hem, the sixth-place 76ers, who come in 36-29. The 76ers are only two games behind the Pacers and Philadelphia owns a 13-game winning streak on its homecourt and will play seven of its next nine games at the Wells Fargo Center.

Indiana: The Pacers took advantage of a Celtics team that was missing Al Horford and lost another All-Star, PG Kyrie Irving, during the game. Indiana would hold on for a 99-97 win, a contest that opened a stretch of four straight games against East playoff contenders. Center Myles Turner (13.6 & 7.0) provided the go-ahead basket on Sunday by backing his defender down and is trying to show off his post skills. "It's big. Turner has averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds in the last two games and will be trying to record three straight double-doubles for the first time this season on Tuesday. Turner is one of six Pacers averaging in double digits, led by Oladipo (23.8-5.3-4.3). Oladipo came to Indiana in the Paul George trade, as did Turner's backup, the 6-10 Sabonis. Sabonis averaged 5.9 & 3.6 in about 20 minutes for OKC last season but this year chips in 11.8 & 8.0 in about 25 minutes.

Philadelphia: The 76ers finished up a four-game road trip with a 120-97 thrashing of the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, closing the trip 2-2. "Lately, we have been kind of up and down," 76ers center Joel Embiid, who scored 21 points in 26 minutes, told reporters, "but I'm glad we got a win tonight. We're trying to go to the playoffs, and you have to be able to go on the road and win games." Philadelphia is trying to climb into the No. 3 or 4 spot in the East to ensure homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs and will play 11 of the remaining 17 regular-season games at home (remember, 76ers are on a 13-game home winning streak). The 76ers' "process" is working, as Embiid (23.4 & 10.9) and Simmons (16.3-7.6-7.6) are on their way to stardom. Fellow starters SG Redick (16.6), PF Saric (15.0 & 7.0) and SF Covington (12.6 &) give Philly a starting-five to be proud of. Also, the recent additions of Belinelli (11.5 PPG in 11 games) and Ilysova (9.izx st7 & 5.5 in six games), have also been huge.

The pick: No way I'll buck Philly at home right now but I expect the Pacers to give the 76ers all they want. Philly has averaged 110.9 PPG during its home winning streak so my play is an 8* on the Over,.