Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics Preview

The Philadelphia 76ers look to climb up the Eastern Conference ranks as they take on it's leaders, the Boston Celtics.

On Wednesday, the Philadelphia 76ers take on the Boston Celtics for only the second time this season. In their first meeting, the current conference leaders came out on top, 126-117, after Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combined for 70 points.

Yet, since this meeting, the Sixers have only improved, climbing the Eastern Conference standings to the third spot, sitting only three games out of first place.

In their last time out, Philadelphia fell to the New York Knicks, 97-108, blowing a 21-point lead in part due to a 24-point night from Julius Randle.

Joel Embiid carried his usual weight, scoring 31 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, while James Harden failed to find his footing from the field, scoring 12 points on 36 percent shooting.

Embiid is the only Sixer to find himself on the injury list ahead of Wednesday's match, suffering from soreness in his left knee, which has been nagging him for the previous few weeks.

On the other side of the ticket sits the Celtics, who are coming into Wednesday off of a narrow win against the Detroit Pistons.

Tatum, who was named an All-Star starter a few weeks back, went on a scoring spree, dropping a 34-point, 11-rebound double-double in the Motor City on Monday night.

Former Sixer Al Horford, alongside Robert Williams III and Marcus Smart, all find themselves listed as out on Boston's injury report for Wednesday's match.

Declan Harris contributes to All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him on Twitter: @DecIanH.

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