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Recent history has shown that the Los Angeles Clippers have shown no mercy when taking on the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers haven't beaten their Western Conference foe since March of 2011, and every game since then has essentially been an onslaught.
In the Clippers six game win streak, they've beaten Philadelphia by a combined total of 149 points, and put together a slew of highlights. So it goes without saying that Friday night might not be the most likely time for the Sixers to get their 19th win of the season.
The teams last faced off on January 3rd, where the Clippers won 127-91 at the Staples Center. Chris Paul led the team with 24 points (7-11 FG, 3-5 3PT) and 12 assists. Los Angeles is currently in the middle of a five game win streak, most recently extended in a 111-80 victory over the New York Knicks. Austin Rivers (surprise!) led the team with 21 points (9-10 FG) in just 19 minutes of action off the bench.
Philadelphia is on a nice one game win streak (they've won 18 games, we're making that a thing this year) after a dominating performance over the Denver Nuggets Wednesday night. Robert Covington continued his stretch of hot shooting, finishing with 25 points (8-17 FG, 6-11 3PT), 6 rebounds and 2 steals. Nerlens Noel continues to assert himself as a force on both ends of the court, finishing with 14 points (5-8 FG), 15 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 assists. He also helped keep Kenneth Faried quiet, as he was limited to just 9 points on 3-9 shooting.
The Sixers find themselves 1.5 GB of the Minnesota Timberwolves for the second best lottery odds, with a good chance to close some ground. Minnesota is in Houston to play the Rockets Friday. Philadelphia still holds a two game advantage over the Los Angeles Lakers, who are in the 6ix to take on the Toronto Raptors.
In regards to the Sixers, you can catch them on Comcast Sportsnet tonight. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m.