(Sports Network) - Philadelphia 76ers guard Jrue Holiday has performed like an
All-Star through his team's first 22 games.
Holiday, though, is expected to be a game-time decision on Friday night
because of a foot injury, possibly leaving the Sixers without their leading
scorer for a meeting with the Indiana Pacers.
The fourth-year guard is leading Philadelphia with 18.4 points per game and
ranks third in the NBA with 8.9 assists a night. However, he underwent an X-
ray and MRI on Thursday, with the latter test revealing a sprain to his left
foot.
That leaves the 22-year-old's status for tonight up in the air and head coach
Doug Collins said that Evan Turner would probably start at the point versus
the Pacers if Holiday can't play as Royal Ivey is also out with strep throat.
"He's a big part of what we're doing," said swingman Jason Richardson of
Holiday. "He's our leading scorer, a guy to get us into things."
Holiday's foot didn't look like an issue on Wednesday against Chicago, with
the guard scoring 26 points with nine assists in a 96-89 loss to the Bulls.
Turner added 16 points to reach double figures for a 14th game in a row to go
along with eight rebounds.
Thaddeus Young added 13 points and nine rebounds for the 76ers, who were
outscored by a 17-9 margin over the game's final five minutes to lose for the
fourth time in six games. Philadelphia shot just 2-of-14 from 3-point range
and hit on only five of 11 free throw attempts.
"They outplayed us towards the end of the game," said Young, who is averaging
18.1 points over his last 10 games. "They willed themselves to victory."
The Pacers look to make it consecutive wins on Friday night after snapping a
two-game slide with Wednesday's 96-81 triumph over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Paul George had 27 points and seven rebounds for Indiana, which set a new club
record by holding Cleveland to just 23 points in the second half.
"The second half we really tried to make them do what we wanted them to do. We
turned up the pressure a little bit," said George Hill, who finished with 17
points and seven rebounds.
David West reached double figures in scoring in a 13th straight game with 18
to go along with seven assists and nine boards, while Roy Hibbert matched a
season high with 12 rebounds and had three blocks.
The Pacers and Sixers have split their four-game series in each of the past
two seasons, with each team winning twice in Indiana over that stretch.
The Sports Network