The 76ers could be a shell of themselves during Tuesday’s game against the Phoenix Suns at The Arena.

Joel Embiid will be sidelined with a twisted left ankle. Josh Richardson will miss the game due to rest. Tobias Harris (right ankle soreness) and Al Horford (left knee soreness) are questionable.

Meanwhile, Ben Simmons, who was already sidelined, had surgery Monday morning to remove the loose body in his left knee. Dr. Chris Dodson from the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute performed the surgery. The loose piece was found after he suffered a temporary partial dislocation of his left kneecap Wednesday against the Washington Wizards.

The Sixers said Simmons will begin rehabilitation immediately in Philadelphia and will be re-evaluated in approximately two weeks. There’s a report that the two-time All-Star will miss the remainder of the season. The team had been preparing for the playoffs as if the 6-foot-10, 248-pounder won’t be available.

MONDAY’S GAMES

MAVERICKS 122, JAZZ 114: Short-handed Dallas rallied from a 22-point deficit in the second half to stun Utah Jazz.

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Tim Hardaway Jr. led the Mavericks with 27 points and Seth Curry added 22. Boban Majanovic had 20 points and nine rebounds. It was the biggest comeback for the Mavericks since February 2016 and the win means Dallas still has a slim shot at earning the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

Dallas won despite playing without stars Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, who were both resting because of nagging injuries.

SUNS 128, THUNDER 101: Devin Booker scored 35 points, and Phoenix rolled past short-handed Oklahoma City to improve to 6-0 in the restart and improve their playoff chances.

The Suns have surged in the Western Conference standings. They entered the day just 1 1/2 games behind eighth-place Memphis and a game behind ninth-place Portland in the race to qualify for a spot in the play-in series.

RAPTORS 114, BUCKS 106: Chris Boucher scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help Toronto defeat Milwaukee.

Though the meeting featured the top two teams in the Eastern Conference standings, both teams were missing key players.

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Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, the reigning MVP, missed the game after undergoing oral surgery. Bucks coach Mike Budehnolzer said Monday it was uncertain whether Antetokounmpo would play in the team’s final two seeding games Tuesday against the Washington Wizards and Thursday against the Memphis Grizzlies.

For Toronto, Kyle Lowry sat out with a sore lower back, Serge Ibaka missed the game with a bruised right knee and Fred Van Vleet was out with a hyperextended right knee.

The Bucks already had clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for a second straight season, and defending NBA champion Toronto was locked into the No. 2 spot, so there was little to gain for either team.

Rookie Matt Thomas scored a season-high 22 points and Norman Powell added 21 for the Raptors.

Kyle Korver scored 19 points and Khris Middleton added 17 for the Bucks.


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