Sixers remain in contention for Eastern Conference third seed, even with Joel Embiid sitting

OKLAHOMA CITY — So much for this stretch without Joel Embiid having a negative effect on the 76ers in the Eastern Conference standings.

The fourth-place Sixers are a half-game behind third-place Indiana with 20 games remaining in the regular season. They’re also 2 ½ games ahead of the Boston Celtics.

Embiid missed his fourth consecutive game Thursday night, against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena, because of tendinitis in his left knee. Coach Brett Brown said Wednesday that he expects the two-time All-Star center to return for Saturday’s home game against the Golden State Warriors.

The Sixers have gone 2-1 in the three games without Embiid.

Meanwhile, the Pacers (40-22) will take a two-game losing streak into Thursday’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Celtics (37-25) have lost four straight and six of their last eight.

The top four seeds in the Eastern and Western Conferences will receive home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The Sixers, Pacers and Celtics are expected to battle for the third, fourth and fifth seeds. An ideal spot for Philly would be third. That would enable them to avoid a possible 4-5 opening-round matchup with Boston.

The Celtics have a 3-0 advantage over the Sixers in their head-to-head series this season. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, the Sixers are 3-21 against Boston, including an Eastern Conference semifinal-series setback in May.

The Pacers and Celtics have tougher schedules. The Sixers have the NBA’s ninth-easiest remaining schedule. The Pacers and Celtics have the fourth- and 11th-toughest remaining schedules, respectively.

As the third seed, the Sixers could face the Brooklyn Nets in the first round.

“I would be lying if I told you I don’t pay attention to it now,” Brown said of the standings. “In the final third [of the season], you are very aware of the difficulties of other people’s schedules. You are trying to project out, predict out where you could end up in a first-round matchup.”

But even though they’re in a good position, the Sixers look forward to having Embiid back. It’s no secret that he makes them better.

Thursday’s game against the Thunder marked a second consecutive homecoming for Sixers assistant coach Monty Williams.

He was the Thunder’s associate head coach during the 2015-16 season. But he was on an indefinite leave starting in February 2016, after the death of his wife, Ingrid, in a car accident in Oklahoma City.

The Sixers traveled here Tuesday after beating the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on Monday. Williams was the Pelicans’ head coach from June 2010 to May 2015.