NBA betting: Streaking Sixers piling up wins on the court, at wagering window

With 12 of 17 games on the road, this was supposed to be the month from hell for the Philadelphia 76ers — really, an entirely different kind of March Madness.

But a strange thing happened while the vast majority of the betting world turned its attention to the college hardwood: The 76ers started winning. And winning. And winning some more.

Entering Monday’s game against the Chicago Bulls at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia is 9-1 SU and 7-3 ATS in March. Also, its current eight-game winning streak matches the team’s longest of the season.

Along the way, the 76ers have moved percentage points ahead of the once-unstoppable Boston Celtics for second place in the Eastern Conference standings. They’re also percentage points ahead of the Denver Nuggets for the second-best record in the entire NBA.

But wait, there’s more — a lot more — to this late-season impressive run for a franchise that’s trying to end a four-decade NBA championship drought.

On Feb. 27, Philadelphia shooting guard James Harden launched a 3-point shot from the top of the arc with less than two seconds remaining in a game against the Miami Heat. Harden’s shot bounced off the rim, the buzzer sounded and the 76ers shuffled off the court with a 119-96 home loss — their second near-miss at Wells Fargo Center in 48 hours after a 110-107 loss to Boston.

Philadelphia quickly got revenge against the Heat, kicking off March — and a five-game, seven-day road trip — with a 119-96 blowout win in Miami.

The next night in Dallas, Harden, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey combined for 91 points. However, the 76ers couldn’t overcome a pair of 40-point performances by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in a 133-126 loss.

That was March 2. Philadelphia hasn’t lost since.

The 76ers went on to win the final three games of their road trip, beginning with a 133-130 win in Milwaukee that halted the Bucks’ NBA-best 16-game winning streak. Then came home victories over Portland and Washington, followed by three blowout road wins in five days at Cleveland, Charlotte and Indiana.

Combined margin of victory in the Sixers’ last four contests: 87 points.

Philadelphia easily covered the spread in each game and is now 12-5 ATS since Feb. 10, including 7-2 ATS on the road.

That’s not exactly breaking news, of course. Since cashing just once in their first five games of the campaign, the 76ers are 41-24 ATS. And the team’s overall 42-28 ATS mark is just one game behind Oklahoma City (43-27-1 ATS) for tops in the NBA.

To put it in real-money terms, a bettor who wagered $110 on all 70 of the Sixers’ games this season would be up $1,120.

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To absolutely nobody’s surprise, Embiid has been Philly’s main man in March.

The 7-foot center sat out the back-to-back in Miami but has since played in nine straight games and topped 30 points in each, averaging 36.1 points (along with 9.6 rebounds) per contest.

Embiid — who had 31 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and two blocks while playing just three quarters in Saturday’s 141-121 win at Indiana — is the first player in franchise history to score at least 30 points in nine consecutive games.

Embiid is now averaging 33.5 points per game for the season and has forged ahead of Doncic (33.0) for the NBA scoring lead. He’s also overtaken Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic in odds to win the 2022-23 MVP. In fact, Embiid — who finished runner-up to Jokic in MVP voting each of the past two years — is now the odds-on MVP favorite at FanDuel (-190), BetMGM (-210) and Caesars Sportsbook (-250).

Harden also has been delivering in March, averaging 22.3 points, 11.5 assists and 7.1 rebounds in eight contests. Same goes for Maxey; the third-year guard has played in all 10 games and put up 22.1 points per outing.

Overall this month, Philadelphia is averaging 125.4 points and yielding 112.0 (including holding four opponents to 96 points or fewer).

Should the 76ers knock off Chicago on Monday — and they’re heavily favored to do so — it would be their first nine-game winning streak since winning 16 in a row to end the 2017-18 regular season. It would also be the franchise’s second-longest stretch of dominance since the 2003 squad won nine straight.

Additionally, a victory Monday would put the Sixers (48-22) within two games of clearing their preseason win total of 50.5 and — most importantly — pull them within two games of Milwaukee (51-20) for the best record in the NBA.

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Given its successful March to date, Philadelphia obviously has soared up the NBA championship odds board, right? Not really.

Back on Feb. 28, the 76ers were the sixth choice to win the NBA title at BetMGM with +1200 odds. Today, they’re up to … fifth at BetMGM and still could be had at +1100.

FanDuel and Caesars also have Philadelphia sitting fifth, with both offering +1000 odds. The 76ers trail Milwaukee, Boston, Phoenix and Denver at all three sportsbooks with three weeks remaining in the regular season.

Additionally, the Bucks and Celtics remain virtual co-favorites to win the Eastern Conference, with Philadelphia a distant third.

Should the Sixers buck those odds and reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2001? They would become the fourth straight professional franchise from Philadelphia to play for a championship since November, joining the Phillies (World Series), Union (MLS Cup) and Eagles (Super Bowl).

» READ MORE: Full sports betting coverage from The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Inquirer is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site. We provide this information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.