Well, if you’re just going to play well for five minutes, the last five minutes of the game is probably the best time to do it.
The Sixers played hard all night but came away with a 113-104 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.
Advertisement
Tyrese Maxey didn’t quite reach the All-Star debut level he just achieved almost overnight, but he had a career-high eight steals and entered the fourth quarter to finish with 29 points on 12-of-24 shooting from the floor. Joel Embiid cooled off after a torrid first quarter, but regained it in the fourth, leading all scorers with 30 points and nine rebounds on 10-of-17 shooting.
VJ Edgecombe didn’t score in the first half but found his favorite poster in the second half, making 11 3-of-9 shots from the floor. Kelly Oubre Jr. started in place of Paul George and had his best scoring output since returning from injury, scoring 18 on 8-of-14 shooting while Andrew Nembhard led the Pacers with 25.
Before the back-to-back, PG was ruled out of this one with a left knee injury while the Pacers were without Benedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin and, obviously, Tyrese Haliburton.
Here are some thoughts on the buzzer.
Advertisement
First quarter
-
Oubre got off to a quick start, blowing past Johnny Furphy on his first two touchdowns of the game to go straight to the basket. Embiid eased into the game, getting into his midfield early and often. The Pacers started like that, making the Sixers play more aggressively and turning over more open baskets.
-
No one’s start has been more impressive than Embiid’s, turning himself in with his jumper, hitting his first five shots of the night. That was the kind of pace needed early in this one as Indiana started the game 8-of-12 from the field. A pair of steals led to the only opposition the Sixers gave early.
-
Much of that defense was thanks to Dominick Barlow, who not only grabbed a few steals, but created a few scoring opportunities off rebounds. Maxey then made several layups to get the ball out for a three-and-out steal as the Sixers led by three after a first down.
The second quarter
-
The second unit of Adem Bona, Jabari Walker and Trendon Watford all in there together asked a lot offensively. That was a heavy burden when Maxey issued a call for Edgecombe to start the second quarter. Even with the substitution of Barlow for Walker, that lineup was only able to hit one basket from the field and that was a tough layup by Quentin Grimes.
-
Although the players initially lost in the game, it is always difficult to score a goal and stop the Pacers. Maxey found himself open looking off the dribble but missed his first two dribble jumpers and was not looking to get to the basket at all without a transition. Edgecombe, who was scoreless, couldn’t have looked at his ball too much.
-
Just as Oubre hit a three that would have settled things, they failed to get back on defense and the Pacers got those three points right away. Even if they wanted to go all out on Embiid to fight that wouldn’t work as he shot 0-of-3 in the quarter. The only thing that kept the Sixers in this game was their ability to generate turnovers. The Pacers turned it over five times in the second after giving up six in the first. A TJ McConnell-esque backcourt steal by Maxey got the Pacers down by five, but he couldn’t get a good shot in the end zone of the half to close it.
Third quarter
-
The Sixers looked a little better coming out of the break. Edgecombe looked to attack the basket a lot, and was fouled a few times, though he split both drives at the line. Maxey attacked the basket once, missed a layup but was put back by Barlow. They got a lucky jump when Aaron Nesmith smoked an open dunk, the rebound leading to an open Oubre three.
-
Edgecombe’s continued attacks to the basket paid off – he eventually got his first field goal of the night with a layup and put back his missed floater seconds later. Perhaps most importantly, he finally got that poster he’s been looking for all season, throwing it over Sixers legend Tony Bradley.
-
It wasn’t an ideal defensive quarterback by any means. Indiana’s guards were cooking off the dribble, and the two turnovers were the fewest the Sixers have committed in a quarter so far. In the last game of the Pacers, they ended up being crowded by TJ McConnell so that he couldn’t get his 10-footer out, kicking a missed three-pointer that allowed the Sixers to go ahead by one point.
The fourth quarter
-
Another up-and-down first quarter from Maxey, who opened it with his fifth steal of the game and another quick layup. He missed his next two shots, a tough look up the middle, but got the second rebound and was able to get that back.
-
The frontcourt of the second unit of Walker and Bona gave the Sixers some really solid minutes, helping them hold the Pacers scoreless for over two and a half minutes. Walker’s hustle doesn’t always show up in the box score, but it did this time with his three steals. The only bad thing is that the Sixers’ offense was closed again and they extended their lead to six.
-
It took longer than anyone would have liked, but the Sixers finally looked like a team that could put the Pacers down in the final minutes of the game. Embiid knocked down a three on his return and that seemed to relax everyone. Maxey continued to attack in the next, one basket from Embiid followed and the Pacers were ready to call a timeout to pack it in for the night.
