What is the story about?
Welcome back, big fella — boy, were you missed.
The Sixers rolled the Indiana Pacers 135-114 Tuesday night.
After missing the last five game, Joel Embiid put up 27 points, six rebounds and five assists on 11-of-17 shooting. Tyrese Maxey looked happy to have his running mate back, leading all scorers with 32 along with nine rebounds and eight assists while getting the fourth quarter off.
VJ Edgecombe had an extremely efficient 23 points shooting 9-of-13 from the field. Andrew Nembhard and Micah Potter
led Indiana with 23 as well.
With Embiid back the Sixers were only down Paul George due to his suspension while the Pacers were without six players but most notably, Pascal Siakam.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
- A quick start for both offenses, with Kam Jones, a 23% three-point shooter on the season, making his first two threes as well as his first two looks from inside the arc (in fairness, he was a 36% three-point shooter in college). On the other end, Kelly Oubre Jr. led the way with his first three shots of the night, knocking down a three and getting to the basket a couple of times as well.
- Embiid’s first shift was as long as usual, but he only took three shots. He missed a long midrange jumper, but got a couple easy layups after sealing his defenders. Maxey was quite aggressive, attempting a poster for the second game in a row, but started the night 2-of-6.
- The Sixers took much worse care of the ball in the quarter. They turned it over five times, three of which were steals that led directly to fast break layups. Defensively they were slow getting out to contest threes, and the Pacers shot 6-of-11 from deep in the quarter, putting the Sixers in an early eight-point hole.
Second Quarter
- The second unit minutes sure do look different with Embiid back in the lineup. The Sixers ripped off a 17-0 run to open the quarter fueled by the starting backcourt. Edgecombe had a few successful drives and finished off a fast break started by an Adem Bona steal. They rewarded the big man for hustle coming out of a Pacers timeout, letting him go to work in the post for a floater.
- Taking nearly five minutes to make their first field goal of the quarter, the Pacers gave the Sixers plenty of time to extend their lead. Embiid and Maxey both hit impressive circus layups before the former found a groove with a jumper. Trendon Watford returned to the rotation after being out the last two games and immediately was found by Embiid for a cutting layup.
- Watford’s shift was rather up-and-down defensively, as he was getting shredded by Jarace Walker and Potter in the pick-and-roll. Just as the Pacers were putting together a run, he rotated over to block a Jones’ layup attempt. He picked Nembhard’s pocket on the next possession and that eventually led to points as well. Edgecombe looked to cap off a 7-0 run heading into the half, but Watford committed a really silly foul on the inbound with 0.5 left, and the ensuing free throws cut the Sixers’ lead to 10 at the break.
Third Quarter
- Edgecombe was having a lot of success off the dribble in the first half and picked that right back up, barreling into Ben Sheppard for a layup to start the second. He and Oubre chipped in a couple more transition buckets as both teams started the half rather slow.
- With Embiid, Edgecombe and Maxey all able to get to their spots with relative ease they were able to stay in front on cruise control. That did let the Pacers keep themselves within striking distance, with Nembhard being the latest to go on a flurry.
- Credit to Bona, because it felt like the Sixers’ intensity on defense went up a notch every time he checked in. Both he and Maxey were both able to get their hands on the ball to create more fast breaks, helping to create a 9-0 Sixers run. That was a much needed spurt to end the quarter to put the Sixers up by 21.
Fourth Quarter
- The only question remaining was whether the Sixers could keep the lead big enough to give their stars an early night. They probably wanted Embiid some extra minutes for conditioning as he did return a couple minutes into the fourth. He picked up a couple more easy baskets in the post, able to seal off Jay Huff nearly every time down the floor.
- The benches started to empty a little less than halfway through the quarter with Justin Edwards and Andre Drummond checking in for the first time, and Dalen Terry shortly followed. Watford took advantage of the extra touches, his post-ups keeping the Sixers on the board and not allowing the Pacers any chance of miraculous comeback.
