The Sixers emerged victorious from a back-and-forth battle with the Pacers on Wednesday night.
They overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to notch a 114-109 road win and improve to 4-1 on the season. Indiana fell to 2-3.
The Sixers had four players reach the 20-point mark in Tyrese Maxey (27), Joel Embiid (21), Jaylen Brown (20) and Anfernee Simons (20).
LeBron James added 13 points and 10 assists.
Pacers star Pascal Siakam posted 26 points and 11 rebounds. Andrew Nembhard had 18 points and 14 assists.
The Sixers were down Dominick Barlow (lower back stress reaction), Jabari Walker (left knee soreness), Tacko Fall (left quadriceps strain) and Ariel Hukporti (right Achilles tendon tear).
The Pacers’ absences included Tyrese Haliburton (left hamstring tightness/soreness), Ivica Zubac (left ankle sprain) and T.J. McConnell (right hamstring strain).
The Sixers will return home to face the Knicks on Friday night. Here are observations on their comeback win over the Pacers:
Offense doesn’t click right into top gear
The Sixers entered the night with the NBA’s worst offensive rating outside of garbage time, per Cleaning the Glass. They ranked 27th in half-court points per play.
The team’s offense did not have an especially crisp start on Wednesday. The Sixers committed seven turnovers in the first quarter. Kelly Oubre Jr. drew an early offensive foul against Maxey, getting a whistle for off-arm contact that displeased his former teammate.
Every Sixer got on the scoreboard in the first four minutes besides VJ Edgecombe, who returned after sitting out the Sixers’ loss Sunday to the Pistons with an abdominal contusion. Embiid’s efficient scoring was an early bright spot. He moved to 3 for 3 from the floor with a smooth fadeaway jumper and looked very comfortable against a shorthanded Pacers center group that featured Jay Huff and Larry Nance Jr.
However, he subbed out after being called for his second foul with 3:21 left in the first quarter. Backup big man Adem Bona also picked up two first-quarter fouls, which led to Dean Wade and James sharing a frontcourt to begin the second period.
Simons breaks out of brief slump
The Sixers missed their first five three-point tries. Simons knocked down their first long-range shot late in the first quarter and followed it up with another triple on the Sixers’ next possession to put his team up 22-17.
He added two more three-balls in the second quarter and finished the game 6 for 10 from deep. After missing the preseason with a hamstring injury and faring well in the Sixers’ opening-night win over the Knicks, Simons had gone just 2 for 13 beyond the arc over his past three games. When he’s on, the 27-year-old combo guard is a serious shooting weapon.
Speaking after the Sixers’ practice Tuesday, Simons didn’t sound concerned at all about his jumper.
“For the most part, I think they’ve been good (looks),” he said. “You can see now how not playing in the preseason has held me back a little bit. … I think it will come with time.”
A Sixer not named Simons finally made a three late in the second quarter when Brown drained a corner jumper. Edgecombe connected from extremely long range to wrap up the first half, sinking a half-court buzzer-beater to give the Sixers a 62-52 lead.
Sixers raise their game in the fourth
The Pacers were vastly superior to the Sixers at the start of the third quarter. Indiana opened the second half with a 17-0 run.
The Sixers dealt with a few unfortunate bounces and ice-cold shooting. Their offensive woes bled into diminished defensive energy. Remarkably, the Sixers had zero points in the third quarter until a James three with 6:05 to go.
Third-quarter trouble was a familiar theme for the Sixers last season. The team’s minus-10.6 net rating in the third was 30th in the league.
The Sixers trailed by 13 points entering the fourth quarter but soon wiped out that deficit. They defended hard, attacked the basket and created a comeback surge.
Simons and James drilled threes and Embiid converted an and-one lefty layup. A pair of Maxey free throws gave the Sixers a 96-94 edge.
The game stayed close in the final minutes. Embiid canned a key turnaround jumper to push the Sixers’ lead to 103-100 and Maxey then snagged a sneak-attack steal.
Maxey took over the game down the stretch. He nailed a clutch step-back three and then buried a catch-and-shoot jumper that essentially sealed the Sixers’ win.
Already, the Sixers have shown the ability to ramp up their collective level of play and battle back into games with heightened second-half urgency. They’d prefer four strong quarters, but the Sixers will be happy with a 4-1 start that’s contained stretches of brilliance.