The Sixers emerged victorious from a back-and-forth battle with the Pacers on Wednesday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Sixers had four players reach the 20-point mark in Tyrese Maxey (27), Joel Embiid (21), Jaylen Brown (20) and Anfernee Simons (20).<\/p>\n
LeBron James added 13 points and 10 assists. <\/p>\n
Pacers star Pascal Siakam posted 26 points and 11 rebounds. Andrew Nembhard had 18 points and 14 assists. <\/p>\n
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).<\/p>\n
The Pacers\u2019 absences included Tyrese Haliburton (left hamstring tightness\/soreness), Ivica Zubac (left ankle sprain) and T.J. McConnell (right hamstring strain).\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Sixers will return home to face the Knicks on Friday night. Here are observations on their comeback win over the Pacers: <\/p>\n
Offense doesn\u2019t click right into top gear\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Sixers entered the night with the NBA\u2019s worst offensive rating outside of garbage time, per Cleaning the Glass.<\/a> They ranked 27th in half-court points per play.<\/a><\/p>\n The team\u2019s offense did not have an especially crisp start on Wednesday. The Sixers committed seven turnovers in the first quarter. Kelly Oubre Jr.<\/a> drew an early offensive foul against Maxey, getting a whistle for off-arm contact that displeased his former teammate.\u00a0<\/p>\n Every Sixer got on the scoreboard in the first four minutes besides VJ Edgecombe, who returned after sitting out the Sixers\u2019 loss Sunday to the Pistons<\/a> with an abdominal contusion. Embiid\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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 <\/a>to begin the second period.\u00a0<\/p>\n Simons breaks out of brief slump<\/p>\n 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\u2019 next possession to put his team up 22-17.<\/p>\n 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\u2019 opening-night win over the Knicks<\/a>, Simons had gone just 2 for 13 beyond the arc over his past three games. When he\u2019s on, the 27-year-old combo guard is a serious shooting weapon.\u00a0<\/p>\n Speaking after the Sixers\u2019 practice Tuesday, Simons didn\u2019t sound concerned at all about his jumper.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFor the most part, I think they\u2019ve been good (looks),\u201d he said. \u201cYou can see now how not playing in the preseason has held me back a little bit. \u2026 I think it will come with time.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sixers raise their game in the fourth <\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n