Coming off a dominant win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Philadelphia 76ers continued their road trip on Sunday with a matchup against the Indiana Pacers. Just last season, the Sixers dropped three out of four games against the Pacers.
The presence of Sixers big man Joel Embiid could've helped Philly have a much better chance of getting revenge this year, but the big man's back wouldn't allow it. After being listed as questionable on Saturday night, the Sixers ruled Embiid out for Sunday's game as he continues to deal with tightness in his back.
Without Embiid available, the Sixers got off to a shockingly quick start as they formed an 8-2 run through the first couple of minutes. It didn't take long for the Pacers to catch up and get out in front, though.
Perhaps, the Sixers' shooting struggles had something to do with that. Similar to Friday night's game, the 76ers had a hard time knocking down shots from the field right from the jump. After getting their entire ten-man rotation some minutes, Philly shot just 33-percent from the field. Tobias Harris led the team in scoring with just five points.
The Pacers, on the other hand, shot much better. After draining nearly 50-percent of their shots from the field, Indiana got off to a double-digit lead in the first 12 minutes of action. Through one quarter, the Pacers were up 28-18 over the Sixers.
Indiana didn't miss a step in the second quarter. As they shot nearly 70-percent from the field, the Pacers had no issue putting up points. They could thank Aaron Holiday for that. Holiday, who spent seven minutes on the court in the second quarter off the bench, put up 12 of the Pacers' 35 points.
Fortunately, Sixers forward Tobias Harris nearly matched Holiday's production. In a little over seven minutes of action, Harris put up 10 points to add to his 15 total first-half points. Meanwhile, Ben Simmons was much more efficient offensively as he went four-for-five from the field for eight points.
Although they had a better all-around quarter and outscored the Pacers 36-35 in the second quarter, the Sixers didn't have enough firepower to take over and even the playing field. Therefore, they went into halftime trailing 63-54.
The Sixers stepped it up in the third quarter offensively. Starting point guard Ben Simmons had a quiet first half on the offense side of the ball, but he led the charge in the third quarter. As he went 3-for-3 from the field and knocked down three of his four foul shots, Simmons accounted for nine of the Sixers' 28 points in the third.
However, the Pacers didn't slow down. As a team, they shot 47-percent from the field and knocked down three of their seven three-point shots. Although the Sixers looked much better coming out of the half, Indiana still outscored them 32-28.
Trailing 95-82, it seemed it was only a matter of time before the Sixers pack it in and give the key starters the rest of the night off. But Doc Rivers' players had other plans. Thanks to a strong defensive effort by Matisse Thybulle and Furkan Korkmaz heating up, the 76ers showed signs of a possible comeback.
A 21-2 run late in the fourth quarter put the Sixers in the lead after trailing since the beginning of the matchup. Coming back seemed unlikely, but the Sixers managed to pull it off. A combined 48 points from Simmons and Harris, along with 17 points off the bench from Korkmaz, allowed the 76ers to pick up a 119-110 victory over Indiana.
With that victory, the Sixers advance to 15-6 on the year, improving their road record to 5-5 after winning the last two matchups away from home. Now, the Sixers will get the next couple of days off before traveling to Charlotte to face the Hornets on Wednesday.
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February 01, 2021 at 09:38AM
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Sixers Complete Comeback on the Road vs. Pacers on Sunday - Sports Illustrated
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