The 76ers erased a 13-point deficit after three quarters and beat the Pacers 114-109 in Indianapolis on Wednesday night. Tyrese Maxey scored 27 points, including two three-pointers in the final 1½ minutes, per the Associated Press and ESPN. Yahoo Sports' recap said he "came alive" in the fourth quarter. It also described the Pacers as banged-up and said the Sixers made the win "harder than it needed to be."
The line score shows how the game turned. Philadelphia led 62-52 at halftime, then scored only 13 points in the third while Indiana scored 36 and went up 88-75. The Sixers took the fourth 39-21. Maxey finished 8-of-18 from the field, 3-of-7 from three and 8-of-9 at the line, with five rebounds and four assists. He also had four turnovers. Yahoo gave him five rebounds and four assists, and the box score agrees.
The other starters filled in around him. Joel Embiid had 21 points and 11 rebounds on 9-of-17 shooting, but turned it over four times. Jaylen Brown had 20 points and 10 rebounds, with four offensive boards and five turnovers. LeBron James scored 13 points with 10 assists and no turnovers. Anfernee Simons gave the bench a lift with 20 points on 6-of-10 from three, and the Sixers were +14 in his 27 minutes.
Indiana outplayed Philadelphia in several areas the final score hides. The Pacers had 30 assists to the Sixers' 23. They outscored Philadelphia 48-36 in the paint and 16-7 on the break, and scored 26 points off turnovers to the Sixers' 18. They shot 9-of-36 from three (25%) against Philadelphia's 13-of-36. Pascal Siakam had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Andrew Nembhard had 18 points and 14 assists. The Pacers still fell short, and their shooting from deep was the clearest gap.
Philadelphia is 4-1 and first in the Atlantic. It follows a 106-93 home loss to Detroit on Sunday and a 127-116 win over Milwaukee on Saturday. The starters' early-season shooting backs up the "figuring out the offense" line. Maxey is at 46.6% through four games, Brown at 42.5%, Embiid at 39.2% and James at 42.9%, and none of them shoots better than 36% from three. Indiana is 2-2, third in the Central and on a two-game skid after Monday's 110-102 loss at Milwaukee.
The Sixers host the Knicks on Friday, Oct. 30, and play at Charlotte the next night. The Pacers visit Miami on Friday, then host Brooklyn on Sunday.
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