INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pacers had enough fight to make this one interesting, but not enough gas to finish it off.
Playing shorthanded, Indiana battled the Philadelphia 76ers from the opening tip and even flipped the game with a huge push in the third quarter. The Pacers erased a 15-point second-quarter deficit, built a 13-point cushion heading into the fourth, and still watched it slip away when Philadelphia caught fire late and closed on a 39-21 final quarter.
Tyrese Maxey was the difference when the game tightened. He took over in the fourth with 17 points in the period, dragging the Sixers across the finish line when they needed a shot of star power.
Pascal Siakam kept Indiana afloat for much of the night. He finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists, carrying the scoring load as the focal point of the offense. His production came in steady waves - 8 points in the first quarter, 4 in the second, 8 in the third and 6 in the fourth.
That kind of burden has become the norm for Indiana with Tyrese Haliburton sidelined for the next few weeks. Through five games, Siakam has scored at least 20 points every night, but the Pacers are finding out quickly that even a strong night from him isn’t enough on its own.
Andrew Nembhard had the other major responsibility on his plate with Haliburton out. He was asked to run the offense and spend most of the night chasing Maxey on the other end, a difficult assignment against a guard who came in averaging 28 points per game.
For three quarters, Nembhard helped keep Maxey contained. But Philadelphia kept hunting switches to create space for Maxey, a move that underscored both Nembhard’s value as a defender and the challenge of slowing a scorer that dangerous.
Nembhard finished with 18 points on 5-16 shooting, including 1-4 from three-point range, and went 7-8 at the free throw line. He also added 3 rebounds, 14 assists and 4 turnovers, with his physical play helping him generate points at the stripe.
Indiana’s best stretch of the night came after halftime. The Sixers missed nine straight shots to open the third quarter, and the Pacers turned that cold spell into a 17-0 run. Philadelphia finally stopped the skid with back-to-back threes from LeBron James and Tyrese Maxey, trimming the Pacers’ lead to one.
Rick Carlisle called timeout, and Indiana answered right back. The Pacers then rolled into another run, 19-7 to close the quarter, outscoring Philadelphia 36-13 in the third. That surge became a 44-16 run when combined with the end of the second quarter, and it sent Indiana into the fourth up 88-75.
The numbers from that stretch told the story. Indiana shot 13-23 from the field, 3-9 from deep and 7-8 at the line while controlling the glass 19-7 and piling up 11 assists to Philadelphia’s 3.
Nembhard scored 9 in the period, while Siakam, Aaron Nesmith and Kelly Oubre each added key buckets. Maxey was the only Sixers player to make more than one field goal during that run, going 2-for-5 for 5 points.
Indiana posted a 150.0 offensive rating in the quarter, while Philadelphia finished at 54.2.
But the final 12 minutes belonged to the Sixers. Maxey kept pushing, Philadelphia’s offense woke up, and the Pacers’ own attack ran out of steam before the finish.
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