By: Kylan Watson

After falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers twice this weekend, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Indiana Pacers tonight in South Philadelphia. Thanks to a second-half scoring explosion the Sixers were able to beat the Pacers 113-104 and end their two-game losing streak.

The Sixers were able to find their offensive rhythm early in the first quarter and took an early lead over the Pacers. Joel Embiid scored 10 of his 30 points in that period and took full advantage of his athletic advantage over Indiana’s defenders. This was the 14^th straight game he has played in, and with every game he plays he continues to look like his old self. In addition, if he can keep this up Philly will be a defensive challenge and a problem for opposing teams to match up with. Additionally, his presence helps Tyrese Maxey have more room to operate and create, but it also allows him to ease into games which helps to keep him fresh throughout a contest.

Despite the offensive explosion from Joel Embiid in the first quarter, the Sixers experienced a power outage in the second quarter and that allowed the Pacers to retake the lead and push their advantage to 10 points. Philly just could not hit a bucket throughout that period. That cold streak affected them on the defensive end as well during that period, because Indiana made them look like they were standing still as they got whatever they wanted from the field. Andrew Nembhard (25 points) and Pascal Siakam (24 points) combined for 49 of Indiana’s 104 points and the Sixers just had no answers for what they were doing throughout this game. However, they turned up the pressure on the defensive end and that caused 22 turnovers from the Pacers and the Sixers were able to turn most of those turnovers into points at the other end. That was the difference in this game Philly protected the ball and were able to stay ahead of the Pacers late in this game to earn their 23^rd victory of the season.

Tyrese Maxey was the biggest beneficiary of the defensive scheme that Philly displayed in this game, he stole the ball 8 times in this contest (New career high) and scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter to lead Philly to the victory. Maxey has been improving as a defender throughout his career, but his ability to get a timely steal throughout this season has shown up in all 41 of the games the Sixers have played this season.

He is a top player in the league in causing steals (averages 2.2 steals per game) and if he can continue to improve as a defender that will add another dimension to the Sixers defensive scheme. This development will also turn the backcourt of Maxey and VJ Edgecombe into one of the top defensive backcourts in the association and will help them have a deep postseason run in the playoffs.

The Sixers will now prepare to face the Phoenix Suns tomorrow night and they should have Paul George back for that game which will help them on the defensive end against Devin Booker. Booker is one of the best offensive threats in the league and Philly will need to throw as many defenders at him as possible to slow him down. Also, they will need to limit their turnovers, win the rebounding battle, and cash in on the high-percentage scoring opportunities they create from their ball movement. Implementing these things into their game plan for tomorrow night will put them in great position to win their 24^th game of the season and extend their win streak to two games.