By: Kylan Watson

After beating the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday evening, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Indiana Pacers for the third time this season. Thanks to a scoring explosion from Tyrese Maxey (32 points), Joel Embiid (27 points), and VJ Edgecombe (23 points) the Sixers were able to thrash the Pacers 135-114 and extend their win streak to two games.

Joel Embiid played his first game since February 7^th and with his return Philly found their dominant form on both sides of the ball. He was able to turn back and blow up multiple offensive possessions by Indiana, and with his playmaking ability he created multiple high-percentage scoring opportunities for his teammates. Everything is easier for his teammates when he is on the floor and the Sixers need to do all they can to maximize Embiid’s gravity, because it adds another dimension to the offensive and defensive capabilities for Philly.

Additionally, he picked up right where he left off, he scored 27 points in this game and allowed Maxey to not wear himself out carrying Philly in this contest. Strengthening the two-man game between him and Maxey will open more scoring opportunities for their teammates and themselves. The attention it gets creates easy shots for Maxey and Embiid and if an opposing team tries to stop one of them with a double or triple team it opens up a three-point opportunity for a teammate.  The Sixers need to continue to do all they can to put points on the board and give every player that steps on the floor as much confidence as possible.

Tonight, those opportunities mainly benefitted Maxey, Embiid, and Edgecombe who combined for 80 of Philly’s 135 points. In addition, making sure to stagger Maxey, Embiid, and Edgecombe to keep one of them on the floor with the second unit will also help wake that unit up and open more scoring opportunities for Quentin Grimes (15 points) and other members of the second unit.

Despite the offensive explosions from Maxey, Embiid, and Edgecombe, the Pacers would not give up in this contest. They continued to use their young legs to wear Philly out and forced multiple Sixers turnovers that they turned into points. Andrew Nembhard (23 points) and Micah Potter (23 points) combined for 46 of Indiana’s 114 points and Philly did not have an answer for what they were doing early in this contest. However, they were able to slow both down by sending multiple defenders at them and not letting anyone else beat them. That allowed Philly to survive a late Indiana scoring run and win this game.

Philly will now prepare to face the Miami Heat on Thursday night for the second time this season. They will need to limit their turnovers, win or keep the rebounding battle competitive, stay connected to their defensive assignments, and continue to cash in on the high-percentage scoring opportunities created from their ball movement. Implementing these things into their game plan on Thursday will put them in good shape to win their 33^rd game of the season.