Caitlin Clark Catches Up With LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey After 76ers Edge Pacers
Tyrese Maxey's late threes lifted the 76ers past Indiana 114-109, and Caitlin Clark stopped by afterward to talk with Maxey and LeBron James.
The Philadelphia 76ers won 114-109 at Indiana on Wednesday night, and afterward one of the Pacers' best-known fans came to see them. Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark talked with LeBron James and Tyrese Maxey after the game, capping a night ESPN called a thriller. The win moved Philadelphia to 4-1.
The meeting had some history behind it. In July, Clark was taking questions at WNBA All-Star media day when news broke that James had signed with Philadelphia. As Yahoo Sports reported in a ClutchPoints piece it carried, she had been making the case for him to sign with Indiana. "I just pitched him for the Pacers," Clark said, adding that the message hadn't reached him in time. She also said she planned to watch more Sixers games and to get tickets for their trip to Indianapolis. On Wednesday she was there to see them.
The game itself was close until the final minute. Bleacher Report reported that Philadelphia came back with a big fourth-quarter run led by Maxey, who finished with 27 points, five rebounds and four assists. With the Sixers up two and a little more than a minute to play, Maxey made a three. Andrew Nembhard answered with two free throws to make it a one-possession game again. Maxey then hit another three, this time on a pass from James, to put Philadelphia ahead 112-106.
James scored only 13 points but handled the offense, with 10 assists, five rebounds and two blocks. That fits the role he has taken next to Maxey, Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown. Indiana played without Tyrese Haliburton, who is expected to miss the next few weeks, and fell to 2-3.
What it means for Friday against New York
The win also kept a bad night from turning into a slide. Philadelphia came to Indiana after its first loss of the season, a 106-93 home defeat to Detroit in which the offense never got going. Before that, the Sixers had won their first three games: 106-100 at New York, 114-106 over Cleveland and 127-116 over Milwaukee. They have now scored 114 or more in three of five games. All three games under that mark were close finishes or the loss to the Pistons.
Next is a rematch with the Knicks at home on Friday, October 30, on Prime Video. The Sixers won at Madison Square Garden in the season opener. New York comes in after its own win Wednesday, when Jalen Brunson scored 38, according to ESPN. The opener came down to late possessions, as Wednesday's game did. That puts the spotlight back on Maxey's shot-making in the fourth quarter and on how well James keeps finding him when defenses collapse.
The Detroit loss showed what happens when the Sixers' half-court offense stalls. Against a Knicks team that has already lost to them once, Philadelphia gets an early chance to show that Wednesday's finish says more about this group than Sunday's loss did.
