Maxey's late 3s carry 76ers past Pacers 114-109 after third-quarter collapse
Tyrese Maxey hit two late 3-pointers and the 76ers erased a 13-point deficit to beat Indiana 114-109 and move to 4-1 ahead of Friday's Knicks rematch.
The Philadelphia 76ers lost a 10-point halftime lead in Indianapolis, fell 13 points behind, and still won. On Wednesday night Tyrese Maxey hit two 3-pointers in the last minute and a half and finished with 27 points in a 114-109 win over the Indiana Pacers. Philadelphia is now 4-1 and has won both of its road games.
The Associated Press recap carried by ESPN describes a game decided by two very different quarters. Philadelphia was up 62-52 at the break after VJ Edgecombe made a halfcourt shot at the buzzer. Indiana then scored the first 17 points of the third quarter. The Sixers made only 5 of 21 shots in that period, which they lost 36-13, and they trailed 88-75 going into the fourth.
The fourth quarter went the other way. Philadelphia won it 39-21. Maxey tied the game at 94 with a layup and put the 76ers ahead 96-94 with two free throws at 5:15. His second late 3-pointer made it 112-106 with 46 seconds left. Joel Embiid had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Jaylen Brown added 20 points and 10 rebounds, Anfernee Simons scored 20 off the bench, and LeBron James had 13 points and 10 assists. TSN reported the same box-score lines.
Indiana was short-handed. Tyrese Haliburton sat out with a left hamstring strain, and Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said he expects him to miss at least two weeks. Center Ivica Zubac missed his second straight game with a left ankle sprain. Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 26 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 12 seconds left. Andrew Nembhard returned from neck soreness and had 18 points and 14 assists, and Aaron Nesmith scored 18. The Pacers fell to 2-3 and are 0-2 at home.
The win also answered Monday's 106-93 home loss to Detroit, the only game Philadelphia has lost so far. The team has scored at least 106 points in all four of its wins.
What it means for Friday against the Knicks
The 76ers host the New York Knicks on Friday, October 30, on Prime Video. They opened the season by beating New York 106-100 at Madison Square Garden. That makes Friday the second meeting between the teams in the season's first two weeks. Philadelphia leads the Atlantic Division at 4-1. New York is 2-3 but comes in on a two-game winning streak, according to ESPN's standings.
For Philadelphia, the main concern from Wednesday is the third quarter. A 13-point quarter on 5-of-21 shooting would be costly against a Knicks team that has already lost to the Sixers once. Indiana had also scored 39% in the first half before its third-quarter run, so the defense was not the problem. The scoring dried up.
The close is the encouraging part. Maxey took over late in a road game that had slipped away, and five players reached double figures. Two of them, Brown and Embiid, had double-doubles. After two games at home and two on the road, Philadelphia now comes home with the division lead and a chance to beat the Knicks a second time.
The Sixers' full schedule and results are on our 76ers team page.
