Without Joel Embiid, Philadelphia fears facing Indiana

Joel Embiid’s orphans, shamed at his feet Sixers was welcomed Pacers has won four in a row with the intention of winning for the 3rd time in a row. The goal was achieved, painful of course, as the Phillies won after overtime (129-126).

He leads well James Harden (26 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists) is well supported by Tobias Harris (19 points, 10 rebounds), De’Anthony Melton (19 points, 7 rebounds) or even Tyrese Maxey (17 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists), franchise Philadelphia mastered the subject for the first three quarters before leaving Indiana on the last move, go back with the impulse Buddy Hield (24 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists).

But in overtime, the defense and experience of the locals calmed down these fiery visitors in what was not far from a robbery, but ultimately very short.

WHAT TO REMEMBER

— Philadelphia cracked first at the end… Although they still had a 13-point lead after three quarters and even got back to +12 with eight minutes to go, the Sixers then lost the lead. Authors of 6 turnovers in the final quarter, when they committed only 5 turnovers in the first three quarters, Doc Rivers’ men also thundered defensively between Buddy Hield’s award-winning baskets or points on the counterattack. the entire Indy team. A rest without a result, but nevertheless, which tarnished a rather serious performance before.

— … but Philadelphia then pulled away. Despite the forceps and the dynamic not in their favor, the Sixers were able to find the resources they needed to go and earn their third straight overtime victory. Two crucial interceptions in the final 40 seconds of the fourth quarter led to two baskets on Tyrese Maxey’s counterattack. Earlier, the same defense got the job done in five minutes of overtime, limiting Indiana to just 6 points (2-of-7 shooting and 0-of-2 3-pointers).

— James Harden was back without Joel Embiid. Deprived of their best player, the Sixers had to rely on a great performance from “The Beard,” and he generally responded. “Overall” because the fourth quarter and its extension were more complicated in scoring, after a hot start, all in aggressiveness. Certainly, as time went on, Philly leader Tyrese Haliburton, despite his vitality, led by example on defense, focusing on creativity, ceding some responsibilities to Tyrese Maxey, as well as De’Anthony Melton and Tobias Harris.

TOPS/FLOPS

✅ Buddy Hield. If the Pacers were able to go into overtime despite trailing by ten points early in the fourth quarter, it was largely because of their 6-point 3-point success (in 14 attempts). Released too often behind the arc and well served by Tyrese Haliburton, the Bahamian sniper (who also contributes to the rebound and pass), he tormented the Sixers defense on the last drive, brought his team back into contact and made the right pass. by, then a hope robbery unexpected. Unfortunately, his hot hitting was ultimately not rewarded with a win.

✅ Montrezl Harrell. Trezz, the Sixth Man of the Year three seasons ago, remains a player who can make the most of minutes when he gets them, and without Joel Embiid, the Sixers needed him to show that. He’s done with 19 points (8/9 shooting), 5 rebounds and 4 blocks off the bench. As ever so energetic, the pivot brought great things to Doc Rivers’ men and forced the latter to use him in key moments despite his defensive limitations. Once (much) invisible limitations.

⛔ Philadelphia and defensive withdrawal. Offensively, the Sixers may have been collectively down (seven players with 10+ points), but defensively they still paid dearly for not being able to recover quickly and stop the Pacers from running against the offense (leaving up 32 points in transition) situations. 18 goals against). Especially in the fourth quarter, there was a weakness that Indianapolis players signed up to run away which allowed them to pick up the bill.

NEXT

Philadelphia (23-14) : Reception in Chicago, Friday through Saturday night (01:00).

Indiana (21-18) : Portland reception, Friday to Saturday night (01:00).