A short-handed Indiana Pacers team met the equally short-handed Sixers on Tuesday and dashed the Sixers hopes of securing the No.1 seed spot in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2000-01. The game ended 103-94, and it seemed like the lack of Joel Embiid’s presence once again, proved to play a part in the downfall of the Sixers.
The Philly side missed their big man Joel Embiid, their defensive moghul Matisse Thybulle, and their 3-point maestro Furkan Korkmaz, while the Pacers were without Malcolm Brogdon Myles Turner and T.J. Warren. However, during the game we did see Tobias Harris step up with 27 points and Ben Simmons with 13 points, as the Sixers broke down completely in the second-half in a loss that could’ve been prevented if their offensive game had been better.
The Pacers were fired up and took advantage of the Sixers poor shooting, as Domantas Sabonis put 16 points on the scoreboard, along with his ninth triple-double of the season. Caris LeVert also played his part in the win, with 24 points, helping the Indiana Pacers clinch the morale-boosting win as Indiana are on a 3-game win streak after weeks of inconsistencies, as LeVert voiced in good spirits (while being showered with water), “We knew that if we won games, we could play our way into it. But we’re still trying to move up and see where we can go. This is a good milestone for us, but we’ve still got three, four games here this week.”
While the Sixers poor offensive display cost them the #1 spot and Doc Rivers knows exactly where they went wrong, “We didn’t move the ball. I didn’t think our spacing was correct and I didnt think we were very organiszed in the second half,” said Doc Rivers as the Sixers missed baskets, avoided 3-point attempts and only shot 29.5% from the floor overall.
The top of the conference remains open and murky, as the Sixers head off to face Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat in their final regular-season game, while the Pacers host Giannis and the Bucks at home.
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