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After a splendid eight-game winning streak, the Philadelphia 76ers dropped their second In-Season Tournament game. Unable to corral the Indiana Pacers, the Sixers lost a close game by a final score of 132-126.
Joel Embiid put each one of the Pacers' centers in early foul trouble and tallied 39 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals. De’Anthony Melton had his best game of the season with 30 points on 8-13 shooting. Tyrese Maxey finished with 27 points and five assists. Tyrese Haliburton (33 points, 15 assists, seven rebounds) and Obi Toppin (27 points and six boards) did most of the damage for Indiana.
Let's dive into the film.
5. Jump-passing for joy
Haliburton's signature play is his jump pass. A move that is usually dissuaded by coaches, the Pacers superstar has mastered it. Nick Nurse mentioned his affinity for it before the game and he uncorked a beauty in the second quarter.
In this play, Haliburton is about to get a screen from Toppin but he instead slips into the paint right away. That takes Embiid's attention as Tobias Harris and Melton look to cut off Haliburton's lane, which they do. And at that moment, the Pacers star rises and whips a two-handed pass to Aaron Nesmith in the corner.
Like an expert quarterback leading a wide receiver, Haliburton doesn’t throw to where Nesmith is but rather to the area of the court where he can become most open. Nesmith is floating up to the wing but Haliburton throws it closer to the corner, further away from the Sixers' nearest defenders.
Had the pass been to where Nesmith was going, Maxey would have been right there to contest it. But it goes further down the court and Nesmith busts out some clean footwork to adjust and rise up for the open shot. Haliburton's unpredictability makes him so tough to slow down, as the Sixers explained after the game.
4. Harris at the hoop
Harris tallied his fifth game of the season with 20 points on over 50 percent shooting from the field. The Sixers' forward has used his size and dexterity very well to begin the season, serving as a very nice third scorer behind Embiid and Maxey.
The scoring Harris has done at the rim so far this season has mostly come on drives, especially early in the shot clock. He did so numerous times against the Pacers. But in this game, he also made use of some great cuts to score in the halfcourt, once on a feed from Embid and on another from Paul Reed.
Using a great back screen from Maxey, Harris jets to the middle of the paint. Reed's pass is a bit errant, forcing Harris to tip it up to the backboard before grabbing the pass. He collects himself, takes one firm dribble and goes right up over the smaller Andrew Nembhard.
By looking over the paint as he gets into his move, Harris can see shot-blocking extraordinaire Myles Turner about to converge on the scene. He knows he has to work quickly and scores on an awkward-looking angle.
3. Another way to turn defense into offense
Turning defense into offense typically means generating takeaways and getting out on the fast break. Whether it's an intercepted pass taken the other way or a steal or block that gets funneled ahead quickly to gain a numbers advantage, the Sixers. Embiid puts his own spin on it by following his momentum after contesting a perimeter shot and hunting the early seal.
Embiid contests a Nesmith triple — it's very reminiscent of a Kornet contest but he's not far away enough for it to qualify for that — and runs right up the court. Melton brings in the board and knows right away where to look. It takes a few seconds but Embiid eventually gets the pass. He scores with a left-handed layup but is also ready for the follow-up if needed.
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This season has seen Embiid use his size advantage in the paint more. While he's still getting his face-ups and post-ups in on top of being a roller, he's buying into the bully-ball mindset more. In the halfcourt, he pinned a pair of fouls on all three of the Pacers' centers. But that barreling to the hoop left him in a funky situation when Indiana brought out a small-ball lineup.
2. Small-ball success…for the Pacers
The Pacers scrambled for answers at center in the second quarter with two of their bigs in foul trouble and another one (Jalen Smith) forced out of the game with an injury. Nesmith ended up being the right guy for the job, but he didn’t do it alone. His constant fighting with Embiid for positioning was partnered very well with help on the backside.
The Sixers know Embiid has a gigantic size advantage but Toppin is right there to contest any pass that comes the big man's way. Much like the Boston Celtics — who they will see again in a few hours — the Pacers had success with an undersized defender on Embiid and a big in a help position over the top. Philly burned through its shot clock trying and failing to get the rock to the big man.
Without the playmaking chops of Nicolas Batum, who is dealing with a personal matter again and was out for this game, the Sixers had a harder time making the entry pass. Maxey doesn’t help matters here by just standing there, out of the play. Bruce Brown can easily check him and Robert Covington while the three Pacers players down low can make sure Embiid doesn’t get enough daylight to get a pass.
Covington wanders to the top of the key and misses a three badly. He seemed to be out of place a few times, which can be partially explained by the fact that it was his first start of the season for the Sixers and that he's still learning their system. Nonetheless, it’s something that needs fixing.
1. Crunch-time woes
The Sixers' offense in crunch time was brutal and the ultimate reason why they squandered the lead they had in the fourth quarter. Whether it was a bobbled possession that ended in an unanswered prayer from Embiid, turnovers from the big man or one of the numerous missed shots, Philly just couldn’t draw even after losing its lead with six minutes to play.
Maxey admitted after the loss that he let the Pacers' physical defense get into his head, making him more cognizant of the contact than fighting through it to get to his shots. The play that unfolds with just under two minutes left provides a clear example.
Maxey is so preoccupied with getting Brown on his hip that he gives up the great step he has on him, which he could have made better by using his elite speed. Getting a defender on your hip is helpful to maintain the step on a defender but isn’t necessary when you can just dart by him. He misses a wide-open Harris, who could have shot it or swung it to Beverley in the corner. PatBev is signaling that Harris is open, too. Maxey's grift for a foul is for naught and the Pacers would soon go up by nine points, putting the game out of reach.
Embiid doesn’t help matters by rolling weakly to the already congested paint. Had he stepped back out for a three, Maxey might have found a cleaner path to the hoop if Turner followed Embiid. Or, had he swung it to Embiid, he could have either shot the three-ball or forced a fire drill among Indy's defense by driving past the closeout from Turner.
Nick Nurse described their late-game execution as featuring “a couple weird plays there.” The Sixers could have done themselves a favor by figuring out a way to get the Pacers off their game so that they didn’t have to go blow for blow with such a high-octane offense in the final minutes of the game. Embiid said after the game that it came down to execution. Indiana's was better and it generated the result that it wanted.
