Following a quick road trip, the Philadelphia 76ers (8-1) faced the Indiana Pacers (6-4), one of the fastest-playing teams in the NBA and owners of the league's best offensive rating. The Sixers, fueled by a career game from Tyrese Maxey, won a shootout by a final score of 137-126.

Let's break down the Sixers' win over the Pacers, their eighth straight.

Sixers player notes:

Joel Embiid: 37 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 12-26 FG shooting

Embiid got some early MVP chants as he tacked on his 11t and 12th points from the free throw line less than five minutes into the game. The Pacers, as most teams do, lacked an answer for his size. He wasn’t as menacing on defense against the buzzsaw that is the Indiana offense but he was plenty incredible on offense.

Tyrese Maxey: 50 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 20-32 FG shooting

As he continues to make history and records a new career-high in points, Maxey is living on a shot diet with the same vibe as asking your landlord to raise the rent so you can grind harder. The shots he's making look easy are anything but. Any space to get his shot off is dangerous for opposing defenses. The speed at which he attacks the paint gave him some buckets that came as goaltending calls.

And yet, some of his best plays from tonight were the shots he blocked. The sky is too small of a limit for Maxey at this point.

Pacers player notes:

Tyrese Haliburton: 25 points, 1 rebound, 17 assists, 2 steals, 9-14 FG shooting

The other Tyrese from the 2021 draft class is pretty incredible, too. He's very tricky and perfectly serves as the straw that stirs Indy's drink — he can dominate on the ball with his shooting and playmaking while also serving as the perfect connective piece. Tonight, he was on fire as a scorer and he created a plethora of open shots for his teammates, which they cashed in on repeatedly.

Game recap:

1st half

The Sixers were dealt some very scary news yesterday night when Kelly Oubre Jr. was struck by a car and taken to a nearby hospital. Thankfully, he was in stable condition during his hospital visit and his injuries are not believed to jeopardize his season. The team said that he will be re-evaluated next week.

While Nick Nurse did say he was moving Oubre to the starting five temporarily following the James Harden trade, he needed to find someone for his spot now. Nico Batum got the bump up to the starting lineup and took on the top assignment of the night: Haliburton. He held his own early on and showed his hustle with a chase-down block in transition. He had another block on Myles Turner as he and Embiid denied him a clean put-back look.

The Sixers opened the game by spamming the empty-side two-man game with Maxey and Embiid. Maxey got his floaters up and hit a three, Embiid cleaned up one of the floaters that he missed and the big fella also scored off of slick passes from his star guard. They combined for Philly's first 13 points of the night, showcasing the variety of looks they can create in the set. When Embiid found Harris with a mismatch in the post, Philly went up 15-6 in the opening four minutes.

Robert Covington and Patrick Beverley were the Sixers' first subs while Danuel House Jr. subbed in for De'Anthony Metlon. The backups got a taste of how tough the Pacers' offense is to guard. They make teams pay for any rotation mistake with their non-stop movement and relentless pace. But Embiid continued to outgun the system while also making some big hustle plays, including one dive for a loose ball that led to a Harris bucket.

To begin the second quarter, the high pick-and-roll with Paul Reed gave Maxey the space to make shots that should be tough but he makes look super easy. Deep threes off the dribble and floaters off of the same leg as one's shooting hand are hard shots to make routinely. Apparently, number 0 on the Sixers did not get this memo as he worked his way up to 21 points for the game in just over 10 minutes of playing time.

The Sixers got pestered by an old friend, T.J. McConnell, but the Pacers couldn’t make up much ground on the scoreboard in the minutes Embiid rested — in fact, Philly won those minutes. However, Haliburton made Batum work and Indy cut a 19-point deficit down to seven in a flash. Melton took the Haliburton matchup but the Pacers guard was still a headache.

At halftime, the Sixers led 69-60 thanks to 51 combined points from their star duo.

2nd half

Batum took Haliburton back on defense as the Pacers made it a bigger emphasis to swarm the ball when Embiid had it and crash the boards. When Batum was on him, Hali played like a bug trying to fly around a Venus flytrap, speeding by before Batum got the chance to use his size, smarts and quick hands to slow him down. The Pacers tried to discard their deficit but the Sixers stayed ahead.

Obi Toppin whizzed an over-the-head, two-handed dunk by Embiid for one of the Pacers' scores. The Sixers, whether it was a Maxey layup off the glass or some shot creation from Harris, always had a response that kept Indiana at bay. Melton hit threes on consecutive possessions to get the Sixers back up by 10 (though a review declared one of them was only a two-pointer, so the lead was nine). Indiana kept it at, ripping off eight straight points thanks to a pair of triples assisted by Haliburton.

Maxey gave the Sixers some breathing room with another bucket to start the fourth quarter but the Pacers took it right back, going up by one on a tough Aaron Nesmith layup. Harris' muscle on the inside gave Philly an edge but the Pacers' ball movement induced poor closeouts that gave them chances continually.

While Maxey's buckets are cool, Maxey's blocks are becoming all the rage. He denied Buddy Hield of a dunk and then found House on the fast break for a lob, but Jalen Smith took it away with a foul. The growth Maxey is showing is amazing. For him to do all this while making hustle plays has to be unprecedented, right? He's just doing everything — which included an off-the-dribble three-ball that gave him 40 points. A putback on a missed three gave him 45, a new career-high.

The Sixers led by 10 when Embiid came back in with three and a half minutes left. Try as Indiana did, Philly was too much to overcome. The crowd went wild as he scored his final bucket, which gave him a 50-piece, on a step-back triple.

Random rumblings:

  • Not only was Oubre out of commission tonight but so was PA announcer Matt Cord. Wishing the quickest recoveries possible for both of them.
  • Bruce Brown's reaction to that Maxey triple is one that many more defenders will see as they try to guard him.

The Sixers will see the Pacers in Philly again on Tuesday for their first home In-Season Tournament game.