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The showdown between the 76ers and Boston Celtics will still be for first place. But the Sixers will go into the game without the momentum they’ve been riding for the past few weeks.
The Indiana Pacers halted Philly’s eight-game winning streak, following a 132-126 final on Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
It also marked a pair of firsts in the overarching loss column for the Sixers. In addition to being their first home loss of the season, this was their first NBA Cup Tournament setback. As a result, the Sixers dropped to 8-2, 1-1 in the East Group A pool of the in-season tournament.
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“Tough loss, we’ve been on a roll,” Joel Embiid said. “We can’t win them all. We just got to learn from it.”
The Sixers were without Nicolas Batum, who missed the game for personal reasons. They also lacked Kelly Oubre Jr., who missed his second straight game after sustaining a broken rib following a hit-and-run incident on Saturday night.
That meant Robert Covington started at small forward and the Sixers’ depth took a major hit. They were outscored, 33-6, in bench points.
It also didn’t help that Tyrese Maxey didn’t come close to duplicating Sunday’s 50-point effort against the Pacers (7-4, 1-1) on Sunday. The Sixers point guard found some rhythm in the fourth quarter, scoring 15 of his 27 points. On the night, Maxey shot 9-for-23 to go with four rebounds, six assists, and a season-high four turnovers.
Embiid, who had been listed before the game as questionable with a sore hip, finished with 39 points while making all 17 of his foul shots. The reigning MVP also had 13 rebounds, six assists, and three steals. De’Anthony Melton had a season-high 30 points on 8-for-13 shooting — including making 4 of 6 three-pointers and all 10 of his foul shots. And Tobias Harris added 22 points and seven rebounds.
Tyrese Haliburton paced the Pacers with 33 points, 15 assists, and just one turnover. Obi Toppin added 27 points. Jalen Smith left the game in the third quarter with a head injury and was rushed to the hospital. Thirty minutes after the game, the Pacers were unsure if Smith would travel home with the team.
But the Sixers don’t have a lot of time to sulk. They’ll entertain the Celtics (8-2) in a nationally televised game on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., ESPN).
Undermanned Sixers
Without Batum and Oubre, and Covington (two points) with the start, the Sixers went to Furkan Korkmaz, Danuel House, Marcus Morris, and KJ Martin as the wing players off the bench. They combined for two points, both coming from Morris.
Martin was forced into the game when Harris went to the locker room to be tested for a concussion after Indiana’s Bruce Brown landed in his head and neck.
The Pacers went on a 13-4 run after the Sixers started making substitutions. While the reserves played hard, the team just lacked quality depth.
As for Oubre, he will be re-evaluated in a week although he could miss a considerable amount of time.
“He did come to the practice facility today,” head coach Nick Nurse said. “He rode the exercise bike for a little bit. So he’s doing OK.”
Ruling change
The officials originally determined that the Pacers could choose who went to the foul line to shoot for Harris when he went to the locker room for concussion protocol. Indiana selected KJ Martin, who subbed in for Harris, to shoot the pair of free throws. The swingman missed both shots.
But the officials determined several minutes later that allowing the Pacers to pick the shooter was a mistake. Upon review, the Sixers were allowed to pick. So they selected Maxey, who made both of them.
“I’ve never been through that before,” Nurse said. “They were going with the old rule, which I was familiar that they would get a pick. Then the game went on, and I guess [the replay center in] Secaucus called in and said, ‘We didn’t administer that right. It is a correctable error. So we got to choose somebody that was on the floor in that moment.”
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Courtney Kirkland, the crew chief for Tuesday’s game, explained why the Sixers were able to pick a foul shooter.
“So, Tobias left the game because of the concussion evaluation and because of that, under Rule 9, Section 2 exception, his coach is the one who is allowed to select the substitute free throw shooter,” Kirkland said, “and he’s supposed to select one of the four members that are on the court to shoot the substitute free throws, not the opposing coach.”
But why are the officials allowed to go back and reverse a call after several minutes of play?
“That is a correctable error,” Kirkland said. “Under Rule 2, Section 6-A-4, when we have the wrong free-throw shooter we are allowed to go back and correct the free-throw shooter to go and shoot the free throw. That can be done until the end of the period.”
Maxey’s shoes.
Maxey was stylish on Tuesday night.
The point guard donned a special pair of New Balance sneakers in honor of his twin nieces, Kali and Kai, on their birthday. The twins’ favorite colors are pink and purple.
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