Game analysis / Published 2026-10-29

The 21-6 run that pulled the 76ers out of their worst quarter

Philadelphia trailed 88-75 after a 36-13 third quarter in Indianapolis, then Maxey hit two late threes and the Sixers closed with a 21-6 run in under seven minutes.

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THE SHORT VERSION

  • Philadelphia beat Indiana 114-109 in Indianapolis, with Tyrese Maxey scoring 27 points and hitting two 3-pointers in the final 90 seconds.
  • The Sixers trailed 88-75 after a third quarter in which they shot 5 of 21 and were outscored 36-13.
  • Joel Embiid had 21 points and 11 rebounds and Anfernee Simons scored 20 off the bench; Haliburton was out with a left hamstring strain.

How a ten-point halftime lead became a 13-point hole

Philadelphia led by ten at halftime, 62-52, after VJ Edgecombe's halfcourt shot at the buzzer, according to ESPN. Then the third quarter went badly enough to change the shape of the game. Indiana scored the first 17 points of the period and led 69-62, and by the end of the quarter the Pacers were ahead 88-75.

The quarter line explains it. The Sixers shot 5 of 21 from the field in the third; the Pacers made 13 of 23. PhillyVoice calls it the Sixers' worst period of the season by far and puts the margin at 36-13. Indiana had shot 39% in the first half; the same shots started falling after halftime.

There is a version of this game where the Sixers lose and the story is the third quarter. They had led by 15 at one point, per PhillyVoice, and were facing a larger deficit than the lead they had built. The rest of the night is about how that stopped being the story.

The 21-6 run, in under seven minutes

The fourth quarter turned on a stretch that both accounts describe in the same terms. PhillyVoice times it at 6 minutes 45 seconds and a 21-6 margin. LeBron James hit a three between two from Anfernee Simons, then fed a rolling Joel Embiid for an and-one; Jaylen Brown put back a miss; Tyrese Maxey drew a foul.

ESPN's sequence is slightly different in order but lands in the same place: Maxey's layup tied the game at 94, and two Maxey free throws put Philadelphia ahead 96-94 with 5:15 left. From there the Sixers kept posting Embiid and the Pacers kept having to choose between doubling him and chasing shooters.

The run did not come from a lineup change either account reports. It came from the same starters, with Embiid staying on the floor for the entire fourth quarter — a notable workload given that PhillyVoice notes he was limited to about 20 minutes per game a year ago.

Maxey's two threes in the last 90 seconds

ESPN's account of the finish is precise: Maxey hit two 3-pointers in the final 1 1/2 minutes, and the second gave the Sixers a 112-106 lead with 46 seconds left. He finished with 27 points, the team high, on a night when Philadelphia needed someone to make a shot after the run had stalled.

The mechanics of the last two possessions are worth keeping. After Indiana free throws, Maxey set up Embiid for a jumper at the nail. When Nembhard answered for Indiana, Embiid drew a double-team, kicked out to James, and one pass later Maxey had another three. The Sixers' best offense in the last five minutes was Embiid as a passer out of the post, not Embiid as a scorer.

That is the part the box score hides. Embiid's 21 points and 11 rebounds are the measurable line; the two late assists that produced Maxey's threes are the reason the line mattered. The Pacers, without a healthy center rotation, had no clean answer for the post-up once Siakam was in foul trouble.

Simons, Brown and James behind the two stars

The supporting numbers are unusually even. Brown had 20 points and 10 rebounds; Simons scored 20 off the bench, including five 3-pointers; James added 13 points and 10 assists. ESPN gives all four lines, and PhillyVoice notes that Simons had shot 3-for-21 from the field across his previous three games before Wednesday.

Simons' night is the one that changes the read on the bench. PhillyVoice reports that he made back-to-back threes in the first quarter, two more in the second and a movement three to open the fourth, and quotes coach Nick Nurse saying Simons had no training camp and that the staff still expects him to be an explosive scorer. A 20-point game does not settle that, but it is the first time this season the bench has produced it.

Brown's line came after a start PhillyVoice describes as 1-for-4 with three turnovers. James, meanwhile, had what the same report calls his most comfortable game as a Sixer, with the entry passes to Embiid doing most of the early damage. Those are observations from one beat writer, not independent measurements.

Indiana without Haliburton

Tyrese Haliburton was sidelined with a left hamstring strain, ESPN reports, and Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said he expected Haliburton to be out at least two weeks. Indiana also played without center Ivica Zubac, who missed his second consecutive game with a left ankle sprain.

The Pacers still got production. Andrew Nembhard returned after missing Monday's loss at Milwaukee with neck soreness and finished with 18 points and 14 assists; Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 26 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 12 seconds left; Aaron Nesmith added 18. PhillyVoice notes that Kelly Oubre Jr. started in Haliburton's place against his former team.

The absence is the caveat on the whole night. Haliburton is the player the Pacers' offense runs through, and his earlier return from an Achilles injury was the story of Indiana's first week. Beating Indiana without him is a different test from beating Indiana with him.

A 4-1 start and a Friday Cup game

The win moved Philadelphia to 4-1; Indiana dropped to 2-3, per the standings ESPN prints with the recap. It was also the second time this young season the Sixers have won a game after a large deficit, following the home opener against Cleveland.

Nurse's pregame answer set up the theme. Asked whether his message was to play 48 minutes of cohesive basketball, he said: "I think 48 would be a lot to ask for." PhillyVoice reports the Sixers have won with uneven first halves and dominant second halves; Wednesday inverted the pattern and still produced the same result.

Next is a home game against the Knicks on Friday that opens NBA Cup group play. Carlisle will miss that night's Pacers game in Miami to attend his father's memorial service; assistant Lloyd Pierce will coach Indiana. Preston Carlisle died at 96 on Oct. 3, per ESPN.

What one comeback does not show

The comeback says something about shot-making and something about Embiid's conditioning, but it says less about the Sixers' defense over 48 minutes. They gave up 36 points in a single quarter and needed a 21-6 run to survive a team missing its best player. Both things are in the same game.

It also does not settle the rotation. Simons' 20 points came in a game where Philadelphia needed bench scoring; whether that becomes a pattern is a separate question, and Nurse's own comment about the missing training camp suggests the staff is still waiting. Neither account reports a minutes restriction for Embiid going forward.

The limits are the usual ones for a single game. The evidence here is ESPN's recap and a Philadelphia beat writer's takeaways, both written the same night. Neither includes a full play-by-play, injury timetables beyond Carlisle's two-week estimate, or any comment from Haliburton.

Sources & reporting limits

  1. LeBron James orchestrates, Joel Embiid dominates as Sixers stage another dramatic comeback
  2. Maxey scores 27 points and leads the 76ers to a 114-109 victory over the Pacers
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