PHILADELPHIA – We're just a third of the way through the NBA season, but the Indiana Pacers delivered an emphatic message to the rest of the Eastern Conference this week.
Heading into the year and for much of the first two months of the season, the Pacers have been treated like an afterthought in the East. While the national media has focused on the likes of Toronto, Boston, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia, Indiana has quietly flown under the radar.
That changed on Friday, as the Pacers made a major statement on national television, blowing past the 76ers for a 113-101 road win at the Wells Fargo Center. It was the sixth straight win for the Blue & Gold — their longest winning streak in the past two seasons — and it vaulted the Pacers past Philadelphia and into third place in the East.
They are also just a half-game back of the second-place Bucks, whom they throttled two nights earlier at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, 113-97.
"We feel that we're overlooked sometimes," Pacers co-captain Thaddeus Young told FOX Sports Indiana's Jeremiah Johnson after Friday's win. "But we like playing with a chip on our shoulder every night. It brings the best out of us as a unit.
"With the guys that we have on this team, we can do some special things."
That was certainly evident on Friday night.
No one was more special than Young, who scored a season-high 26 points, pulled down 10 rebounds (six on the offensive glass), dished out five assists, and once again was what Pacers head coach Nate McMillan calls "the glue" — making play after play on both ends in a comeback victory.
Indiana had fallen into an early hole, as Young and Myles Turner combined to miss the Pacers' first five shots, allowing the Sixers to race out to a 10-0 lead. They clawed their way back, briefly taking the lead with 4:16 remaining in the second quarter, only to watch Philadelphia close the first half with a 17-6 run to take a 10-point advantage into the break.
The Pacers had no answer early for All-Star center Joel Embiid, who had racked up 28 points and 14 rebounds by halftime.
In the locker room, the Pacers made some key defensive adjustments. They decided to alter their strategy of where they double-teamed Embiid from, sending an extra defender from the elbow instead of the baseline.
In addition, Young asked the coaching staff if he could guard 6-10 Sixers point guard Ben Simmons. They granted his wish, something that is becoming more and more common in a Pacers locker room built around trust.
Both moves paid off. Indiana started the second half with a 14-4 run to quickly tie the game. They took a three-point lead into the fourth quarter, then pulled away down the stretch, outscoring the Sixers 23-12 over the final 6:04.
Embiid finished with 40 points and 21 boards, but the Pacers forced him into four turnovers over the final two quarters. Young helped hold Simmons, the reigning Rookie of the Year, to 3-of-8 shooting and three turnovers after halftime, while at the same time racking up 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, six boards, and four assists of his own.
"We just had to pick it up defensively," Young said. "We had to be more aggressive and we (were). We made a few key switches as far as matchups and it gave us some opportunities to slow some guys down."
Offensively, Young was the beneficiary against what McMillan called "a gimmick defense" from Philadelphia. They tried to hide smaller defenders on the 6-9 forward, so the Pacers put the ball in his hands and allowed him to make the right reads. He did just that, punishing Philly repeatedly down the stretch.
It was the latest chapter in Young's resurgence within Indiana's offense. He now has recorded double-doubles in three straight games and is averaging 21.7 points, 11 rebounds, and 4.3 assists over that stretch.
He was also the star of Wednesday's win, when he tallied 25 points, 11 boards, four assists, and five steals while holding All-NBA forward Giannis Antetokounmpo to a season-low 12 points on the defensive end.
"Earlier in the season I wasn't playing to the best of my abilities," Young admitted Friday. "I was just thinking about it too much.
"I had a few conversations with some of my guys and they just told me, 'Just hoop.' That's what I've been doing."
Perhaps the most remarkable part about Indiana's winning streak is that it has featured star turns from a number of role players, guys like Young, Bojan Bogdanovic, Cory Joseph, and Darren Collison.
Photo Credit: NBAE/Getty Images
That has been especially important as All-Star guard Victor Oladipo works himself back into the rotation. The Pacers' leading scorer played just his second game after an 11-game absence on Friday night and he's still clearly fighting to get up to speed as he returns from a sore right knee.
Oladipo, who scored 20 or more points in 13 straight games from Oct. 19 through Nov. 11, has averaged just 13 points in the last two wins.
But he took a major step forward on Friday with the game on the line.
Even though he entered the fourth quarter with just eight points on 2-of-10 shooting, the Pacers turned to Oladipo down the stretch. He delivered, scoring or assisting on seven of Indiana's final 10 field goals to help seal the victory.
"It was good to see him make those plays down the stretch," McMillan said. "That's the thing that we really missed when he was out is that guy that's kind of the closer for us. You put it in his hands and allow him to make plays."
"It was winning time, so I've got to be more assertive in winning time," said Oladipo, who finished with nine assists, one shy of his season high. "I just tried to make plays for myself and for others. Credit my teammates that stepped up and played really well tonight. I was just trying to find them."
With their closer back on the court and slowly rounding into All-Star form, this week might be just the beginning of the Pacers' surge up the East standings and into the national conversation.