Game Rewind: Pacers 114, 76ers 130

The Pacers had dropped three straight games prior to Monday in similar fashion, coming up just short down the stretch in close contests. That was not the case on Monday night in Philadelphia.

The East-leading 76ers dominated the second and third quarters to open up a commanding lead before cruising to a 130-114 victory.

All-NBA center Joel Embiid had 24 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists in just 27 minutes as Philadelphia (23-12) maintained its hold on the top spot in the East ahead of a showdown with West leaders Utah on Wednesday night.

Malcolm Brogdon, who returned to the lineup after missing Saturday's loss in New York with a sore right knee, had a team-high 20 points for Indiana (15-18). Edmond Sumner scored a season-high 18 points off the bench, while Domantas Sabonis added 15 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.

The two teams went back and forth in a high-scoring first quarter that featured eight ties and six lead changes. The Pacers jumped out to an early 16-9 lead, but Philadelphia answered with a 10-0 run to surge back in front.

Doug McDermott scored nine points and Myles Turner added six in the opening frame, but the 76ers took a 33-32 lead into the second quarter.

Both teams opened the ensuing quarter with their respective second units. Philadelphia's reserves got the upper hand as Furkan Korkmaz hit three 3-pointers to help the 76ers open the frame with a 19-8 run.

The hosts extended their lead even more shortly thereafter. Korkmaz knocked down his fourth 3-pointer of the quarter — an open look from the right corner — with 5:32 remaining in the first half. After Brogdon missed a layup, Embiid took the ball right down the lane for an uncontested slam on the Sixers' next possession. Then after misses by Sumner and Sabonis, Philadelphia got out in transition, with Shake Milton throwing a lob to Matisse Thybulle for a two-hand slam that made it 61-44 with 4:42 to play in the quarter.

The 76ers scored 39 points in the second quarter, led by as many as 20, and took a 72-55 lead into halftime. Four Philadelphia players were already in double figures by the intermission.

"I thought they made the right plays on our double-teams," Pacers head coach Nate Bjorkgren said. "I thought Joel Embiid played a very solid game. I think in that stretch there (in the second quarter) there were about two or three times that he kicked it to the weak side and (they) hit a few threes on us. That was three, six, nine (points) real quick."

The Pacers appeared poised to make a charge after halftime. Justin Holiday knocked down a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the third quarter and then after Embiid was whistled for traveling, Brogdon converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make it an 11-point game.

25 seconds later, Turner had a chance to trim the deficit to single digits, but missed a point-blank layup. Sixers head coach Doc Rivers then took a quick timeout to allow the hosts to regroup.

Philadelphia scored the next 15 points — seven of them coming from Embiid — to break open the game. Indiana went 5:33 without scoring, missing nine shots and committing five turnovers over that span.

The 76ers extended their lead as high as 31 in the frame. Indiana scored just 10 points over the first nine minutes of the quarter. They surpassed that with a 12-point flurry over the final 2:32, but still trailed 105-77 entering the fourth quarter.

Both coaches emptied their benches down the stretch as Philadelphia waltzed to a win.

Justin Holiday finished with 12 points, while younger brother Aaron Holiday and Turner added 11 points each.

Milton tallied 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting, four rebounds, and four assists for Philadelphia. Korkmaz added 19 points while going 6-for-13 from 3-point range, Ben Simmons added 18 points, and Mike Scott scored 11.

The Pacers wrap up a four-game road trip on Wednesday night in Cleveland before hosting Denver on Thursday in their final game before the All-Star break.

"It's definitely frustrating," Brogdon said of Indiana's recent skid. "This is not a losing team or a losing culture, so this is not what we're used to. But when you go on a losing streak or lose a couple, it's all about winning one game. That's what we've got to focus on in Cleveland."

Sumner's 18 points were six more than his previous high this season. It was also the second-highest scoring game of his four-year career. He scored a career-best 22 points in a win in Atlanta on the final night of the regular season on April 10, 2019.

Turner added a block to his league-leading total and has now had at least one block in 49 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NBA.

Philadelphia outscored Indiana by 21 points from 3-point range. The 76ers went 15-for-35 (42.9 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Pacers went just 8-for-29 (27.6 percent).

Embiid recorded his 20th double-double of the season for Philadelphia.

Both teams had 19 turnovers on Monday. That matched a season high for the Pacers, who now have four games on the year with 19 giveaways.

"We've got to stop letting what happens on the offensive end impact on us on the defensive end. I think that's kind of getting to us. We're letting (those) runs kind of get out of hand. Mostly I think we've just got to lock in defensively and whatever happens offensively, just let it go and get back and get a stop." -Sumner

"We didn't get stops. I think Joel was the key tonight. We tried to double him on the pass and he passed really well out of it, got his other guys going. Once they were going, in the second half it was a breeze. He was making shots (and) they were making shots." -Brogdon

"I thought we were good on offense when we attacked. The problem was we gave up too many points there in the first half to get in that attack mode more often." -Bjorkgren

"I've just been playing my game. The second unit (with) T.J. (McConnell) and Aaron (Holiday) does a good job of getting the ball to me out in transition, which I'm pretty good at." -Sumner on his recent offensive success

"With a bunch of teams bunched up there in the East, you can sway very quickly (from) being on the top end of that group to being on the bottom end of that group...All of these games are very, very important." -Bjorkgren

Philadelphia outscored Indiana 39-23 in the second quarter, matching the most points scored by a Pacers opponent in the second quarter this season.

The Pacers wrap up a four-game road trip on Wednesday night in Cleveland against Collin Sexton and the Cavaliers at 7:00 PM ET.

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