Sixers beat Pacers 114-109 after Maxey hits two late threes to finish 13-point comeback

The Sixers beat the Indiana Pacers 114-109 on Wednesday night to improve to 4-1, and they needed a huge fourth quarter against a team missing Tyrese Haliburton to get it done.

Tyrese Maxey scored 27 points on 8-of-18 shooting, including two threes in the final 1:30. The second one put the 76ers up 112-106 with 46 seconds left. Joel Embiid added 21 points and 11 rebounds. Jaylen Brown had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Anfernee Simons scored 20 off the bench. LeBron James finished with 13 points and 10 assists.

The Sixers outscored Indiana 39-21 in the fourth. That is the only reason this ended as a win.

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The Sixers Nearly Gave This One Away in the Third Quarter

Philadelphia led 62-52 at halftime after VJ Edgecombe hit a halfcourt shot at the buzzer. Then the second half started.

Indiana scored the first 17 points of the third quarter. The 76ers went from one failed isolation to the next, and Nick Nurse’s timeout did not fix it. Philadelphia shot 5-of-21 in the quarter and scored 13 points. The Pacers made 13 of 23 and scored 36. The Sixers went into the fourth down 88-75.

Maxey had five points when he hit a three in the third to stop the bleeding. Edgecombe finished with 8 points on 3-of-10 shooting and 3 turnovers. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went 0-of-3 from three. Outside Simons, the Sixers shot 7-of-26 from deep as a team.

Philadelphia was 13-of-36 from three for the game. Simons was responsible for six of those makes.

Maxey and Embiid Close the Door for the Sixers

Maxey tied the game at 94 with a layup and put the Sixers back in front 96-94 on two free throws with 5:15 left. Embiid hit a fadeaway to answer an Indiana run. Maxey then hit a stepback three and the late three that made it 112-106.

Edgecombe threw a bad inbounds pass out of bounds with 31 seconds left, which gave Indiana a chance. Aaron Nesmith got an offensive rebound off his first three-point attempt and then airballed the second. The Sixers survived.

The Pacers Were Short-Handed, and the Sixers Still Needed the Fourth

Haliburton sat with a left hamstring strain, and Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said he expects him to be out at least two weeks. Ivica Zubac missed his second straight game with a left ankle sprain.

Indiana still had enough to lead by 13. Pascal Siakam had 26 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 12 seconds left. Andrew Nembhard had 18 points and 14 assists. Nesmith added 18.

A team playing without its point guard and its starting center led the Sixers by 13 with 12 minutes to go. Philadelphia should not be comfortable with that.

What the 4-1 Sixers Face Next

The Sixers host the New York Knicks on Friday at 7:30 PM ET. Philadelphia sits first in the Atlantic at 4-1, with its lone loss coming Sunday to the Pistons. The Knicks are 2-3.

The Sixers are winning games while the offense is still unsettled. They cannot count on Maxey bailing out another 36-13 type of quarter every night.