James Harden, 76ers Defeat Pacers in Overtime Thriller

The 76ers put the Pacers away with an overtime victory on Wednesday.

Returning to their home court on Monday night to host the New Orleans Pelicans for a quick rematch, the Philadelphia 76ers found success. 

After falling short to the Pelicans in New Orleans last Friday before closing out 2022 with a victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Sixers managed to put away Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum to get their revenge.

On Wednesday, the Sixers returned to the court for their second-straight home game. This time around, the Sixers hosted the Indiana Pacers for the second time this season. Back in October, when the Sixers and the Pacers battled it out, both teams entered the matchup 0-3.

Indiana left Philly 0-4 at the time, while the Sixers snagged their first win. Since then, both teams have found tons of success. The Sixers entered Wednesday’s matchup at 22-14. Meanwhile, the Pacers sat right behind them in the standings with a 21-17 record

Quarter Breakdown

1st Quarter

While the Sixers hoped to remain fully healthy, the team found itself shorthanded on Wednesday. Following shootaround in the morning, the Sixers added their star center Joel Embiid to the injury report as he was dealing with foot soreness.

Originally listed as questionable, Embiid was soon ruled out for the night and missed his first game since late November. With the big man out for the game, the Sixers rolled out a small-ball starting five, utilizing PJ Tucker at the five while adding Tyrese Maxey back into the lineup, playing alongside Tobias Harris, De’Anthony Melton, and James Harden.

Through the first quarter of action, the Sixers and the Pacers were neck and neck, as both teams shot above 40 percent. Indiana got a slight edge, led by their sharpshooter Buddy Hield, who collected six points. Through the first 12 minutes, Indiana led the Sixers 28-27. 

2nd Quarter

The Sixers had an injury scare late in the first quarter, as the veteran forward PJ Tucker was grabbing at his leg and slow to get up. Tucker immediately when to the team’s locker room to get checked out. Fortunately for Philadelphia, that wouldn’t be the last time they saw him on the court.

As Tucker spent time off the court, the veteran center Montrezl Harrell gave the Sixers a notable boost in the first half. During the second quarter, the center went 2-2 from the field and 2-2 from the charity stripe, collecting six points to add to his 12-point first half total.

Philadelphia shared the wealth on the offensive end in the second quarter as De’Anthony Melton, Tobias Harris, Georges Niang, and Harrell each scored six points. James Harden led the pack with eight points and four assists in the second quarter.

The Sixers outscored the Pacers 39-33, gaining a five-point lead before halftime. 

3rd Quarter

Coming out for the second half, the Sixers continued to get a strong outing from Harden. Checking in for nearly 11 minutes of the third quarter, Harden shot efficiently from the field, draining three of his five shots, going 2-3 from deep.

Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey found comfort on the floor after a quiet first half. Adding nine points to his total, Maxey was nearly perfect from the field, draining all but one of his four shots in eight minutes. 

Not only did the Sixers take care of the ball coming out of the half, turning it over just one time in the third quarter, but they continued to knock down shots at a high percentage. Draining 57 percent of their field goals and 71 percent of their seven three-point attempts, the Sixers outscored Indiana 31-23 in the third quarter. With that run, Philadelphia entered the fourth quarter leading 97-84. 

4th Quarter

The Sixers showed plenty of signs of pulling away and putting the Pacers away for good. With a double-digit lead going into the fourth quarter, the Pacers and the Sixers traded shots, but Indiana’s deficit made it difficult for them to leave Philadelphia with a victory unless they started getting stops on the defensive end.

A key lineup change with a little over five minutes left in the game helped the Pacers slowly but surely begin to climb back from their double-digit deficit. Then down four points during a Philadelphia timeout, the Pacers came back into the game with smooth ball movement, which led to a three to get the deficit down to one point with a little over four minutes to go. A turnover that led to a goaltend roughly one minute later led to the Pacers picking up their first lead in the fourth quarter. 

Indiana started to pull away a bit in the fourth quarter, teasing a possible completed comeback, but the Sixers wouldn’t allow it happen. Out in front with a two-point lead with a little over 30 seconds left to go in the game, an Indiana turnover led to a Tyrese Maxey transition dunk, which got the Sixers within two points.

Another Pacers turnover with 13 seconds left to go led to a contested Maxey layup in transition, which was unsuccessful. Fortunately for Philly, Tobias Harris was there for the putback, which helped the Sixers knot the game at 120. One final shot from Pacers veteran Buddy Hield was missed, which sent the game into overtime. 

Overtime

The Sixers won the tip-off in overtime, but couldn’t take advantage right away as a Tobias Harris driving layup was blocked. It took nearly a minute for one team to put points on the board, but the Pacers drew first blood with a layup.

Down two points, the Sixers got out in front for the first time during the free period with a De’Anthony Melton three-ball. After snagging a rebound on the next defensive possession, the Sixers got the ball back and tacked on two more points with a roaring Montrezl Harrell dunk after an offensive rebound.

The Sixers nearly sealed the deal after a Pacers offensive foul. However, a missed tip-in by Harrell gave the Pacers an opportunity to climb back within one point with a little under a minute left. Harden took a foul with 28 seconds left, allowing the Sixers another opportunity to get the game out of reach, but two misses by Harden gave the Pacers one final shot to gain a late lead. 

Fortunately for Philly, the Pacers couldn’t get it done. A blocked shot by Harden got the Sixers one final offensive possession, which led to two free throws by Tobias Harris, giving Philadelphia a three-point cushion. The Pacers had one last chance to get a three but a missed shot led to the Sixers putting the Pacers away once and for all.