Joel Embiid, Sixers Bounce Back With Dominant Win vs. Pacers

On Tuesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers opened up the final week of their regular season with a matchup against the Indiana Pacers. Knowing they were

On Tuesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers opened up the final week of their regular season with a matchup against the Indiana Pacers. Knowing they were guaranteed to make the playoffs this season, the Sixers didn't apply too much pressure on themselves in Indiana, and it paid off.

After knocking down threes at a high rate, the Sixers put the Pacers away with a convincing victory before heading to Toronto to face the Raptors. Despite facing an undermanned Raptors team, the Sixers came up short against their potential first-round playoff opponent.

But if the Sixers can snag the Eastern Conference's third seed, Toronto won't be their problem. Going into Saturday's rematch against the Pacers, the Sixers knew that moving up in the rankings was still possible. With a win over Indiana on Saturday, and a victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, the Sixers could watch the Boston Celtics and the Memphis Grizzlies battle it out.

If Boston defeats Memphis, they'll lock in the East's third seed. Philadelphia would move up and draw the Chicago Bulls in the first round if the Sixers could win out and the Grizzlies win Sunday's game. Regardless of what needs to happen on Sunday, the Sixers knew they had to get through Saturday's matchup versus Indiana first before anything.

Rolling With Green

With Matisse Thybulle out of the Sixers' lineup on Thursday due to his ineligibility to play in Toronto, Doc Rivers opted to roll with Danny Green in the starting lineup.

Although he's been on the decline this year, Green had an impressive outing against his former team on Thursday night as he made it rain with seven threes.

The Sixers got Thybulle back in the mix on Saturday, but Doc Rivers didn't go right back to his old starting lineup. Instead, he kept Danny Green in the starting five against the Pacers. Green wasn't nearly as efficient on Saturday, but he was far from gun shy.

In 28 minutes of action, Green chucked up 11 shots. Ten of those attempts came from beyond the arc. Green finished the afternoon by knocking down 40-percent of his threes and scoring 15 points. It's unclear if starting Green will be Rivers' new trend, but the veteran has looked like the best version of himself over the last two games.

Another Reed Sighting

Doc Rivers spent a lot of time utilizing DeAndre Jordan as Joel Embiid's primary backup ever since the Sixers signed him. When Jordan wasn't the guy Rivers would look to back up Embiid, he would go with the other seasoned veteran, Paul Millsap.

It became clear that Rivers didn't fully trust the second-year forward/center Paul Reed to acquire minutes with the primary rotation, but Jordan and Millsap's struggles caused many to beg for Rivers to give him a try. On Thursday night, Rivers rolled with Paul Reed for the first time in a long time.

On Saturday, he went with the second-year veteran once again. By no means is Reed Philadelphia's savior at the backup center position, but he brings some decent value in his limited time on the floor. During his first shift of the afternoon, Reed collected four points and two rebounds in three minutes.

In total, Reed checked in for 11 minutes. During that time, he collected eight points by going 4-4 from the field. In addition, he came down with five rebounds and acquired four steals. While his five fouls in 11 minutes weren't ideal, Reed brought tremendous energy to the floor during his small shift and is making a case to stick around at the backup five-spot beyond the regular season.

One More for the Campaign

As the regular season winds down, many believe that Joel Embiid could get a rest day or two before the playoffs. So far, he hasn't taken one. Despite teasing a possible rest day after hardly going through pregame warmups, Embiid certainly didn't take a shift off on Saturday.

In his first nine minutes on the court, the Sixers' big man drained three of his shots from the field and went 5-7 from the free-throw line for 11 points. By the end of the first half, Embiid had 17 points and 12 rebounds in 17 minutes of action.

He didn't slow down in the second half, either. Playing the entire third quarter, Embiid was nearly perfect from the floor and the free-throw line as he drained six of his seven shots and three of his four free throws. He went into the fourth quarter with 16 more points to add to his total.

After scoring over 40 points against the Pacers earlier this week, Embiid grabbed himself another 40-piece on Saturday afternoon. In a little over 35 minutes on the floor, the Sixers' big man was highly efficient by draining 14 of his 17 shots and 11 of his 15 free throws. In total, he wrapped up the game with 41 points and 20 rebounds as the Sixers cruised past the Pacers once again with a 133-120 victory. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.