On Friday night, the Sixers played toe-to-toe with the Eastern Conference leading Pacers. They cut the lead late but couldn't complete the comeback. Tonight was no different. The Sixers climbed to within three in the final minutes, but ended up dropping their franchise-worst 21st game by a score of 99-90.
The Sixers came out as the better team in the first quarter. After the Pacers scored the first points of the game, Philadelphia went on a 10-2 run to go up 10-4 early. After the Pacers cut the lead to four, a Carter-Williams jumper combined with a Thaddeus Young three-pointer extended the advantage to 15-6. Michael Carter-Williams led the Sixers cause with six points and five rebounds in the first, giving them a 24-21 lead after one.
Let's pick things up midway into the second quarter. After the Pacers took a five point lead, 36-31, the Sixers came right back to tie it and take the lead, 37-36, after a three-point play from Hollis Thompson. The two teams taded the lead back and forth, neither getting the edge until things were locked at 48 with 2:11 to go. The Pacers went on an 8-0 run thanks to some questionable defense by the Sixers. The Sixers looked sluggish towards the end of the half as the Pacers took a 58-50 lead into the locker rooms.
The Pacers maintained a small lead in the third until Hollis Thompson and Thaddeus Young both hit shots from beyond the arc, pulling the Sixers to within one, 62-61. The Sixers three-point shooting was what kept them in the game, going 7-for-12 midway through the third quarter. The stifling Sixers defense on the next Pacers possesion helped them take the lead back on a Thad Young jumper, 63-62. After being tied at 68, the Pacers began to pull away as Paul George and George Hill both hit three's to put them ahead, 73-65 with a little over a minute to play in the third. After three, the Pacers led 75-67 due in large part to 17 Sixers turnovers.
Fast forward to just under three minutes, Sixers down five. Roy Hibbert received the ball on a perfect pass in the lane but was blocked by Tony Wroten. Wroten sprinted to the other side of the court, drew a foul and sunk both free-throws to make it a three-point game, 88-85.
When momentum seemed to swing the Sixers way, the Pacers took it back. A wide open miss on a three by MCW was answered with a good three-pointer courtesy of George Hill, putting the Pacers ahead, 91-85, with 1:47 to play. On the next possession, a Carter-Williams turnover ended up being costly as Roy Hibbert completed a three-point play at the other side of the court, putting the Pacers ahead by nine, 94-85. Tony Wroten hit a bucket but another three-point play from the Pacers made it a 10-point lead, 97-87. Indiana ended up taking this one, 99-90.
For the Sixers, Michael Carter-Williams tallied a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. After going 3-for-5 from the floor in the first quarter, MCW struggled. After the first, he shot just 4-for-15. Tony Wroten and Thad Young added 17 points each. Henry Sims was a point short of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. Believe it or not, the Sixers (43.2%) outshot the Pacers (38.3%) on the night. Free throws were an issue tonight as Philadelphia made 11 of 20 while the Pacers hit 31 out of 38.
Indiana was led by Lance Stephenson with 25 points. Paul George added 24 points and ended with eight rebounds. David West pulled down 12 rebounds to go along with his seven points.
Up Next: The Sixers head back home to host the Chicago Bills at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday night at 7PM. The two teams split meetings earlier this season. The Sixers won on November 2nd to start the season 3-0, 107-104. The Bulls took care of the Sixers in Chicago, 103-78 in mid-January.
Brandon Apter is a writer for Sixerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ApterShock
