By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers (1-7) coughed up a late lead in the final minute of regulation, but rebounded in overtime to earn their first win of the season over the Indiana Pacers (4-5). Joel Embiid led the charge, scoring 14 of the Sixers' final 24 points after he entered the game with 4:27 to go in the fourth.
"We saw the best of Joel Embiid when it mattered the most." – Brett Brown
Joel Embiid was the highlight in this one and having not played since Monday, he was itching to get back on the court and it showed, especially down the stretch. Although turnovers continue to haunt the big man from time to time, he made it a point to get to the free throw line more tonight and boy did it make a difference. Joel hit 12 of 14 from the line and finished with a career-high 25 points to go along with seven rebounds. As mentioned earlier, he came up big in the game's final moments leading the Sixers to victory, scoring 16 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Dario Saric had a pretty quiet game but fought for a crucial offensive board late in overtime that ended up in Embiid getting fouled and going to the line for two to put Philadelphia up by four. Dario finished with eight points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists. Nik Stauskas provided a spark off of the bench, especially in the third, scoring 14 points total on 5-for-7 shooting.
One of the big issues for the Sixers on Wednesday during their loss was free throw issues, going 9-for-19 from the line. They cleaned things up on that end this evening, hitting 26 of their 31 shots from the stripe. Philadelphia out-rebounded Indiana by 14, thanks in large part to the efforts of Richaun Holmes (12) and Ersan Ilyasova (11) leading the charge.
This game probably didn't need overtime, but somehow the Sixers found a very Sixers way to head to the extra session. Leading by five, 100-95, with 25 seconds to play, Monta Ellis drove to the basket and got fouled to complete a three-point play, bringing Indiana to within two. On the Sixers in bounds play, Sergio Rodriguez turned the ball over and Gerald Henderson fouled Paul George on the other end. After George hit both from the line to tie the game, the Sixers could't hit a buzzer beater and to overtime we went.
In the overtime, the Sixers maintained a 104-103 lead from the 3:47 mark to 1:12. Paul George hit a jump shot to put the Pacers up by one, but Joel Embiid responded by hitting a shot in the post and getting fouled. After the made free throw, the Sixers led 107-105. A George miss on the next possession had things looking good and Joel Embiid drew a foul with under 10 seconds to play after a scrum for the ball.
With chants of "Trust the Process" echoing throughout Wells Fargo Center, Embiid hit both of his free throws, putting the Sixers up four. Indiana couldn't get a good look as time expired as the Sixers finally earned their first win of the season.
Cue the anthem!
The victory snaps Philadelphia's 44-game losing streak in the months of October and November. They travel to Atlanta on Saturday to play the second half of a back-to-back against the Hawks (6-2). Philadelphia lost to Atlanta at home, 104-72, in their second game of the season.
