By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers (0-7) let a late lead slip away as they failed to secure their first win against the Pacers (4-4) tonight in Indiana, losing by a final score of 122-115 in overtime. Gerald Henderson hit a three with just over five seconds to play in the fourth, putting the Sixers up by two. With the Sixers first win just seconds away, Paul George responded with a game-tying jumper to send the game to overtime, where Indiana outscored Philadelphia by seven. The Sixers led by six within four minutes to play, but Jeff Teague's nine consecutive points kept the Pacers within range as time wound down.
Robert Covington regained his shooting touch in this one, hitting the majority of his attempts from long range. He finished with 23 points and six rebounds, shooting 5-for-9 from three-point range. The longest tenured Sixer, Hollis Thompson, was lights out off of the bench, scoring 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting to go along with five rebounds and two assists. It was a little odd that he wasn't out their at the end of the fourth and overtime with the spark he provided off of the bench for a good part of the game. Meanwhile, Dario Saric tallied a double double with 14 points and 12 rebounds despite not making much noise until the fourth quarter and overtime. Jahlil Okafor got the start with Joel Embiid back in Philadelphia and he looked good offensively, scoring 15 on 7-for-11 shooting, while also showing some signs of improvement defensively, blocking two shots. The Sixers didn't help themselves at the line tonight, missing 10 of their 19 shots from the stripe.
On the Pacers end, they were led by the tandem of Paul George and Jeff Teague. The two combined to score 55 of Indiana's points. Teague led the Indiana comeback, scoring nine straight in the fourth, while Georgia hit the go-ahead shot in overtime and the Pacers never looked back in the extra session. Al Jefferson scored 18 points off the bench while Myles turner contributed with 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Sixers came out playing pretty strong in the first, going on an 8-0 to take an early lead over Indiana thanks to hitting seven of their first 10 shots. The Pacers, though, behind 11 points from Paul George, pulled ahead to end the opening stanza with a 31-26 lead. Philadelphia scored the first five points of the second and were led by the solid play of Hollish Thompson, who came off the bench to score seven points in the second quarter.
The Sixers second unit defense was stingy, forcing turnovers, helping the team score 13 straight and lead by 10, 47-37, with just over six minutes to play. The bench accounted for 25 of the teams' first half points. Indiana went on a 10-2 run of their own over the next couple of minutes, cutting the Sixer lead to two with under four to play in the half, but Gerald Henderson began to heat up with time winding down, scoring the final four points in the second, putting the Sixers ahead 60-45 heading into halftime. He shot 6-for-8 from the floor in the first two quarters for 12 points.
Philadelphia normally comes out flat in the third, but that wasn't the story tonight as they scored the first four out of the locker room while also staying consistent on the defensive end. Jahlil Okafor went to work, scoring on some nice moves around both Al Jefferson and Myles Turner. Past the halfway point of the third, the Sixers maintained a four-point lead thanks in large part to a Robert Covington three-ball before a 4-0 Pacers run. Since struggling from beyond in the first five games, Robert has locked it in from deep over the last two contests. Despite shooting pretty well in the third, they found it hard to stop the Pacers as the quarter progressed, being outscored by six to lock things at 84 heading into the final 12 minutes.
In the fourth, the Pacers took a 90-86 lead behind wide open three-point buckets from C.J. Miles and Monta Ellis. After Indiana extended their lead to eight, Philadelphia went on a 6-0 run powered by a Hollis Thompson three to cut the deficit to two with under seven minutes to play. A 10-0 burst as part of an 18-4 run from the Sixers was capped off by a Saric three-pointer put them ahead 104-98 with 3:45 left in the game.
Jeff Teague scored nine straight for Indiana though, who took a 107-106 lead with 30 seconds to go. With the Sixers having possession and time running down, Sergio Rodriguez scrambled and found Gerald Henderson open behind the arc and he drilled it as time expired on the shot clock, giving the Sixers a 109-107 advantage. Pacers star Paul George tied it up at 109 with a baseline jumper with less than four seconds to play. Jahlil Okafor missed a fadeaway jump shot and this one headed to overtime.
The Sixers got the first points of overtime, but Indiana took a 115-111 lead following a Myles Turner three-point play just shortly afterwards in the extra session. After that, the Pacers wouldn't budge, closing out the Sixers by seven.
The Sixers and Pacers play the second half of their home and home series in Philadelphia on Friday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
