Joel Embiid and late-game offensive failures doom Pacers in Philly

MY OFFICE, Ind. – Joel Embiid had yet to score 30 points in a game this season entering Friday night. Yet with the Pacers in town, the former MVP put together a vintage performance for the 76ers.

This used to be a common thing. In 2024-25, Embiid only played in 19 games – his one outing against the Pacers featured just 12 points in 17.5 minutes of play. But the season prior, he dominated the blue and gold. In 2023-24, he scored 37, 39, then 31 points in his three appearances against the Pacers. Entering Friday, Embiid's career scoring average against Indiana was 30.6 points per game.

So while the big man hadn't had a truly dominant performance yet this season, it wasn't surprising to see him have one against the Pacers. And he started slow, scoring just four points in the first quarter.

Then, he took over. He posted 15 points in the second frame, making five shots and four free throws as his jumper started working. He hit a quartet of mid-range shots and drilled a pullup three to put Philly ahead after two frames. Isaiah Jackson and his added strength couldn't slow him down. Jay Huff was a touch too slow.

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The Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever, up close

Circle City SpinTony East

Embiid entered halftime with 19 points. "We have to pick him up a little bit higher, show him a greater crowd," Pacers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce said just before the start of the second half on the Fanduel Sports Indiana broadcast when asked about Embiid.

There was an effort to do that in the third quarter. Embiid's first bucket in the period was a post up against Huff, and Ethan Thompson came down to show a crowd. He was too late. Later, Embiid's baskets came against zone defenses or tighter coverages, but he was still scoring.

He had 14 points in the third quarter, meaning he had already crossed 30 entering the final frame. He had just six points then, but the damage was already done. He made 12 shots and 13 free throws, much to the frustration of some Pacers players and many fans, on his way to 39 points.

The Sixers, as a team, owned the foul line. They attempted 43 shots from the charity stripe as the Pacers committed 27 fouls. It changed the pace of the game in a way that favored the Tyrese Maxey-less Philly group – Paul George and Embiid added more punch in a slower game.

"I think the biggest issue is the free throw line," Pierce said at halftime. The Pacers had 11 fouls at that point leading to 20 Philadelphia free throws. "Our biggest issue is – can we disrupt what they want to do, can we make them feel us a little bit more, can we get them out of rhythm, and can we do it with discipline?"

For some stretches of the second half, that did happen. The 76ers scored fewer and fewer points in every quarter as the Pacers defense continued to solve the problems they were facing. With just over eight minutes to go, the Pacers held a five-point lead (their largest of the game) at 100-95. They had a chance to win.

Then, disaster. Despite steady defensive improvements, the Pacers offense fell apart in the final minutes. After Pascal Siakam bounced in a floater with 8:24 to go, the Pacers made just one shot the rest of the night. Their only points in the final eight minutes were two foul shots from Ethan Thompson and a three from Huff.

By my count, the Pacers missed 13 shots in that stretch. They worked hard to earn a fourth-quarter lead but couldn't close and extend their win streak.

"They were aggressive. They made plays," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of the final minutes.

The loss pushed the Pacers to 6-19. They play the Washington Wizards in Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday, then will have three days off before the NBA Cup break ends and the regular season truly resumes.

Other notes from the Pacers loss in Philadelphia

So, those aforementioned free throws

While the Pacers certainly fouled a lot in this game, they felt as if they got fouled more than the officials did. I myself am not much of a ref truther, yet even I felt like two shot attempts from the Pacers in the fourth quarter deserved to have fouls called given the way the rest of the game was officiated.

The 27 personal fouls Indiana was whistled for were tied for the third-most of the season. One of the two games with more went to double overtime. The Pacers committed 27 fouls to Philly's 19, the second-biggest difference for the Pacers this season (behind a 25-16 margin in Golden State). The 76ers 43 free throws were the second-most for a Pacers opponent this year.

"There were a couple calls I thought we could have gotten. Can I say that without getting fined $40,000?" Carlisle said. Andrew Nembhard (a double tech with VJ Edgecombe), Carlisle, and Siakam were given technical fouls in the game, the latter two for showing their disapproval with the officiating. "I'm going to fight for our guys... Every play is meaningful."

The Pacers did foul too much. Pierce admitted such. But they felt as if the Sixers were fouling often, too.

Kam Jones and Quenton Jackson, available

Some positive injury news for the Pacers, finally. Quenton Jackson, who played 15 minutes for the Noblesville Boom last night, and Kam Jones were both available for the game in Philadelphia.

It was the first time Jackson has been available since November 3 and the first time Jones has been active as an NBA player. In a tight game, there wasn't an opportunity for either player to hit the hardwood, but it's noteworthy that they were both options for the team, if needed.

I was a little surprised to see Jones listed as active – my assumption was (and is) that his first minutes would come with that Boom. In the end, that's still possible, but his NBA debut could have come on Friday night. As for Jackson, he is currently on the outside of the rotation looking in – especially as he recovers – and he'd have to jump one of the wing quartet of Jarace Walker, Johnny Furphy, Ethan Thompson, and Garrison Mathews to get minutes as an off-ball guard. That will plausibly happen at some point but didn't in this game.

These two will be worth keeping an eye on going forward, particularly Jones as he gets back in shape and works his way toward being the player the Pacers saw in summer league.

A random tidbit

So much talk, rightly, about this Pacers team of late has surrounded the potency of their top three talents in Siakam, Nembhard, and Bennedict Mathurin (who had a very down game). So I got a kick out of the Pacers leading scorers, and only players to reach double digits, at halftime being... Thompson (10 points), Huff (10 points), and T.J. McConnell (13 points).

Role players scoring is a good thing, and the Pacers balanced attack was working for 40 minutes. Nembhard and Siakam got rolling in the second half. But I enjoyed seeing that unique half and box score at halftime. It was almost enough for the Pacers to overcome Embiid.

Thank you for reading. The Pacers are back playing before some time off next week. To not miss any stories, including a short feature coming here, subscribe to Circle City Spin below.