3 observations after Embiid leaves after getting hit in the face, Sixers lose to Pacers, originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Joel Embiid played just one half and the Sixers couldn’t add to their eighth win on Friday night.
They fell to 7-16 this season with a 121-107 loss to the Pacers at the Wells Fargo Center.
Embiid suffered a fractured sinus after an unintentional hit to the face by Indiana’s Bennedikt Mathurin, a Sixers official said late Friday. It will be further evaluated this weekend.
The Sixers opened the game without Caleb Martin (right shoulder strain) and Adem Bono (left knee tendinopathy). Both players have continued to work on the field and are considered day-to-day. Kyle Lowry was scratched late due to lower back spasms.
Tyrese Maxey scored a team-high 22 points. Paul George added 15 and Kelly Oubre Jr. recorded a 12-point and 13-rebound double-double.
Tyrese Haliburton led the 11-15 Pacers with 32 points and 11 assists. Pascal Siakam had 23 points and eight boards.
Next up for the Sixers is a road game on Monday night against the Hornets. Here are the takeaways from their loss to Indiana:
The Pacers pounce on the Sixers’ sloppiness
Embiid’s departure was a plus in the beginning.
The superstar big man had four assists in the first quarter. Oubre cut behind Indiana’s defense on the first play of the game and Embiid fed him the ball for a layup. The Sixers had some nice moments from multiple post-ups, including Embiid’s channel that set up George for a wide-open three-pointer.
The Pacers responded to a 9-2 deficit with a 14-0 comeback. The Sixers’ turnovers played a key role in allowing Indiana to attack in transition. Mathurin pushed the ball away from an unsuspecting George, leading to Haliburton’s second straight 3-pointer. He made four three-pointers in the first period.
Maxey turned the ball over early in the second quarter when the Pacers hit him in a pick-and-roll shortly after crossing half court. Seconds later, TJ McConnell threw an alley-oop to Obi Toppin to give Indiana a 37-24 lead. At that point, the Sixers had eight turnovers against the Pacers.
Indiana put effective pressure on Maxey, who scored 45 points in an overtime win against the Pacers on Oct. 27. Before Friday, his season high in turnovers was four. He had five giveaways in the first half.
It didn’t help that the Sixers came up empty on a few decent looks. Embiid missed a layup by Myles Turner and started 0 for 4 from the floor. He went 0-7 in the Sixers’ win over the Bulls on Sunday.
Just one half of Embiid
Eric Gordon was the only available Sixer not in the team’s 10-man rotation.
While the team’s second unit had some defensive lapses, the young trio of Jared McCain, KJ Martin and Ricky Council IV scored 16 points in the first half.
Once he signed on for a second stint, Embiid was determined to go inside on Turner. Turner’s third foul tied the game with 4:49 left in the second quarter.
All attention turned to Embiid’s health at the end of the second. He was hit in the face by Mathurin’s hand as the Indiana guard went for a potential offensive rebound. Embiid eventually got to his feet and returned to the Sixers locker room with a towel over his face. He never returned to the floor.
The sinus fracture is another in a long, long list of injuries for Embiid, who wore a mask twice during the playoffs after returning from eye socket fractures.
McCain started the third quarter with an injury scare when he took a hard fall during a drive and appeared to hit his head on the court. McCain was evaluated for a concussion and waived to return, according to a Sixers official.
The effort to return will be extinguished
The Sixers trailed by as many as 18 points in the third quarter.
At the end of the third period, however, they returned to the game. Oubre, Council and Andre Drummond all played hard and did good physical work on the boards.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse used George and four players off the bench to start the fourth quarter. George became more aggressive, sinking a floater and a jumper that cut the Pacers’ lead to 92-87.
In the end, the Sixers seemed to run out of juice and Indiana made enough timely shots, including two consecutive Siakam jumpers. Haliburton scored an a-one hoop on McCain before pausing on the bench to celebrate with his teammates. The lead of the Pacers kept increasing and they were on their way to victory.
For the Sixers, the main thing is another injury to Embiid.