Joel Embiid has to leave the game, Sixers lose sloppily to Pacers

Do you remember the only game where things went well for this team? That was fun.

The Sixers lost to the Indiana Pacers 121-107 on Friday evening. Philadelphia also lost Joel Embiid after he suffered a blow to the face in the second quarter.

Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 22 points on 7 of 15 shooting, but only scored one in the fourth quarter. Paul George was quiet in the first three quarters, finishing the game with 15 points on 5 of 12 shooting. Tyrese Haliburton led all scorers with 32 points.

Here are some thoughts on the buzzer.

First quarter

• After a 3-of-4 start from the field, the Sixers offense ran into trouble early. They made silly turnovers, including Kelly Oubre Jr., who went straight up court and tried to punch the ball in, and Guerschon Yabusele, who fumbled a diving pass that gave him a long way to the basket.
• While they started to look better, they simply failed, failing in a nearly five-minute scoreless stretch. Embiid had a jumper and a layup, both of which went halfway down and out. The first quarter hasn’t been good for him so far this year. He found a wide-open KJ Martin along the baseline to end the drought.
• Although the Pacers rolled out some inverted zones with their bigs up top, they shot well from deep throughout the quarter. Despite the surge at the end, they were 6 of 14 from beyond the arc. On the other hand, McCain checked in and quickly scored five points, a team-high for the Sixers as they trailed by nine points after the first game.

Second quarter

• KJ Martin and Ricky Council IV had some strong moments on offense, but it was still difficult to close the gap. Martin seemed to have found his niche on offense – he hit a corner three and was called in for another layup after a cut. Council had a few successful drives, including a wild up-and-under layup.

• They were able to pull away a bit as they looked a bit better on defense. George wasn’t particularly effective offensively, but he blocked a few shots. Embiid got some momentum going with a mix of jumpers and trips to the free throw line.
• Still, it was difficult for the offense to get going because they couldn’t stop giving the ball away. They had 12 turnovers as the Pacers had a 13-5 advantage in fast break points. Meanwhile, the Sixers had just 11 assists on their 18 made field goals in the half. Embiid left halftime seven seconds early after being accidentally hit in the face by Benedict Mathurin. The Pacers led by 11 at halftime.

Third quarter

• It just doesn’t stop this year, does it? Embiid wasn’t there to start the second half – McCain came on the court and Yabu slipped to the five. Minutes later he was ruled out due to an “impact to the right side of his face.”

• Things started to slip on the court, and the Pacers started the half 6 of 9 from the floor. The Sixers were still making shots, but not at nearly the same pace. Then Jared McCain had a bad fall while driving and hit his head pretty hard on the ground. He went to make the free throws, but the Sixers wisely sent him back to the locker room. Luckily it happened quickly for him because he was back on the bench shortly afterwards and reported again a few minutes later.
• The Pacers’ lead grew as Haliburton was able to do whatever he wanted at the rim in addition to a good night from three. The Sixers continued to fight and somehow managed to end the quarter with an 11-2 run, keeping the game at seven points.

Fourth quarter

• It was a fairly passive game for George, who only took six shots in the first three quarters. He quickly jumped out to a six-point lead at the start of the quarter, but his overall look continues to be what he creates for himself. Life would be a lot easier if they found a way to give him more of a catch-and-shoot look.

• At his rate, KJ Martin will soon surpass his three-point attempts from all of last season. He scored his second goal of the night from the corner and cut the lead to six. However, like many of his teammates, he split his two free throws as he reached the line moments later. Despite making 15 more free throws than Indiana, the Sixers shot 71.9% from the line. Leaving so many points on the court is becoming increasingly common for a team that ranked 21st in free throw percentage tonight.
• An extended 12-0 run that spanned a timeout was the nail in the coffin for tonight. Injury and injury scares aside, the Sixers played well for maybe seven minutes tonight, and most nights that’s not enough.
• The Sixers can look to bounce back as they begin a matchup with the Hornets. The first of these will take place in Charlotte on Monday night at 7 p.m. ET.