PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid scored a season-high 39 points, Paul George added 23 and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Indiana Pacers 115-105 on Friday night.
VJ Edgecombe added 22 points for the 76ers, who were without Tyrese Maxey, the NBA’s third-leading scorer (31.5 points per game), due to illness.
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Pascal Siakam of the defending Eastern Conference champion Pacers scored 20 points, and the team’s record fell to 6 wins and 19 losses.
With 8 minutes and 24 seconds left in the game, Siakam’s jumper gave Indiana a 100-95 lead, but the Pacers missed nine consecutive shots, including three three-pointers, and the 76ers went on a 13-2 run. Embiid’s offensive rebounds and follow-up baskets limited the offensive climax. The 2023 MVP was fouled on the play and made a free throw to extend Philadelphia’s lead to 108-102.
Embiid, a seven-time All-Star, has been plagued by injuries over the past 1.5 seasons. Due to left and right knee problems, he has played in only nine of Philadelphia’s 23 games and averaged 18.2 points per game. However, he looked more like himself on Friday, hitting a step-back 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer that gave him 14 points in the second quarter.
After Embiid entered the game, Philadelphia improved its record to 6-4.
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The 76ers took four days off after losing 112-108 at home to LeBron James’ Lakers on Sunday night, giving Embiid plenty of rest and recovery time. He was upgraded after the possibility emerged on the pre-game injury report.
George, who was drafted by Indiana and played there from 2010 to 2017, scored a season high and looked more like the nine-time All-Star he was after offseason knee surgery.
Philadelphia shot 33 of 43 from the line, while Indiana shot 16 of 19 from the line. Indiana’s dissatisfaction with the shot differential was evident in the final minutes, when head coach Rick Carlisle picked up a technical foul with just over 3 minutes left and Siakam was called for a foul with 1:41 left.
Next
Pacers: Host Washington on Sunday.
76ers: At Atlanta on Sunday night.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
