Sixers home win streak snapped in loss to Pacers

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By: Jesse Larch, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Joel Embiid scored 22 points in the second half, but it was not enough to overcome a glut of turnovers as the Sixers saw their 11-game home winning streak snapped in a 101-98 loss to the Indiana Pacers. 

The Sixers lost the opening tip but scored first in the game after J.J. Redick curled around a screen and hit a mid-range jumper. 

The Sixers early lead was short lived as the Pacers, led by Myles Turner, quickly took command. 

Ben Simmons began to give the Sixers some momentum back when he rattled off six straight points to give the Sixers their second lead of the game. 

Once again, Indiana took command. This time the Pacers went on a 14-0 run to stretch the lead as large as 25-14. 

The Sixers cut the Pacers lead down to five after Redick hit a three and a Marco Belinelli completed a three-point play. The Pacers, as was the theme in the quarter, would pull away and take a 33-23 lead into the second quarter, due in large part to Myles Turner's 10 point first quarter. 

The first quarter saw two ties and three lead changes before Indiana assumed control. 

The Sixers stayed down by roughly the same margin for the second quarter up until Ben Simmons returned to the floor. After Simmons fouled Lance Stephenson hard on a lay up attempt the Sixers finally showed signs of life after looking listless for much of the game. 

Threes from Dario Saric, J.J. Redick, and Marco Belinelli pulled the Sixers within four as the Pacers held a 42-38 lead. The score was 41-30 when Simmons re-entered the game. 

The Pacers and Sixers traded barbs for the remainder of the quarter and Indiana led 57-53 going into halftime. 

Dario Saric and J.J. Redick shouldered the load for the Sixers in the first half, scoring 11 points each. Saric scored nine of his 11 in the second quarter. Ben Simmons also filled up the stat sheet with eight points, six rebounds, and five assists. Unfortunately Simmons also accumulated 3 personal fouls in the half, which limited his playing time early. 

The Sixers biggest issue in the first half was not the play of the Pacers, but their 12 turnovers that constantly fed the Pacers momentum. The Pacers only turned it over three times in the first half. 

Unlike the previous two quarter, the Sixers never allowed the Pacers to extend the lead and went blow for blow with the three seed in the east. 

The Sixers hung tough and finally pulled even with the Pacers after Dario Saric hit a three from the top of the key on Ben Simmons's eighth assist of the game to make it 71 all. 

Like in the first half, once Ben Simmons left the floor to take a rest the Pacers began to extend the lead. Former Sixer Thaddeus Young scored six of his 11 third quarter points as soon as Simmons left and helped Indiana take a 80-71 lead. 

Joel Embiid helped narrow the gap with eight straight points for the Sixers to make it an 83-79 game heading into the fourth.

The Sixers stayed within striking distance of the Pacers, as Indiana held a seven point lead halfway through the fourth quarter. 

The Sixers managed to build some momentum after Joel Embiid rolled toward the baseline and steamrolled his way in for a huge dunk that made it a 92-89 game with just over four minutes to play. 

The Sixers were the beneficiary of some good luck with Indiana's lone all-star Victor Oladipo going ice cold for the majority of the night. That good luck appeared to run out when Oladipo buried a three to extend the Pacers lead to eight. Before the shot Oladipo was 3-for-18 from the field. 

With less than a minute to go J.J. Redick hit a quick three following two free throws from Thaddeus Young to shrink the Indiana lead to five points. Ben Simmons recorded his 10th assist of the night on the play, giving him his seventh triple-double of the season. Simmons tied Magic Johnson for the second-most triple-doubles by a rookie in NBA History. 

Joel Embiid would block Thaddeus Young and deposit two on the other end to make it a three point game. The Sixers fouled Myles Turner after Redick missed a three that would have tied the game. 

Turner hit both at the line and the Sixers called a timeout to get organized for one final push. 

Joel Embiid answered with another posterizing dunk. On the ensuing possessionthe Sixers forced an offensive foul on Victor Oladipo after double teaming him. The Sixers were left with 7.6 seconds to score three points to force overtime. 

Joel Embiid missed a three but Dario Saric and Oladipo got tied up and would go up for a jump ball. 

Oladipo won the jump ball, and Bojan Bogdanovic wisely smacked the loose ball off of Ben Simmons to give Indiana possession, and the 101-98 victory. 

The loss snaps the Sixers 14-game winning streak at Wells Fargo Center and 11-game winning streak. 

The key stat of the night was turnovers, where the Sixers committed 21 to the Pacers' nine. 

Myles Turned led the Pacers with 25 points. Thaddeus Young posted a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, including five offensive rebounds. Cory Joseph (13), Victor Oladipo (11), Lance Stephenson (11), and Darren Collison (10) also reached double figures for Indiana. 

Joel Embiid dominated the second half and scored 29 points in the game to go with 12 rebounds. Robert Covington also registered a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Ben Simmons's seventh triple-double of the season featured 10 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. J.J. Redick (16) and Dario Saric (18) also scored in double figures. 

The Pacers' bench outscored the Sixers' 31-15

The Sixers play next on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden when they visit the New York Knicks. 

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