Tonight, the Sixers traveled to Indiana for a meeting with the Pacers at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse, in Indianapolis. The Pacers came into tonight’s game versus Philadelphia coming off an impressive upset, as they defeated the LeBron James led Cleveland Cavaliers, 93-86, on Friday night. Few occasions like that upset have occurred throughout the season for Indiana and big wins have been tough to come by for the Pacers this season as they found themselves struggling to stay afloat in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, currently maintaining the number eight seed in the conference. While the Sixers have no hopes for the playoffs, they, like the Pacers, also came into tonight’s game coming off an exciting win over a much better Washington team that also snapped a five-game losing streak. But unfortunately, the Sixers would begin another losing streak tonight, as they couldn’t find a way to get things done in Indiana. Stars, George Hill and Roy Hibbert, led the Indiana Pacers to a victory tonight versus the Philadelphia 76ers, 94-74. Although Indiana finished the game strong and won by 20 points, the Sixers gave them a tough fight throughout the first three quarters of the evening.
Anytime a team scores 74 points, they’re most likely not going to win the game. Tonight, the Sixers managed to produce just 74 points, while shooting the ball 84 times. With the bad shooting in mind, they were also lacking any sort of quality offensive flow. They committed 16 turnovers while only accumulating 10 assists on the night, which is never a good comparison. They also shot a dismal 34.5 percent from the floor, as well as only 20.8 percent from beyond the three-point line. As bad as the Sixers were, the Pacers were not much better until the fourth quarter when the expanded their lead to an unreachable margin. Throughout the first two quarters of the night, the Sixers kept the game close and within reach, but after an injury to leading scorer, Robert Covington, in the third quarter, they were unable to regain any strength offensively and began to fall well behind the veteran Pacers team. Covington suffered a right elbow contusion but the injury isn’t expected to be anything serious and Sixers fans should expect him to hit the floor again very soon.
The Pacers shot a much better 40.9 percent from the floor, but really struggled to connect from downtown as they shot a brutal 16.7 percent on 3/18 from long distance. They worked the ball into the paint and that’s how they got the job done. Luis Scola provided quality minutes off the bench for the Pacers as he contributed 15 points and backup point guard, Rodney Stuckey, cashed in 12 points on the night to dismantle the Sixers.
Although the night mostly consisted of bad news for the Sixers, there were some bright signs from Nerlens Noel, who contributed another double-double, accumulating 10 points and acquiring 12 rebounds. Noel also protected the rim with three blocks and a few coming against Roy Hibbert. Speaking of Roy, he carried Indiana with a double-double of his own, as he finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Hibbert returned the favor on some of Noel’s shot attempts by blocking five Sixers shots throughout the game.
The biggest news of the night, and probably the most surprising news as well, was the play of Sixers backup point guard Ish Smith. Smith had himself a “coming out party” tonight as he finished the game with 11 points and 5 assists in 25 minutes of action. He may be small but this kid dazzled the eyes of many tonight and showcased his skills to the league. Expect to see more him in the future as the season comes down the home stretch.
The Sixers fall to 13-46 on the season and it looks like this game is the start of another losing streak, while the Pacers stay alive and maintain the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, although their record stands at 25-34 on the season.
Next Up: Tomorrow night, at home vs Toronto (37-22), 7pm tip.
