Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and the Sixers dominate the Indiana Pacers, push streak to eight games

INDIANAPOLIS — Joel Embiid briefly looked like he would return to the floor, when he received a replacement 76ers jersey from an equipment staffer during a timeout with less than six minutes remaining against the Indiana Pacers.

The wardrobe change was unnecessary. Backup center Paul Reed finished inside. Tobias Harris hit a tough turnaround jumper at the end of the shot clock. Then Reed threw down a fastbreak alley-oop off a feed from Shake Milton to propel the Sixers to a 22-point cushion — and keep their MVP contender happily locked to his seat on the bench.

That sequence finished off the latest Sixers romp, this by a 141-121 score without starters James Harden and P.J. Tucker Saturday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, to clinch their eighth consecutive victory.

“I was really concerned, just with fatigue,” said coach Doc Rivers, a reference to the Sixers playing on the second night of a back-to-back and their eighth road game this month. “ … This was a tough one. [I] was really happy. Everybody contributed.”

The winning streak matches the longest of the season for the surging Sixers (48-22), who have brilliantly navigated what appeared to be a daunting March filled with 12 road games and three back-to-backs sets. And it helps them keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff standings as they moved into second following Boston’s loss to the Utah Jazz.

» READ MORE: The Sixers are chasing free-throw history — and using it as an offensive weapon

Though Saturday was not an exact repeat of the defense-optional barnburner these teams played on March 6 — at least partially because offensive orchestrators Harden and Tyrese Haliburton, who rank 1-2 in the NBA in assists, missed the game — the Sixers still shot 61.4% from the floor (including a 15-of-25 mark from three-point distance), committed only seven turnovers and topped 140 points for the second consecutive against the Pacers. Without Harden, they utilized Embiid as a facilitator in the middle of the floor, generating a bevy of open shots with swift ball movement and sharp decision-making.

“Sometimes basketball is not hard when you just pass to the open guy,” said Rivers, who estimated Embiid finished with 15 second-pass “hockey assists” that resulted in buckets. “We have a guy in Joel who they’re double-teaming, so you just keep moving the ball and find the open guy.”

Added Embiid: “I feel like, if I wanted to be a playmaker, I could be. But I don’t need to, because I’ve got the best playmaker in the league. In the games that he doesn’t play, I take on that role and it’s fun. It’s getting the guys the ball in the right spots. It’s moving the ball, and having the ball in my hands and just sharing it.”

After leading, 82-61, at the half, the Sixers extended that advantage to 99-82 on a Tobias Harris three-pointer at the 4:07 mark of the third quarter. They led by as many as 24 in the final period.

Embiid put together another methodically dominant performance, with 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting, seven rebounds, and seven assists in 30 minutes. Tyrese Maxey scored 22 of his 31 points in the first half on a blistering 9-of-11 from the floor, and also finished with seven assists and zero turnovers. Harris added 24 points, five rebounds and four assists, while De’Anthony Melton stuffed the box score with 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and six steals in his return to the starting lineup.

The Sixers briefly return home to face the Chicago Bulls on Monday, before hitting the road again to take on the Bulls (Wednesday), Golden State Warriors (Friday), Phoenix Suns (March 25), and Denver Nuggets (March 27).

“It’s not over,” Embiid said. “We’ve got a long way to go … but it’s fun to win.”

Perhaps Maxey should consider investing in some property in Indianapolis. Because he treats Gainbridge Fieldhouse like a second home gym.

Maxey’s latest outburst here came after he scored 24 points on 6-of-9 from three-point range on March 6, and totaled 30 points on 8-of-11 long range on April 5.

“It’s close to Kentucky,” Maxey joked when asked why he finds so much success playing in Indianapolis.

He connected on five of his nine deep attempts Saturday, but was a particularly dangerous driver early in the game. He finished multiple shots high off the glass. Or through contact. Or while watching the ball spin in.

Maxey acknowledged his approach changes when Harden does not play, because it makes him into “more of a playmaker or play-starter.” And after he did not record an assist in the first half, Maxey got a challenge from the NBA’s leader in that category at the break.

“[Harden] was messing with me at the end of the first half,” Maxey said. “He said, ‘Bro, you got zero assists. What are you doing?’ I told him I’ll get five or six at least, and I ended up getting seven. But I just tried to be aggressive, help the big fella [Embiid] and help our teammates get open shots.”

Maxey’s performance was his sixth 30-point game of the season, and his first since a Jan. 21 win at the Sacramento Kings (a game Harden also missed).

With Tucker out, Danuel House Jr. made his third start of the season and finished with three points in 19 minutes.

His three-pointer helped ignite the offense after falling behind, 12-4 early in the game. But his highlight play, an explosive one-handed dunk, was called an offensive foul. The Sixers’ bench was not pleased, with Georges Niang flashing a thumbs down sign.

“He’s healthy, and he’s available,” Rivers said of the decision to start House. “But more importantly, he’s professional. D. House has been absolutely wonderful for this basketball team, because when he doesn’t play, he’s involved. When he plays, he plays the right way.

“He plays hard. He competes. He’s the perfect teammate. He really has been. I’m very proud of him.”

Reserve wing Jalen McDaniels (seven points in 16 minutes) also returned from a two-game absence with a hip bruise but appeared to be laboring, particularly while guarding and changing direction on defense.

That prevented him from repeating his best performance so far as a Sixer, when he amassed 20 points and eight rebounds in the March 6 win. Yet he made a couple key shots in the final period, rattling home a jumper and converting an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Sixers a 114-95 lead with less than 10 minutes to go.