Sixers revert to snakebitten ways, fall 121-107 to Indiana Pacers as multiple players suffer injuries

A lot had changed since the 76ers faced the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 27 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse — or so we thought.

As we found out in Friday night’s 121-107 loss at the Wells Fargo Center, the Sixers are still snakebitten and prone to injury, especially to Joel Embiid.

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Embiid left the game with 6.5 seconds before intermission and didn’t return after being struck in the face. The seven-time All-Star suffered a sinus fracture. He will be further evaluated this weekend. Meanwhile, rookie guard Jared McCain left the game with 5 minutes, 24 seconds left in the third quarter after hitting the back of his head on the court. McCain was checked in the locker room, but returned with 2:04 left in the quarter.

This matchup was supposed to be different with a healthier Sixers team on the court.

Back in October when these teams faced off, the Sixers were trying to create an identity without Embiid and Paul George, who sat out the game with injuries. McCain had yet to blossom into the NBA rookie of the year front-runner. And Eric Gordon was viewed as the team’s sixth man. Yet, thanks to Tyrese Maxey’s second-half explosion, the Sixers recorded their first win of the year.

This time, Embiid and George were among the main attractions. Guerschon Yabusele had established himself as the starting power forward. And like in the previous matchup, Maxey had a starring role for a Sixers team that had won four of five games.

The All-Star point guard finished with a team-high 22 points and three rebounds. However, he only had two assists and six turnovers.

“Obviously, they were up the floor pressuring him a little bit,” coach Nick Nurse said of Maxey’s turnovers. “There was some blitzing going on as well, a couple of them were because of that. Some of them were just bad passes, misreads by him on a few of them. But I think he’d probably be the first one to tell you he needs to take care of the ball of a little bit better on those.”

George had 15 points and five rebounds. Meanwhile, Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double. Yabusele missed all three of his shots while finishing with four points. McCain added five on 2-for-6 shooting.

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The Sixers played with a lot of grit and pulled within five points in fourth quarter after trailing by as many as 19 points. Indiana, however, responded with a 12-0 run to build a 117-98 cushion.

The Sixers were doomed by an inability to stop Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton (32 points on 7-for-15 three-point shooting, 11 assists), Pascal Siakam (23 points on 9-for-11 shooting, eight rebounds), and reserve Obi Toppin (20 points on 7-for-11 shooting, eight rebounds).

The loss dropped the Sixers to 7-16 and snapped their two-game winning streak. Meanwhile, the Pacers improved to 11-15.

“We’ve been taking strides in the right direction,” Oubre said. “I think tonight was a little step back. But at the end of the day, we cannot define or determine us because we are getting better. Our last ten games have been really good for us. We just have to learn from this one.

“I wouldn’t say forget it or wash it at all because, obviously, we have enough of those losses that we can do that with, but every game is more and more important. We need to win these. So continue to stay confident and get back to who we are, figure that out, and keep getting better off of that.”

But the biggest story line was Embiid’s inability to remain healthy. He was struck in the face while trying to make a defensive play with 12 seconds left in the half. Embiid fell to court and remained there until the Sixers called a timeout.

This was his second game back after missing seven straight with left knee swelling and personal reasons. The 2023 NBA MVP has missed 17 games this season because of left knee management, knee swelling, personal reasons, and serving a three-game suspension.

Before Embiid’s diagnoses was released, Andre Drummond was asked if he felt sorry for his teammates.

“Nah, man. Do I feel sorry?” Drummond said. “No. He’s a grown [expletive] man. [Expletive] happens. I got hurt already. Tyrese got hurt already. Guys on the team get hurt. For him, it’s just a tough break. It’s tough. Every time he gets himself going, something happens, so, you know, prayers out to him. I’m sure he’s fine.

“I mean, we haven’t heard anything as a team yet, but from what I understand, I think he’s fine. So it’ll take a few days. He should be back whenever he’s ready and we’ll take it from there.”

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The Sixers will travel to Charlotte Sunday to face the Hornets at 7 p.m. Monday at the Spectrum Center. This will be the third of four meetings between the teams. The Sixers will also entertain Charlotte at 7 p.m. on Dec. 20 at The Center. Philly has a 2-0 series advantage.