Embiid Leads 76ers to Win Over Pacers: 39 Points

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 played without Tyrese Maxey — the NBA’s third-leading scorer (31.5 points per game) missed due to illness.

Pascal Siakam scored 20 points for the defending Eastern Conference champion Pacers, who fell to 6-19.

Siakam’s jumper with 8:24 left gave Indiana a 100-95 lead, but the Pacers missed nine straight shots — including three 3-pointers — after that, as the 76ers went on a 13-2 run, which was capped by an offensive rebound and basket by Embiid. The 2023 MVP was fouled on the play and made the free throw to increase Philadelphia’s lead to 108-102.

Embiid, the seven-time All-Star who has been plagued by injuries over the past season and a half, came in averaging 18.2 points after playing in just nine of Philadelphia’s 23 games because of knee problems. However, he was more of himself on Friday, hitting a step-back 3-pointer late in the first half to give him 14 points in the second quarter.

The 76ers improved to 6-4 with Embiid in the lineup.

Philadelphia has had four days off since losing 112-108 at home to LeBron James and the Lakers on Sunday night, giving Embiid plenty of time to rest and recover. He was upgraded after being listed as probable on the pregame injury report.

George, who was drafted by Indiana and played there from 2010 to 2017, also looked more like the nine-time All-Star he is by finishing with a season-high in points following offseason knee surgery.

Philadelphia made 33 of 43 free throws while Indiana was 16 of 19. The Pacers’ frustration with the disparity in attempts was evident in the final minutes, as coach Rick Carlisle was assessed a technical foul with just over three minutes remaining and Siakam was assessed one with 1:41 left.

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