Embiid pushes back against the doubters as the 76ers edge the Pacers in Philadelphia

Despite the ferocity of the criticism since his latest injury – that he looks like a different player, that he can barely get off the floor to shoot, that his body is failing him – Joel Embiid has chosen to fight on. It is, after all, the story of his career, defined by physical hardship as much as by brilliance. That resilience carried him to the league’s MVP award two seasons ago, and on this night, against one of the weakest teams of the current campaign, the stage was set for a response.

Philadelphia took advantage, closing strong to beat the Pacers 115–105. Indiana arrived with an unsightly 6–19 record, a stark fall for last season’s Finals runners-up. The loss of Tyrese Haliburton, sidelined by an Achilles injury suffered in Game 7 of the Finals, has become the convenient explanation for their aimless drift through the Eastern Conference. They did little here to suggest a turnaround is imminent.

Embiid poured in 39 points, the decisive factor in a game that underlined how sharply the two franchises’ paths are diverging. Once models of consistency, they now look headed in opposite directions – and not in Indiana’s favor.

Away from home, the Pacers have been close to nonexistent: one road win, in Chicago against the Bulls, and 11 defeats. This was another. Even their five home victories offer little comfort. There is a growing sense of resignation around this season, increasingly framed as a year of transition, a far cry from the title chase they were engaged in just months ago.

For the hosts, Paul George was the other encouraging note, scoring 23 points on nearly 50% shooting as he continues his own search for rhythm. Rookie Edgecombe added 22 and continues to look like a long-term piece. Embiid’s line was overwhelming: 39 points built on 18 trips to the free-throw line – 13 makes – alongside 10-of-15 shooting inside the arc and 2-of-8 from three. Relentless and authoritative.

The 76ers leave behind their recent loss to the Lakers and return to winning ways, taking four of their last five games. They sit fifth in the conference, just one game back of third-place Boston Celtics – and all of this without Tyrese Maxey, who missed the game due to illness. The outlook is suddenly far less bleak than it appeared a few weeks ago.

Other results from the day in the NBA:

• Warriors 120 - Timberwolves 127
• Mavericks 119 - Nets 111
• Wizards 126 - Cavaliers 130
• Hornets 126 - Bulls 129
• Pistons 142 - Hawks 115
• Grizzlies 126 - Jazz 130

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Philadelphia 76ers

Stats

25 Dominick Barlow
8 Paul George
21 Joel Embiid
77 VJ Edgecombe
5 Quentin Grimes
30 Adem Bona
22 Johni Broome
1 Andre Drummond
11 Justin Edwards
23 Eric Gordon
7 Kyle Lowry
20 Jared McCain
33 Jabari Walker

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
25 Dominick Barlow	34	10	8	0	8	1	0	0	1	2/2	4/6	0/2	0	3	0
8 Paul George	33	23	6	1	5	5	4	1	0	3/3	4/10	4/7	0	2	0
21 Joel Embiid	31	39	9	2	7	3	3	1	0	13/18	10/15	2/8	0	3	0
77 VJ Edgecombe	39	22	4	1	3	5	0	2	0	7/10	3/5	3/5	0	3	0
5 Quentin Grimes	38	10	9	1	8	4	1	1	1	2/2	1/2	2/7	0	0	0
30 Adem Bona	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
22 Johni Broome	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
1 Andre Drummond	16	0	9	4	5	1	1	0	2	0/0	0/1	0/0	0	1	0
11 Justin Edwards	18	0	2	0	2	3	0	0	0	0/0	0/1	0/4	0	2	0
23 Eric Gordon	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
7 Kyle Lowry	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
20 Jared McCain	13	5	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0/0	1/2	1/4	0	2	0
33 Jabari Walker	13	6	2	2	0	0	2	0	0	6/8	0/0	0/0	0	3	0

Indiana Pacers

Stats

0 Bennedict Mathurin
43 Pascal Siakam
32 Jay Huff
2 Andrew Nembhard
55 Ethan Thompson
13 Tony Bradley
12 Johnny Furphy
22 Isaiah Jackson
29 Quenton Jackson
24 Garrison Mathews
9 T.J. McConnell
4 Taelon Peter
5 Jarace Walker

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
0 Bennedict Mathurin	29	7	5	1	4	2	1	0	1	2/2	1/4	1/3	0	3	0
43 Pascal Siakam	33	20	5	1	4	2	1	1	0	3/4	7/15	1/4	0	3	0
32 Jay Huff	27	13	4	0	4	2	0	0	3	1/1	0/1	4/11	0	4	0
2 Andrew Nembhard	35	18	5	0	5	7	2	1	0	5/5	5/13	1/2	0	0	0
55 Ethan Thompson	32	12	2	1	1	3	0	0	0	2/3	2/3	2/7	0	6	0
13 Tony Bradley	8	2	2	1	1	1	0	1	0	0/0	1/2	0/0	0	1	0
12 Johnny Furphy	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/1	0/1	0	0	0
22 Isaiah Jackson	11	7	9	6	3	1	1	0	0	1/2	3/8	0/0	0	3	0
29 Quenton Jackson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
24 Garrison Mathews	23	8	4	1	3	2	0	0	0	2/2	0/0	2/6	0	4	0
9 T.J. McConnell	17	15	2	1	1	5	0	2	0	0/0	6/10	1/1	0	1	0
4 Taelon Peter	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
5 Jarace Walker	18	3	7	0	7	1	2	1	0	0/0	0/1	1/3	0	2	0