Sixers Experience Deja Vu in Another Loss to Indiana

By Sean Kennedy

Indiana 99, Philadelphia 90

Box Score

Somebody call Denzel Washington because the Sixers are dealing with a serious case of deja vu. Just like Saturday night, the Sixers fought tooth and nail with the Eastern-Conference-leading Pacers, only for a George Hill corner three to once again put the nail in the coffin in the closing minutes. With just outside of two minutes remaining in the game, Michael Carter-Williams missed a potential game-tying three, only for Hill to hit a similar shot on the other end of the floor to stretch the lead to 6. Then, coming out of a Brett Brown timeout, Hill intercepted a Carter-Williams pass and Roy Hibbert converted a three-point play to give the Pacers what was their largest lead of the game at 9. Despite the valiant effort from the Sixers throughout the game, they set a new franchise record with their 21st-straight loss.

The Sixers actually led or were tied for the majority of the first half as they received perimeter marksmanship from both Hollis Thompson and Thad Young. Thompson finished the game 4-4 from three, tying a career-high with 17 points, while Thad hit 4 threes for the second straight game (admittedly one was banked in from the wing) on his way to a team-high 23 points. It was a tie game with 2 minutes remaining in the first half until a 10-2 run by the Pacers gave them a bit of a cushion. That run was punctuated by Byron Mullens picking up a technical foul for kicking the ball after Lance Stephenson slapped it out of is hand following the whistle. It was a bush-league move on Stephenson’s part, but you can’t hurt your team like that in a close game if you’re Mullens.

Speaking of Stephenson, I don’t know if he has something against the Sixers, but he was clearly on a mission to drop buckets Monday night. He had 19 points in first half and a game-high 25, but became a bit of a ball-stopper at times, as some Indiana possessions looked like Stephenson trying to break someone down at Rucker Park. It was telling that a guy who averages 5 assists per game on the season only had one on the game; he just wasn’t playing within the flow of the offense for the Pacers.

The more effective night for the Pacers came from all-star Paul George, who scored 24 points despite shooting just 4-14 from the field, thanks to career-highs in free throws made (15) and attempted (16). The majority of those trips to the foul line came in the first half as George helped the Pacers stay within striking distance of a Sixers team abnormally hot from the outside, so it wasn’t a case of piling on meaningless free throws at the end of the game. George put the exclamation point on the evening when he dunked in the face of a late-to-help Henry Sims for an and-one in the final minute that got the crowd off its feet.

Notable Observations:

• Tony Wroten received the start for the injured James Anderson and did his usual Tony Wroten things: attacking the rim and scoring 17 points while missing a few more shots than he made. But the play of the game was late in the fourth quarter when Wroten came from behind to block a Roy Hibbert dunk attempt. The second-year player usually has one of those ‘Wow’ plays per game that really makes you want to see what type of player he could become if he just played with a little more restraint on the offensive end.
• On the occasions Evan Turner took a bad shot or turned the ball over, there were smatterings of boos from the Indiana crowd. Maybe they were trying to make Turner feel at home like back in Philadelphia, but more likely, Pacers fans are disgruntled about dealing longtime franchise star Danny Granger away for a guy not living up to any sort of hype. Some smattering of boos when Evan Turner made mistakes.

Tanking Implications:

Not much more to be said about a 21-game losing streak, aside from, win a couple games Milwaukee! Michael Carter-Williams may not be shooting the best percentage (7-20 last night), but he’s obviously working on different aspects of his offensive game. Each night he whips out a new floater or scoop shot around the basket. This experimentation period can only benefit his overall game down the road. We also saw another strong defensive performance from Henry Sims, who stood up to Roy Hibbert very well and was actually a +8 on the night. Finally, the shooting performance of Hollis Thompson was encouraging and hopefully something he’ll build upon as he keeps receiving minutes with the shorthanded roster. 4/5 tanks.