NBA Hoops

James Harden leads Embiid-less Sixers past Pacers

James Harden leads Embiid-less Sixers past Pacers

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers entered Wednesday’s contest with the Indiana Pacers a little short-handed.

Joel Embiid sat out due to left foot soreness, and the Sixers had to find a way to overcome that loss against a hot Pacers team that entered the night riding a four-game winning streak.

Employing a three-guard lineup with James Harden, Tyrese Maxey and De’Anthony Melton, the Sixers came away with a 129-126 overtime win for their third straight victory.

Harden had 26 points, eight assists and five rebounds to lead the way for Philadelphia. Melton added 19 points and six rebounds. Tobias Harris had 19 and 10 rebounds. Maxey had 17 points and six assists. Montrezl Harrell provided a huge lift off the bench. He had 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting with four blocks while providing some size against the Pacers. Shake Milton had 13 points and Georges Niang added 11.

Here are the player grades following the win:

The Beard started his night aggressively by going to the basket. The Pacers don’t have a suitable defender they can throw at Harden, and he made sure he took advantage of his opportunities. He was phenomenal. He stopped any scoring runs the Pacers had, and he was terrific providing offense to fill the void left by the absence of Embiid. He continued to get to the rim and bother Indiana all night. While he struggled offensively in overtime, he made a huge defensive play on Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin to seal the win for Philadelphia.

For Maxey, this stretch is about getting his legs back and being able to be active again on the offensive end. He looked as though he had his timing back in this one. He was getting to the basket with ease, and he was getting his teammates involved. In the second half, he was getting to the basket more, and he was able to get some shots to fall which led to an overall successful night. He had a huge play at the end of regulation with a steal and a slam to keep Philadelphia in it.

There is so much that Melton can do on the floor when it comes to being a 3-point shooter, a ball-handler, a defender and a glue guy. He made huge shots in the second half and in overtime. There is a great deal he does for this team, and the Sixers wouldn’t be where they are without him.

Without Embiid, the Sixers needed somebody to step up and score. Harris provided points early, but there could’ve been more. Quite a few times,…

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