Turner leads balanced attack as Pacers edge 76ers
Myles Turner led six players in double figures with 25 points to lift the Indiana Pacers past the Philadelphia 76ers 101-98 Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Thaddeus Young had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Cory Joseph added 13 points for the Pacers. Victor Oladipo and Lance Stephenson scored 11 points each and Darren Collison had 10.
Joel Embiid had 29 points and 12 rebounds but committed eight turnovers for the Sixers. Dario Saric contributed 18, JJ Redick added 16 and Robert Covington had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Ben Simmons registered his seventh triple-double of the season with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. Simmons has scored in double figures in 23 straight games.
It was Philadelphia's first loss at the Wells Fargo Center since Dec. 21.
Ersan Ilyasova knocked down a jumper to get the Sixers within 90-85 with 7:11 remaining.
Ilyasova then drew his second charge of the game, this time against a driving Stephenson.
Though the Sixers had committed 20 turnovers, they still were fortunate to trail by just five, 92-87, with 4:49 left.
Embiid then threw down a vicious dunk to cut the gap to 92-89, forcing the Pacers to call timeout.
Trevor Booker converted a layup and Oladipo drained a 3-pointer, and Indiana extended its advantage to 97-89 with 3:18 remaining.
When Embiid hit a layup with 46.1 seconds left, the Sixers closed within 99-96.
Down 101-98 with 7.6 seconds left, the Sixers got one last chance when Oladipo was whistled for an offensive foul.
Embiid missed a long 3-pointer from the top of the key to potentially tie the game.
The Pacers went cold and missed 12 straight 3-pointers during one stretch. Saric then came back with a trey and tied the game at 71 with 5:23 left in the third.
Indiana responded from there and took a 83-79 lead at the end of the third.
Redick hit a 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds remaining in the second quarter to pull the Sixers within 57-53. That was the score as both teams headed to their respective locker rooms.
Turner led all scorers in the first half with 16 points for the Pacers.
Redick and Saric had 11 apiece for the Sixers.
The Sixers were hurt by some sloppy play leading to 12 turnovers in the first half. Saric and Embiid each had four turnovers.
--Field Level Media
