Shorthanded 76ers Lose To Pacers 112-100
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 14: Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers shoots the ball against Ricky Council IV #14 of the Philadelphia 76ers in the first half at the Wells Fargo Center on March 14, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
The 76ers (or at least what’s left of the 76ers) were defeated Friday night 112-100 by the Indiana Pacers. With just eight players available for Philadelphia, the 76ers stood no match for the current fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Jeff Dowtin Jr. led the way for the 76ers with 24 points and four assists, while Guerschon Yabusele added just five points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Adem Bona also contributed 16 points and nine rebounds, while Jared Butler added 17 points of his own.
Pascal Siakam was the star of the show, finishing with 27 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Myles Turner added 18 points and seven rebounds, while Tyrese Haliburton finished with 14 points and 10 assists.
Despite losing the tip, the 76ers struck first in this one with Jeff Jr hitting a pullup jumper to open up the scoring. However, it didn’t take long for the Pacers to get going as Turner scored five straight points, and Siakam added a layup.
Dowtin and Jared Butler answered with back-to-back eight-footers, but Andrew Nembhard ended that run with a long three to make it 10-6 Indiana. The 76ers then went on a huge run to get out in front of the Pacers.
Ricky Council IV kicked things off with five straight points, and Butler added a long three. Yabusele drilled a pair of free throws, and Dowtin hit a six-footer. Turner ended the run with two points, however, Yabusele and Dowtin answered back with long threes.
With just over two minutes left in the quarter, Obi Toppin hit his first shot of the game, and Bennedict Mathurin hit two free throws. Toppin and Dowtin then traded mid-range buckets just before the quarter ended as the 76ers led after 12 minutes, 26-18.
In the second quarter, the Pacers got off to a hot start. Siakim drilled a mid-range shot, and Mathurin followed that up with a three. Butler hit a floater for the 76ers’ first bucket of the quarter, but T.J. McConnell knocked down his first bucket of the game.
Adem Bona then went on a solo run for the 76ers, scoring seven straight points. Dowtin then hit a mid-range shot to end the Bona scoring run. However, Bona added a pair of free throws for nine points in the quarter, and Council extended the 76ers’ lead to 16 with a long three.
The Pacers needed a run to get back into the game and got it quickly. Turner kicked things off with a three, and Tyrese Haliburton hit a two-pointer. Haliburton added a pair of free throws, and Turner and Siakim hit three straight layups to get it back to a five-point game.
With two minutes left until the half, Butler drilled another three, and Bona hit two more free throws. Nembhard and Siakim each hit a pair of free throws of their own, and Aaron Nesmith drilled a long three. Dowtin knocked down another floater in the final minute as the 76ers went into the half up 51-47.
Out of the half, the 76ers’ lead diminished right away. Dowtin knocked down a mid-range bucket to kick off the scoring, however, a Siakim dunk, a NeSmith tip shot, and a Haliburton three gave the Pacers the lead. Siakim continued to stay hot, scoring eight straight points off only dunks and layups.
Jalen Hood-Schifino and Haliburton traded layups, however, the Pacers continued to shoot the lights out in the quarter, with another Nesmith drilling another three and Siakim slamming another dunk. Hood-Schifino and Bona each made back-to-back buckets, however, McConnell hit back-to-back buckets of his own.
As the final two minutes of the third quarter ticked down, Alex Reese drilled a three-pointer, and Dowtin knocked down a layup. Turner and Butler traded mid-range buckets, and Haliburton put in a tip shot to put the Pacers up 78-75 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the final 12 minutes of action, Nesmith kicked things off with a layup, and Haliburton and Siakim followed up with a three and a layup, respectively. Siakim kept the run going for the Pacers with a three, Turner added a pair of free throws, and Nesmith hit an and-one layup and free throw.
Oshae Brissett, fresh off signing a 10-day contract with the 76ers, knocked down a three-pointer, however, he was quickly answered by a layup from Toppin and another three from Nesmith to put the Pacers up 98-82.
After a timeout, Brissett and Butler both knocked down threes. Dowtin hit an and-one layup and free, and Brissett hit another three-pointer. However, six straight points from Thomas Bryant kept the Pacers up 14 with under four minutes to play.
Bona and Council hit mid-range shots for the 76ers. However, a dunk by Toppin was the death blow for the 76ers as the Pacers began to run down the clock and held onto the 112-100 win.
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Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
