Embiid Drops a Season High 39 and Drags the Sixers Past Indiana without Maxey
Dec 12, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) shoots past Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin (00) and forward Isaiah Jackson (22) during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The Sixers came into tonight with out Tyrese Maxey for the first time this season, so that meant that it would require the Sixers big three who were playing to really step it up. The starting 5 for the Sixers would have a matchup against the team in the cellar of the Eastern Conference, the Indiana Pacers. They could not take them lightly because they won their last coming into tonight.
The game started as a drag race. The Sixers started with a slight edge and never relented. The Pacers felt a step slower all night, but they held their own. They stayed close, but just couldn’t overcome the lead in the first half. Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe each had 18, and Paul George had 11 at the half.
When the second half started, the Sixers came out on fire, shooting the lights out. But stop me if you’ve heard this one before: the Sixers ended up getting cooked in the third. Though Embiid ended the third with 33, the Sixers ended up losing the quarter. George and Edgecombe combined for 8 in the quarter, and the teams ended the third tied at 90.
The fourth quarter was back and forth, with the Pacers holding as much as a 5-point lead with 5 minutes to go in the fourth. The Sixers can be frustrating to play against, and in the fourth, they got under the skin of not just the Pacers players, but also their coach Rick Carlisle as well. He was so frustrated with a no-call within 4 to play with the game going back and forth, and got a technical foul, which was a huge moment in the middle of a 10-2 run. Within 2 minutes, he was in the face of the refs again, and Pascal Siakam ended up taking a tech to save his coach. But in a clutch moment, another technical free throw extended the deficit. The Sixers ended the game on a 20-5 run, and like they’ve done all year, they put their foot on the gas in the 4th quarter and hit another gear. Tonight, that gave them a 115-105 victory over the scrappy Pacers.
Embiid Was in MVP Form Tonight
Tonight was the most physically aggressive and assertive he has been all year. He battled for position early and often tonight, which put him in a great position to grab rebounds and score inside. It was really encouraging to see him play hard tonight.
Not only was he playing aggressively, but he was dominating in the box; where he really shone tonight was from distance. He ended the half with a three-pointer, which set the tone going into the half. That set up the Sixers to feed off that momentum.
He played almost the entire third quarter to get his 33 points, and didn’t return until the Pacers started playing more physically, and Nick Nurse took notice and brought him back in, and the Pacers definitely played more docile with Embiid on the court. His season high of 39 tonight was a throwback game, and one of the best games he’s played in a couple of seasons. It was his 12th 30-point game against the Pacers in his career.
Paul George Played Steady All Night
Paul George was a force all night long. He didn’t light up the stat sheet, but he did the little things to get shots for his teammates and shoot efficiently when needed. Not that he didn’t shoot well, and ended the game with 23 points. But scoring isn’t all that George did against his former team; what really made this a special effort for him was that he was the one dictating the pace on the court all game. His basketball IQ is unmatched, and tonight was a perfect example of this. When the Pacers started to push the pace, especially starting the 4th, he slowed down the game. You could see the young Pacers players getting frustrated at him controlling the pace, and it led to more than one foul on George, which got Indiana into the bonus faster and stacked fouls against Ethan Thompson, who fouled out with 5 minutes remaining in the game.
This is why George is incredibly valuable to the Sixers. Let’s be completely honest, he’s not the player he was 5 years ago physically, but he is more cerebral and plays knows how to frustrate the other team. What he has lost in explosiveness, he’s made up for in leadership, fast thought, and processing. He used to be the guy that was explosive and electric, and he certainly still shows that, but now he is the crafty veteran who uses his positioning and elite level thought processing to make up for any steps he may have lost. He’s just as dangerous as he was, but now he’s just doing so in a different way.
He’s still deadly from mid range, just now he’s getting there with a mix of athleticism and out-thinking opponents.
VJ Edgecombe Showed Indiana What a Special Athlete He Is
Speaking of explosive electricity, VJ Edgecombe was all of that in the first half. Early in his young career, the book on him is that he is a special athlete who is already amongst the most explosive in the NBA, but he is now known as a distance shooter. When you listen to most NBA talking heads, they talk about the one issue with his game being that he needs to work on shooting beyond the arc to be a complete guard in the NBA. Well, tonight is proving that he is listening; he had three triples in the first half alone.
Without Maxey on the court, Nurse was going to have to lean on him to make plays and catch the Pacers napping. They played back on him and allowed him to show off that improving distance shot. I’ve heard on more than one occasion that if he can consistently shoot from distance, he’s going to be a real problem for the league. Well, the Eastern Conference is officially on notice.
His shot selection is improving, and his shot is getting into position faster and getting distance a bit. It shows that he is truly making the changes that he needs to make to take the next step in his career. His progression in less than half of NBA action proves yet again that the Sixers made the best decision in selecting him with their lottery pick. He has played up to his billing, and it gives us a look at the future. Even without Maxey tonight, he played well and that held off the scrappy Pacers for a hard fought Sixers win.
Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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