Embiid’s 30, Maxey’s defensive production lead 76ers past Pacers
Jan 19, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) shoots over Indiana Pacers center Jay Huff (32) during the first quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
In a vintage Joel Embiid performance, the Philadelphia 76ers overcame the Indiana Pacers 113-104 on Monday night, despite trailing at the half. The Sixers snap their two-game losing streak and win their first game in a week.
The 76ers improve to 23-18 on the season and hold the 5 seed in the Eastern Conference. The reigning Eastern Conference champion Pacers drop to 10-34, the second-worst record in the league, and maintain their spot as the 15 seed in the East.
Embiid, whose season began on the injury report, has looked more and more like himself as the year progresses. Last season, Embiid was sluggish and looked frankly uncomfortable on the court, and was a liability in the few games he was able to partake in. That theme continued into early this year, but he’s snapped out of it and has consistently had performances with 25+ points and is making a case for the All-Star appearance, despite the slow start. On Monday, Embiid continued his case with a 30-point showing, hitting 10 of his 17 shot attempts. Embiid, like old times’ sake, knocked down 9 of his 10 free throws as well, and added 9 rebounds and 4 assists to the effort.
While he wasn’t the leading scorer, Tyrese Maxey still made his impact felt in the win against Indiana. Maxey’s defensive prowess was record-breaking, with his 8 steals being the most in a game in his 5 1/2 years in the league thus far. His +16 +/- was the highest out of anyone in Monday’s game, and he was able to contribute from all facets of the game. Maxey added 29 points, just under his average, along with 8 assists and 4 rebounds in his first game since being named an All-Star starter.
Embiid and Maxey seemed to be the only bright spots that gave Sixers fans hope throughout the majority of the game, where the 10-win Pacers controlled the game for the majority. Indiana led Philly 55-50 at halftime and was down by just 1 going into the fourth quarter, showing that even with their lackluster performances this season so far, they were unwilling to give in. It took a big defensive quarter by the 76ers to shut down the Pacers, holding the team to just 23 points in the fourth, scoring 31 themselves.
To help the dynamic duo of the center and guard, each of the other three starters for Philadelphia dropped in a double-digit point showing. VJ Edgecombe, who’s been the rookie with the most minutes per game, saw a similar amount of time on the court on Monday with 35 minutes, scoring 11 points but also making a playmaking impact with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Dominick Barlow found himself back in the starting lineup for the Sixers, who were without Paul George, and filled in nicely, adding 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals in 24 minutes of play. Kelly Oubre Jr., who was out for almost 2 months prior to this past week, saw starting minutes and got to the cup with ease. Oubre Jr. put up 18 points on 8 for 14 shooting, knocking down 2 of his 3 three-point attempts. He also had 5 assists and 2 steals, not turning the ball over a single time.
Philadelphia played a clean game, with contributions from the entire team in slowing down and finishing the Pacers. They move on to take on the Phoenix Suns in Philadelphia on Tuesday night at 7:00 P.M. in game two of a back-to-back. Indiana will take on the Celtics on Wednesday.
Evan Hartenstein
Evan has been a member of the Philly Sports Reports team since March 2023. He is covering the 76ers and wants to pursue a long-lasting career in Sports Journalism.
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