76ers Ride Hot Fourth Quarter To Rally Past Pacers
Oct 28, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) dribbles the ball while Indiana Pacers guard Quenton Jackson (29) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
It took a hot fourth quarter, but the Philadelphia 76ers found a way to pick up their fourth win of the season.
Five games into the season, the 76ers haven’t gotten off to the dominant start some expected after a world-class offseason. However, they still pulled off a win Wednesday evening, defeating the Indiana Pacers 114-109.
Tyrese Maxey led the way for Philadelphia with 27 points, while Joel Embiid added 21, and Jaylen Brown and Anfernee Simons each chipped in 20. As for the Pacers, Pascal Siakam led the way with 26 points, Andrew Nembhard added 18 points and 14 assists, while former 76er Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 15 points of his own.
The 76ers trailed by 10 heading into the fourth quarter, after getting outscored by Indiana 36-13 in the third, but 17 of Maxey’s 27 points helped them mount their third comeback victory of 10 or more points this season.
For the third time this season, the 76ers had all five starters available and ready to go; however, the Pacers were without their star guard, Tyrese Haliburton, as before the game it was announced that he would miss the next few weeks due to a hamstring injury.
As the game tipped off, both teams started slow, but the 76ers went on an 8-0 run in the middle of the first quarter thanks to two three-pointers from Anfernee Simons to make the score 22-17. Indiana was able to catch up thanks to free throws from Andrew Nembhard and Jalen Slawson, managing to tie the game at 25 heading into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the 76ers began to get out to a big lead, as Simons kept heating up with back-to-back three-pointers to make it 37-30 for Philadelphia. As the starting lineup checked fully back in, the lead continued to grow as Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid began to heat up, making it a game-high 15-point lead.
The Pacers did not fold, as Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin managed to get the deficit down to 10, and a long three from Aaron Nesmith made it a seven-point game just before the half. However, as the final second of the first half ticked down, VJ Edgecombe managed to drill a half-court buzzer-beating three to extend the 76ers’ lead back to double digits.
Out of the half, Indiana came out ready to go and immediately jumped out to a 10-0 run to tie the game 62-62 thanks to Pascal Siakam down low and high-energy defense. The 76ers, on the other hand, came out sluggish, not hitting a shot until halfway into the quarter, and it didn’t get better from there.
After finally ending the Pacers 17-0 run to open the third quarter, the 76ers managed to only muster up 13 total points in the frame, just continuing to miss shot after shot. Siakam and Nesmith scored eight in the quarter, while Nembhard added nine, as all three players were having their way with the 76ers’ defense.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the 76ers trailed by 10, but the offense finally caught a spark after arguably their worst quarter of the season. Simons got things started with a pair of triples, and a three from LeBron James cut the deficit to five, forcing a timeout from Indiana.
The 76ers kept the momentum going out of the timeout, as Embiid hit an and-one layup, Brown added a bucket, and Maxey made a few free throws. After an and-one layup from Edgecombe, the 76ers were all of a sudden ahead by five with under five to play.
The Pacers would not be willing to go down without a fight as Siakam continued his dominance on the board and got himself a big bucket to cut the 76ers’ lead to just three. Despite a hard-fought effort from Siakam, a pair of late deep threes from Maxey increased Philadelphia’s cushion, giving him 17 points in the quarter and putting the game out of reach.
When it was all said and done, the 76ers pulled out the 114-109 win, improving their record to 4-1 on their year, setting up a matchup against the New York Knicks for the second time this season, only this time in South Philadelphia and also kicking off the NBA Cup schedule.
Braydin Adams
Braydin is a young, passionate sportswriter looking to build a highly successful career in Journalism. Alongside Philly Sports Reports, he contributes to LebcoSports.com, where he covered the Northern Lebanon Baseball District 3 championship and covers other sports and writes on local athletes. Adams also contributes to lwoSports.com. Braydin is a dedicated young writer who hopes to become a professional beat writer one day.
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