The Philadelphia 76ers matched up with a deep Indiana Pacers team on Wednesday night. After a back and forth game, the Sixers came out on top and got their first road victory of the season.
The Philadelphia 76ers started the game off really hot. There was a five-minute stretch where they led the Pacers 19-4. While this is great within itself, it was great to see the new starting five (featuring Markelle Fultz) achieve a great start to the game.
After the great start, Victor Oladipo reminded all of us why he was named an all-star last season, scoring in a massive flurry. Oladipo finished the quarter with 15 points and helped the Pacers tie up the game at halftime.
In recent memory, we’ve seen the Sixers collapse after halftime. Usually what happens is the opposite team goes on a run that either ties or takes the lead against the Sixers.
Thankfully, this game was an exception. The game went back and forth, but by the end of the third quarter the Sixers actually built up a new lead and lead the Pacers 78-71 going into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter went well for the Sixers, and they built onto of their new lead, even entering double digits.
Luckily, the team held on and won the game by doing many things effectively on both sides of the ball. The Sixers limited Oladipo in the fourth by playing great off-ball defense on him, which lead him to not even receiving the ball at times. Dario Saric also hit some of the clutch threes we know him for.
This is arguably the biggest Sixers victory of the season. There were a lot of promising sights to see, and a lot to unpack. Lets check out some of the players who helped the Sixers achieve have a much needed road win.
The Sixers can take a lot from tonight’s victory and hopefully build on it. The Indiana Pacers are a very underrated team and are incredibly deep. It’s a quality first road victory for the Sixers, and a look at a potential playoffs matchup between the two clubs.
The Philadelphia 76ers will be back at home on Friday to take on Kemba Walker and the Charolette Hornets, and will debut the brand new city uniforms.