Field Level Media
Jan 13, 2020
Malcolm Brogdon scored 21 points in his return from a sore back and strep throat as the Indiana Pacers posted a 101-95 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday in Indianapolis.
T.J. Warren also tallied 21 points, and Domantas Sabonis collected 10 points and 16 rebounds for the Pacers, who improved to 16-5 at home this season.
Myles Turner and Justin Holiday each had 14 points for Indiana, which overcame an 11-point deficit in the third quarter to post its third win in the past four games.
Philadelphia's Ben Simmons scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half and finished with 14 rebounds for the game.
Eastern Conference Player of the Week Josh Richardson scored 17 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter for the 76ers, who have lost six of eight overall and six in a row on the road.
Richardson turned it on in the fourth period, highlighting the surge with an off-balance 3-pointer as the shot clock wound down to give Philadelphia a 95-94 lead with 2:03 left.
Turner made a pair of free throws and Brogdon added one more from the line to give Indiana a 97-95 advantage before Warren blocked Tobias Harris' 3-point attempt with 29.4 seconds left.
Brogdon, who was playing in his first game since facing Philadelphia on New Year's Eve, sank two free throws to make it a two-possession game, and Richardson was unable to hit an uncontested 3-pointer, effectively ending the game.
Simmons made 9 of 11 shots from the field to score 20 points in the first half, marking his highest total in the first 24 minutes of a game since scoring 26 in Philadelphia's 141-94 victory over Cleveland on Dec. 7.
Simmons gave the 76ers a 49-40 lead at halftime after taking advantage of a poor pass from Brogdon before racing the length of the court for an emphatic dunk with 10.1 seconds left.
Simmons' performance certainly was welcome considering the 76ers made just 3 of 16 shots from 3-point range during the first half.
Holiday made a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter as Indiana erased an 11-point deficit to claim a 74-73 lead.
Philadelphia attempted to answer as Raul Neto scored seven straight points for his team, but Doug McDermott, former Sixer T.J. McConnell and Holiday scored to keep the Pacers ahead, 83-80.
--Field Level Media