Tyrese Maxey scored 32 points, Andre Drummond posted a double-double off the bench, and the Philadelphia 76ers ended Friday alone in eighth place in the Eastern Conference with their 105-94 defeat of the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.
Philadelphia (44-37) gained ground on Charlotte with the Hornets losing earlier in the night to Detroit, 118-100. The Sixers can lock up no worse than eighth place with a win over Milwaukee on Sunday.
Philadelphia closed out a three-game road swing with the second leg of a back-to-back, playing without Joel Embiid after the former Most Valuable Player suffered appendicitis on Thursday. With their star center unavailable, the Sixers turned to the veteran Drummond to pick up some of the slack on the interior.
He answered with 10 points and 16 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive glass.
Drummond led a contingent of six 76ers to grab at least five rebounds, a byproduct of shooting struggles for both offenses.
The Sixers went just 42-for-104 from the floor, including a dismal 5-for-29 from beyond the 3-point arc. Despite his game high in scoring, Maxey’s 1-of-10 from long range set the tone for Philadelphia’s outside shooting slump.
Indiana (19-62) did not fare much better. Though the Pacers connected on 14 3-pointers, they attempted 50 from long distance. Indiana went just 33-of-88 from the floor overall and committed 21 turnovers that the Sixers cashed in for 18 points.
Kelly Oubre Jr., who also finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, led the Philadelphia defense with four steals. Rookie VJ Edgecombe continued his strong finish to the season with three steals to go with nine rebounds, five assists and 16 points.
Edgecombe, March’s NBA Rookie of the Month, came away with all three of his steals in the first half. The last led to a transition alley-oop from Justin Edwards for a slam, capping a 14-1 Sixers run spanning the end of the first and beginning of the second quarters.
That early burst gave Philadelphia a lead it held the rest of the way, though Indiana remained in striking distance throughout the second half.
Jarace Walker’s 17 points led the Pacers. Micah Potter finished with a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double and Jay Huff grabbed another 10 boards to go with his eight points off the bench.
Quenton Jackson scored 16 points and Ethan Thompson added 15 to round out Indiana’s double-figure point scorers. Obi Toppin, coming off a season-high 26 points in Thursday’s win over Brooklyn, was limited to seven points in less than 20 minutes played on Friday.
