Sixers win a weird one: Bricks, steals add up to victory over Pacers

PHILADELPHIA -- Sometimes the numbers may look strange and not make all that much sense. But at the end of the day, if enough of them go in your favor, there are wins to be had. 

That's just what happened to the Sixers on Monday as they overcame an odd performance to post a 113-104 win over the Indiana Pacers at the Xfinity Mobile Arena to improve to 23-18 at the halfway point of the season.

Philadelphia picked up the win having made just five three-pointers the whole game, two of which came in the fourth quarter. They converted on just 67 percent of their foul shots (24-for-36) but still held a huge scoring advantage from there as the Pacers made just 11-of-14, and were outrebounded by a pretty wide margin for most of the contest. The Sixers also got just 14 points from their bench while Indiana's contributed 35.

The key to the win was the Sixers scoring 28 points off 24 Indiana turnovers, while the Sixers had just nine giveaways that led to seven Pacers points.

VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey poking fun at the chatter surrounding their intense discussion during the Sixers' last game

"I hate you! Don't talk to me ever again and go to the locker room!" 😂 pic.twitter.com/DRMZ87vwmh

— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) January 20, 2026

Tyrese Maxey, who earlier in the day was named an Eastern Conference All-Star starter, scored 29 points, dealt eight assists and grabbed eight steals to pace the winners. 

Meanwhile, Joel Embiid scored 30 and grabbed nine rebounds in a little over 33 minutes of play. Kelly Oubre, Jr., starting for an idle Paul George, scored 18 points, while Dominick Barlow and VJ Edgecombe each added 11.

It was the best overall performance for Oubre in quite some time after missing close to two months with a knee sprain. He handed out five assists, collected two steals and blocked a shot. As much as the numbers, Oubre's presence on the floor and his fluid movement were just as important. 

"He got downhill like two or three times to start the game," said coach Nick Nurse of Oubre. "I think that's always a good sign for him. I think it was his best overall game, forget the scoring. It's always needed and nice but I just felt like he looked a lot more comfortable at both ends."

Maybe it was the excitement of being named an All-Star starter for the first time or his desire to show that he's not only a threat at the offensive end of the floor, but Maxey seemed to have his hands on just about any pass that was thrown near him at the defensive end of the floor, turning most of his pilfers into quick baskets at the other end.

"We tried to amp him up a little bit in reading some of the stuff," said Nurse of Maxey's steals. "He's obviously doing some prep on that and thought process on that. He had eight (steals), he almost had another five. They're important because a lot of them lead to some layups at the other end, too. Just disruptive and really making some good reads on that. 

"Didn't get hurt from it much, either, which is always good. We really like his ability to dart quickly into things and just trying to almost prepare and give him situations where he can look at it and read them. Those presented themselves to him a few times tonight. It's a combination of incredible quickness but also some prep by him and also doing it at the right time. It's great to use that ability that he has."

When the Sixers are fully healthy, with Paul George in the lineup, four of the five starting spots are non-negotiable with George, Embiid, Maxey and Edgecombe. That fifth starting spot, while now belonging to Barlow, could get a longer look from Nurse as the season progresses. Jabari Walker provided 24 active minutes off the bench with five points, six rebounds and four steals. And Oubre showed much of his solid form in the win.

"Those two guys (Barlow and Walker) just go out and play hard and have a lot of fun," said Nurse. "They have a lot of fun just giving everything they have. Jabari is always snapping down rebounds, always making plays. He was very, very good tonight. He was tipping the ball, rebounding the ball. Made a great offensive putback move underneath, splashed a three in the corner. He did a little bit of everything. He was fun to watch tonight."

Kelly Oubre Jr. tonight

- 18 points
- 5 assists
- 3 stocks
- 8/14 field goals

He started in place of Paul George (left knee injury management). pic.twitter.com/5xs5Z58UxH

— Jacob Moreno (@jacob_moreno_) January 20, 2026

As was Oubre, who doesn't seem quite ready to relinquish the starting spot that he's held for most of his three seasons here.

"I just go out there and play basketball," said Oubre. "All the logistics and pieces and how they fit in the puzzle is up to coach and the organization," he said. "I was playing really well before I got hurt and we started finding a groove once I was out. 

"At the end of the day that's not my job. I'm going to go out there and be the best version of myself for this team and allow the chips to fall where they may. But I do believe I'm a starter in this league. I've just got to continue to go out there and be a good piece to a winning team."