In a must win game prior to the NBA All-Star break, the Indiana Pacers dropped to 15-18 losing their fourth consecutive game in a 130-114 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers Monday night.
The Pacers shot 8-for-29 from the three-point line and struggled to maintain Joel Embiid down low who finished with 24 points, five assists and 13 rebounds.
Without Caris Levert who remains sidelined recovering from a kidney mass, Edmond Sumner took the game by surprise when Pacers coach Nate Bjorkgren called his number.
Sumner added 18 points in 28 minutes providing valuable scoring after Doug McDermott suffered a tooth injury in the third-quarter.
Malcolm Brogdon had a quiet night on the assists side finishing with four and 20 points. Brogdon during the post-game press conference admitted the losses were “frustrating.”
“I think Joel was the key tonight. We tired to double him on the pass and he passed really well out of it. Got his other guys going and once they were going in the second-half it was a breeze.”
With Wednesday’s game against a hungry Colin Sexton and the Cleveland Cavaliers, adjustment will be needed to snap the Pacers fourth loss.
Click on the next page for IND vs. PHI post-game highlights.