Sixers Thank Fans, Lose Seventh Straight in 2017 Home Finale

BY: DAN WANSER

The Philadelphia 76ers fell behind early and could not recover as they dropped their home finale to the Indiana Pacers on Monday night, 120-111.

With the Pacers fighting for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, they had much more to play for going into the game. This became evident early on, when they jumped out to a 35-15 lead in the game’s first 11 minutes. The Sixers would not get any closer than 5 points the rest of the game.

“They started really good; they needed this for the playoff,” Sixers rookie forward Dario Saric said. “We tried to play defense but they didn’t feel us.”

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot led Philadelphia in scoring with 24 points, while Paul George led all scorers with 27 points for Indiana.

Both George and Gerald Henderson were ejected from the game late in the 4th quarter after a series of elbows were thrown. The Sixers chalked it up to competition, but George was visibly displeased with the officials’ handling of the situation.

Despite the loss, Head Coach Brett Brown was optimistic about what’s to come for this Sixers team.

“This year provided a lot of positive signs, and we really feel that we will build on it,” Brown said. “[The experience gained this year] is priceless.”

With just one game left on the schedule, at Madison Square Garden to face the Knicks on Wednesday, the Sixers main focus will be on getting healthy. Ben Simmons was recently cleared to participate in full-contact drills, while Joel Embiid will continue to recover from his recent knee surgery.

Feature Image Courtesy: CSN Philly