2 Things We Learned About 76ers in 5th Game of Season

After dropping their first game of the season last time that they were on the floor, the Philadelphia 76ers got back in the win column with a 114-109 victory over the Pacers in Indiana on Wednesday night.

The Sixers had five players score in double-figures in the game. Tyrese Maxey led the way with 27 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, while Anfernee Simons added 20 points for Philly off of the bench. It wasn't always pretty, but a win is a win, especially at this early stage of the season.

Here's a look at two things we learned about the Sixers in the victory over Indiana.

1. 76ers can win without frontcourt depth

The Sixers were extremely thin in the frontcourt against Indiana. Jabari Walker is still sidelined with a knee injury, while Dominick Barlow has yet to make his season debut because of a back injury. Two-way player Tacko Fall also has yet to debut for the Sixers after dealing with a hip injury throughout the preseason. Those guys should all be available in the not-too-distant future, but not yet.

That left Adem Bona as the only legitimate big man behind Joel Embiid on Wednesday night in Indiana, and he barely even played as he logged just four minutes in the game. The only other bench players to enter the game for Philly were Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Despite the lack of traditional big man play, the Sixers were still able to pull out the win.

The Sixers have leaned heavly into the small-ball notion so far this season, even starting LeBron James as the de facto center in Embiid's absence against the Detroit Pistons. So far it's worked out, but it will be beneficial when they have a couple of additional big bodies to throw out there.

2. 76ers can overcome a poor third quarter

The Sixers had won the third quarter in each of their first four games of the season prior to the matchup with Indiana. This was noteworthy because the Sixers were a terrible third quarter team last season. In fact, only the Brooklyn Nets scored fewer points in the third quarter than the Sixers last season. Unfortunately, the Sixers reverted back to their old ways against Indiana.

The Sixers came out of the halftime locker room flat and lifeless, and the Pacers pounced. Before the Sixers could blink, the Pacers had built a double-digit lead. When all was said and done, Indiana outscored Philadelphia 36-13 in that third quarter. It was ugly. But, the silver lining is that the Sixers were able to overcome that poor performance and bounce back in the fourth quarter.

The Sixers flipped the script and outscored Indiana 39-21 over the final 12 minutes to secure the victory. With the win, the Sixers snapped a 17-game losing streak when they trailed by 13 points or more entering the fourth quarter.

Philly snapped a 17-game losing streak when trailing by 13+ PTS entering the fourth!

LeBron James and Tyrese Maxey accounted for 32 of the team’s 39 fourth-quarter points (82%) 🔥 https://t.co/EOt9iZlokS
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) October 29, 2026

We won't have to wait long for a rematch between the Sixers and Pacers, as the two teams will meet again in Philadelphia on Nov. 15.

Get 76ers On SI straight to your inbox: sign up for our free newsletter here.

Add us as a preferred source on Google