76ers Vs Pacers: Embiid’s return and Maxey’s breakout reshape a tense 2-1 road trip

The immediate impact of this matchup is clear: in the 76ers vs pacers meeting that closed Philadelphia’s three-game road trip, Joel Embiid’s return plus Tyrese Maxey’s hot streak turned a fragile stretch into a momentum-grabbing 135-114 win on Feb. 24, 2026. That result matters because Philadelphia—now 32-26—needed stability with play-in contenders closing in, and Indiana’s roster situation amplified the swing for both clubs.

Who felt the shift first in 76ers vs pacers

Here’s the part that matters: the Sixers left Indiana with a completed 2-1 road trip and clearer short-term breathing room. Embiid’s return after 18 days, five games and two different injury designations changed lineup leverage; Tyrese Maxey continued a back-to-back sequence of superstar-caliber performances and carried momentum from a dominant outing against Minnesota (39 points, 16-of-28 shooting, eight assists, two steals) into this win. The victory also landed against a Pacers roster that was explicitly depleted, which magnified its immediate effect on Philadelphia’s playoff pressure.

Game snapshot and lineup context for 76ers vs pacers

Final score: 135-114, Sixers. The win secured a 2-1 road trip for Philadelphia. The game began competitive after Indiana opened hot from deep, but the Sixers pulled away after a second-quarter surge.

• Embiid: returned after his longest absence since November; eased in, assisted on a pair of baskets, missed a long jumper early, baited Jay Huff into a foul with a rip-through move, and accounted for nine of Philadelphia’s first 14 points despite not making a field goal in the first five minutes and change.
• Early rotations: Philadelphia trailed by eight after the first quarter, then a three-guard non-Embiid unit opened the second quarter on a 17-0 run.
• Bench surge: when Embiid re-entered, the quintet of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes, Dominick Barrow and Adem Bona had outscored Indiana 22-2 in four minutes, 20 seconds to create a 12-point lead.
• Embiid added a layup created by Maxey, an above-the-break three and a mid-range jumper in his return stint before exiting after roughly eight minutes.

Player performances and rotation signals

Tyrese Maxey again carried major offensive load—his Timberwolves game was noted as a 39-point, 16-of-28 shooting night with eight assists and two steals, and that form bled into the Indiana game. VJ Edgecombe’s recent shooting (6-for-7 from three in Minnesota) and Quentin Grimes’ 19 points with seven assists in that prior outing are part of the guard trio that has stepped up while Embiid and others have missed time. With Embiid listed as questionable beforehand for right shin soreness and knee management, the guards’ effectiveness became a decisive rotation factor; head coach Nick Nurse made adjustments that were flagged as notable takeaways from the win.

Indiana’s depleted roster and broader stakes

Indiana entered this game missing multiple key players: Tyrese Haliburton was unavailable while working back from an Achilles injury and dealing with shingles, and Aaron Nesmith, Obi Toppin, Pascal Siakam and Ivica Zubac were sidelined. Ivica Zubac had been added to bolster Indiana’s rotation but did not suit up. Those absences left the Pacers in a tanking posture, sitting 15th in the Eastern Conference and focused on the draft lottery; they were listed one game ahead of Brooklyn for the second-best odds in that lottery. Even so, the Pacers’ remaining pieces—Andrew Nembhard (averaging 17. 2 points and 7. 5 assists in nearly 32 minutes per game) and Pascal Siakam (returning from a brief personal absence)—provide enough talent and coaching to defend the home floor when Philadelphia isn’t locked in. We’ve also seen what this core can do coming off a Finals run; once Haliburton returns next season, that will be a storyline to revisit.

Signals, short timeline and what to expect next

Short timeline: Embiid’s previous big scoring bursts came with a 39-point game on Dec. 12 and a later 30-point outing on 17 shots about a month and change after that. After being listed questionable with right shin soreness and knee management, Embiid returned following an 18-day absence that spanned five games and two different injury designations, then played an initial eight-minute stint before sitting. The immediate signals to watch from this sequence are whether the guard trio sustains its production without heavy Embiid minutes and how Embiid’s minutes are managed moving forward.

What’s easy to miss is that this wasn’t just a single-game reset; it combined a cleared injury question, rotation tweaks and guard breakout performances that together reduced short-term pressure on Philadelphia’s playoff chase. The real question now is how durable those changes will be as the schedule continues and players return to health.

Key takeaways for readers: Embiid’s return flipped the lineup leverage; Maxey is carrying momentum from a 39-point performance; Indiana’s absences shaped the game and their immediate strategy is draft-focused; Philadelphia sits at 32-26 after the win and leaves Indiana with a 2-1 road trip finished on Feb. 24, 2026.