NBA 2018-19: 3 talking points from Indiana Pacers' win over Philadelphia 76ers

When the Philadelphia 76ers met the Indiana Pacers in their first match-up of this season, they triumphed 100-94 for their maiden road win of the year. But in the second clash of the four-game series that took place yesterday, the Pacers got their revenge and the series now stands at 1-1.

The Pacers held their ground and won their sixth straight game, beating the Sixers 113-101. In the process, they also passed them on the Eastern Conference leaderboard for the 3rd spot. The Pacers are 13-3 against East teams.

In the aftermath of this loss, Philadelphia have slid to the 5th spot with a 19-11 win-loss record, 3.5 games behind the leaders Toronto Raptors. This was their second straight loss, and they have now been defeated in 4 of their last 10 matches.

Let's look at the key takeaways from the Pacers' statement win over the struggling Sixers:

#1 Thaddeus Young scores a team-high 26 points while Victor Oladipo makes a clutch return from injury

Victor Oladipo missed 11 games with a knee injury.

Victor Oladipo played in just his second game after returning from a knee injury, and finished with a decent total of 14 points and 9 assists. In a closely-monitored 31 minute game, Oladipo came through in the 4th period, contributing six points and four assists.

"Late in the game, we started to give him the ball and allow him to make some plays," Pacers Coach McMillan said. "It was good to see him make those plays down the stretch. Those are the things we really missed when he was out. That guy was kind of the closer for us. You put it in his hands and allow him to make plays."

Thaddeus Young, meanwhile, finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, providing the spark the Pacers needed to withstand the Joel Embiid storm. The 12-year NBA veteran, who spent the first seven years of his career in Philadelphia, provided some insight after the game, as to how he carried himself on the court.

"When small guys are switched on me, I can see the doubles," Young said after the match. "I might be posting a guy, I'm still looking at other guys who are open, kick outs to the corners, to the wings. I told Domas just seal his guy and I'm going to throw it up to the rim because there's a smaller guy on his backside. Those things worked. I was reading and reacting to the different situations."

#2 Joel Embiid produces one of the best individual performances of the season

Joel Embiid is averaging 27.0 ppg(5th best in the league) this season.

This was a performance to remember for the Sixers' big man. He finished with 40 points and 21 rebounds, while JJ Redick scored 22 points and Ben Simmons had 18.

Joel's dominant showing in the match means this was the 15th game this season that he had scored at least 30 points and 15 rebounds. To put things into perspective, no other player in the league has more than eight.

Also, no Philadelphia player had recorded at least 30 points and 20 rebounds in a game since Charles Barkley on 7 December 1990, until Embiid did it in this game.

"It wasn't enough," Embiid said. "Next time I've gotta get 50 and 25, I guess. It doesn't matter what I had. At the end of the day, we didn't come up with the win."

He's right, because that's what it does come down to every single night - winning or losing.

#3 The Indiana Pacers' defense is the second best in the league and they showed why

The way Embiid was making shots, it would've been a tall ask to snatch the game away from his team. But the Pacers produced some extraordinary defense, restricting the big man to just seven shots and four turnovers in the second half.

The adjustment was visible when they started using the guard at the top for Embiid, instead of doubling him low. That digging down upfront (often by Joseph) forced him to pick up his dribble, and the outcome was pivotal to the result of the game.

Even though they house only the 20th best offense, the Pacers' defensive rating (103.4), which is the second best in the league right now, is keeping them afloat.

"Our guys have done a good job of adjusting all season long," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. "Teams are coming up with different defenses and gimmick defenses and it took us a half to figure it out, execute and attack it."

The Pacers scored 31 points in the 3rd quarter, while restricting the Sixers to just 18. The home team couldn't bounce back from that point on.

As a whole, the menacing Pacers defense caused Philly to commit 16 turnovers in the game, matching their season average, which is the 3rd worst in the league as of now.