The Pacers can run and score with anybody, but can't stop elite offensive talent

PHILADELPHIA -- There was never a time when the Pacers got the sense that they were in the midst of getting run out of the building.

The Wells Fargo Center can make you feel that way, like the roof is about to cave in on top of you. Because Philadelphia fans can be overwhelming regardless of which building in their South Philly mega complex they're in or what sport they're watching, and because trying to defend Joel Embiid can simply drain the life out of you. And now that those Philly fans are gleefully watching Tyrese Maxey blossom into one of the Eastern Conference's most explosive guards right in front of their eyes, they seem particularly rejuvenated after three straight defeats for the 76ers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

But on Sunday night the Pacers never seemed overwhelmed, even on a night when Embiid was his typical dominant self, when Maxey was in the midst of finding a new horizon and when Indiana found itself down by 19 in the second quarter. They simply believe that much in their offense at this point, even against elite competition, to know that big deficits are easily erase-able.

"Twenty points in the NBA is nothing," All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton said. "That can go quick. That was proven against Milwaukee. They came back on us, jumped us. We came back on Philly today. Twenty points is nothing, especially the way the NBA plays today. We knew we weren't out of it. We just had to regroup. We know we had to get stops so we can get out in transition. Nobody wants to guard us in transition. We're the best offense, the best transition team in the NBA."

But on the flip side of that, for as much confidence as they had in their offense, they never did come up with a method to defend Maxey or Embiid and after coming back from down 19 to take a fourth-quarter lead they still faded back into a double-digit defeat, losing 137-126 to a 76ers team that now has the best record in the league at 8-1. Maxey scored 50 points for the first time in his career after the Pacers gave up 54 to Giannis Antetokounmpo on Thursday and Embiid finished with 37 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.

In a sense the Pacers (6-4) missed out on an opportunity for a statement victory, as following Thursday's thrilling win over the Bucks with a road win in Philadelphia where the Sixers haven't lost yet in this young season would have provided reason to wonder if Indiana belongs in a higher Eastern Conference tier than most previously believed. But in another sense, Sunday's performance was a statement of exactly who the Pacers are at this point in the year.

Even with just one All-Star in Haliburton, their cohesion and tempo makes their offense legitimately one of the most potent in the league, difficult for even elite squads to slow down. But as of yet, they are not the least bit trustworthy defensively in spite of all the work and investment put in on that end over this offseason. They have from time to time come up with critical stops when they needed to as they did against the Bucks, and they have had stingy stretches with particularly defense-oriented lineups, but elite offensive players generally get what they want against them and they have yet to hold an opponent under 110 points.

The Pacers lead the NBA in both scoring (126.0 points per game) and offensive efficiency (122.0 points per 100 possessions) and rank second in field goal percentage (.498), 3-point field goal percentage (.389) and effective field goal percentage (.581) through 10 games, but their defense is such that their margin for error in other elements of the game is minimal. Only three teams in the league are allowing more than the Pacers' 123.1 points per game and those three teams -- the Hornets, Wizards and Spurs -- have a combined record of 8-20. The Pacers play the third-fastest pace in the NBA at 103.4 possessions per game, but even on a per-possession basis the Pacers struggle to get stops, ranking 27th in defensive efficiency, giving up 118.9 points per 100 possessions.

Embiid and Maxey became the seventh and eighth players so far on this young season to hang at least 30 points on the Pacers. Caris LeVert and Evan Mobley both did it for Cleveland on Oct. 28, Jayson Tatum did it in just three quarters on 15 shots for Boston on Nov. 1, Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell did it when he came back healthy on Nov. 3 and Jordan Clarkson pulled it off for Utah on Wednesday before Antetokounmpo went off for his 54.

When a team gives up that many points to one or two players, not much else can go wrong for them to have a chance. On Sunday, what went wrong was rebounding, as the Pacers gave up 23 offensive rebounds and 30 second-chance points, including 23 second-chance points in the second half and 11 in the fourth quarter. The Sixers had nine offensive rebounds in the fourth while the Pacers had just four defensive rebounds. Maxey was still going off at the time, and the Sixers managed 1.63 points per possession in the fourth because the Pacers couldn't finish possessions.

"When you're dealing with a dynamic guard like Tyrese Maxey and obviously an MVP caliber player in Joel, the small stuff is what hurts you," Pacers backup point guard T.J. McConnell said. "You gotta limit him to one shot and the extra shots that they got on rebounding and 50-50 balls in the first half, that stuff adds up when you're playing against a team like this."

For the Pacers, it adds up quicker because the defense doesn't provide much cushion.

The Pacers knew they had to get better on that end after finishing 26th in the league in defensive efficiency (117.1 points per possession) and 29th in points allowed (119.5 per game) last season. They added personnel for the purpose, signing defensive ace Bruce Brown away from Denver after he helped the Nuggets claim their first NBA title and drafting Jarace Walker No. 8 overall out of Houston largely because of his defensive reputation. They also changed schemes for a system that would demand more individual responsibility from players, cutting down on help defense especially in pick-and-roll situations, defending those 2-on-2 to keep shooters from being left open for 3-pointers.

So far though, Walker hasn't cracked the rotation. Brown has taken on the top defensive assignment on a nightly basis and has been helpful, but not necessarily lock-down. The system has helped the Pacers cut down on 3-pointers. Opponents are shooting a league low 26.8 per game against the Pacers and making 10.5, the third-lowest figure in the league. However, the Pacers are also surrendering 62.0 points in the paint, the highest figure in the league by a margin of more than 5 points per game. The 76ers added to that figure by posting 70 points in the paint on Sunday.

"We've shown glimpses of being a great defense," McConnell said. "It's about putting four quarters together. Obviously, limiting 3s is a big thing the way this league is trending. Shooting 3s and making them at a high level, I feel like, taking them away we've done a decent job. But we've got areas to clean up. It's a 2-on-2 battle (when defending pick-and-rolls) . You've gotta talk earlier. Communication is key to cleaning up a lot of stuff. We will clean that up. We trust what we're doing and it's shown it works."

But it didn't work particularly well on Sunday. Maxey and Embiid got rolling early in the pick-and-roll and even when the Pacers adjusted to that they couldn't do much to take Maxey out of his rhythm. He finished 20 of 32 from the floor and 7 of 11 from 3-point range while Embiid was 12 of 26 and 12 of 14 at the line.

"We're just going to have to sit down and play with more force and play better," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "And then we'll see whatever adjustments make sense."

The Pacers get to stay in Philadelphia for another two days and get another crack at the Sixers on Tuesday in an In-Season Tournament game. They have every reason to believe they can keep the pace again, and know that even if they fall behind they can rally. But they also know that they have to deal with Maxey and Embiid again, that even a better defensive performance will still likely allow a lot of points and that the margin for error will likely be small.

Because that's who the Pacers are right now.

"We're on the road," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "We're in a flat-out playoff environment. This is the kind of challenge we need and we want. We've gotta respond better."

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs. Sixers: Tyrese Maxey's 50-point night exposes Pacer defense