"Best" & "Worst" awards: Sixers vs. Pacers
My look at some of the best and worst performances from the Indiana Pacers' 101-94 victory over the 76ers on Friday at Wells Fargo Center:
Best performance: This award goes to Lance Stephenson on a night when former Sixers Lavoy Allen and Evan Turner faced their old teammates for the first time. Stephenson scored 13 points on 6 of 8 shooting. The shooting guard also grabbed 12 rebounds – all defensive – and had four assists. This was the New York native's 18th double-double of the season.
Worst performance: This was a tough one, because there weren't any liabilities on the court. So it's kind of unfair to give this award out. But since I have to, I'm giving it to Henry Sims. The Sixers center made just 2 of 8 shots en route to finishing with six points.
Best defensive performance: This goes to Roy Hibbert. The Pacers center had a game-high five blocked shots to go with one steal.
Best performance in a losing effort: Some will argue that Thad Young deserves this award after producing 25 points and a career-high 10 assists. However, his points came off of 31 shot attempts. So this award goes to the more efficient Byron Mullens. The 7-foot reserve center scored 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting. He was 3 of 5 on three-point attempts. Mullens also had two steals and five rebounds.
Worst statistic: This award goes to the Pacers' 22 turnovers.
Best statistic: You have to give this to the Sixers' 25 assists on 35 made baskets.
Worst of the Worst: The Sixers' performance after pulling within three points (93-90) with 2 minutes, 31 seconds remaining. They went on to miss their final six shot attempts.
Contact and follow Inquirer 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers.