Sixers commit 31 turnovers in 12th straight loss
Someone else will have to be "that team." The Indiana Pacers didn't come close Wednesday night to becoming the squad that let the turnover-plagued 76ers end their losing streak.
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Someone else will have to be "that team."
The Indiana Pacers didn't come close Wednesday night to becoming the squad that let the turnover-plagued 76ers end their losing streak.
The Pacers cruised to a 112-85 victory at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers have lost 22 games dating back to March 27 of last season. They are four defeats from tying the NBA record of 26 setbacks held by the 2013-14 Sixers and the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Sixers also started this season with 12 straight losses, which are five away from the franchise record of 17 set last season.
Much like Monday night against the Mavericks, the Sixers were doomed by turnovers.
They committed 18 turnovers in the first half en route to a season-worst 31 for the night. This came two nights after they had 27 giveaways.
Their turnover total Wednesday was highest in the NBA since Golden State had 31 against the Memphis Grizzlies on Nov. 8, 2000.
For most of the game, the Sixers had more turnovers than made baskets. They ended up making 35 shots.
"When you break down the turnovers, they come from all areas," coach Brett Brown said. "From stepping out of bounds to travels to post feeds . . . to driving and playing in a crowd. It's not like they are coming in a single area."
T.J. McConnell had the most turnovers with five. However, all 11 Sixers who played had at least one turnover.
"You are not going to win a lot of NBA games with that quantity of turnovers," Brown said.
The fans didn't exactly approve of the giveaways. They started booing after intermission. And fans started heading for the exits at the end of the third quarter. The ones who stayed booed the Sixers at the conclusion of the game.
One fan even yelled, "Jahlil, we feel for you" in the direction of rookie center Jahlil Okafor.
When the Sixers weren't turning the ball over, they were being schooled by Paul George. The Pacers forward finished with 34 points on 13 for 24 shooting, including 5 of 10 three-pointers. The 6-foot-9, 220-pounder scored 21 of his points in the third quarter.
McConnell led the Sixers with a career-high 16 points to go with six rebounds and three assists. Okafor added 14 points and six rebounds.
Nik Stauskas had seven points. He made his first three baskets before missing his final five attempts.
The Sixers received a technical foul in the second quarter for having six men on the court. Okafor ran directly onto the court instead of checking in at the scorer's table.
The Sixers thought the Pacers would play George at power forward. They had planned for Nerlens Noel to come off the bench so he wouldn't be matched up against George. But Noel started anyway when former Sixer and Temple standout Lavoy Allen started at power forward and George at small forward for Indiana.
Noel was ineffective while dealing with knee tendinitis and soreness in his right wrist. The 6-11, 223-pounder finished with two points on 1-for-3 shooting to go with three rebounds and two turnovers in 23 minutes, 38 seconds.
With the game out of hand, Brown pulled Noel with 4:53 left in the third quarter.
"We are a better team than we played tonight," Okafor said. "We have lost. We are 0-12, but the way we lost tonight is unacceptable. That's not the team that we've been."
@PompeyOnSixers