NBA Notebook: 76ers and Pacers trying to regain status as threats to Celtics

76ers head coach Nick Nurse arrived at the podium and couldn't get the words Merry Christmas out of his mouth before the first injury question flew his way. He laughed, sounding more sure than he did in the same seat entering the preseason. Not fully knowing his new-look roster, and perhaps already sensing the difficulties they'd face early in the season, he sounded frazzled before the preseason began for Philadelphia in Boston. 

As far as anyone knew, despite multiple Sixers rotation players including KJ Martin and rookie Jared McCain falling injured this month, Philadelphia would debut the five-man lineup many expected to see after their blockbuster offseason on Wednesday. Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr., Paul George and Caleb Martin began the afternoon healthy. Joel Embiid, who warmed up shortly after Nurse's pre-game concluded, shot a fadeaway three along the sideline, landed on a security guard's foot standing behind him and crumbled to the floor. That's almost how the team's latest disaster ensued. Instead, Embiid rose, finished his workout and scored 27 points in Philadelphia's signature win over the Celtics. 

"There was probably nothing that I've experienced like that before," Nurse said, looking back at the Sixers' 4-14 start. "It was not a lot of fun, that's for sure, but you get thrown a lot of curve balls, swinging and missing a lot, but you gotta hang in there, right? We've tried to do that and work really hard, coach really hard and prepare really well, and fight through it. That's it. I think we're certainly playing a lot better. There are one or two in there in the last 15 or whatever that weren't very good. All the rest of them were at least chances to win, or winning, but I don't know or want to say, whew, we made it, we're on the other side of it. We got a lot of games coming up that'll tell that here." 

The Sixers built a double-digit first-half lead and led by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter before a frantic Boston comeback fell short. Martin shot 7-of-9 from three, torching the Celtics when they hedged away from him or miscommunicated rotations to him. Joe Mazzulla defended the strategy, pointing to the bind that Philadelphia's array of offensive options put on Boston's defense. Jrue Holiday sat out and Kristaps Porziņģis exited at halftime with another ankle sprain, making the Celtics more vulnerable. Maxey beat them downhill as Boston's defense stayed attached to Embiid on a screen, opening a lane to the basket with under two seconds left on the shot clock and the Sixers ahead by five points late. Even old friend Guerschon Yabusele made the Celtics pay when they left him open from three. 

Embiid, after the game, mentioned that the Sixers' surplus of versatile wings make this team different from past teams that unsuccessfully tried to challenge the Celtics. Maxey circled the locker room to congratulate teammates and Nurse made a brief speech to cap the night that might put the Sixers back on track as Boston's top threat in the east. Yet nobody wanted to breathe a sigh of relief in the room. Maxey admitted he narrowly avoided another injury on his decisive layup. They're still 0.5 games behind Chicago, and wouldn't participate in the postseason at all if the season ended today. Embiid tweaked his other ankle in the game's closing minutes and wore a mask protecting a freak sinus fracture he suffered in a collision earlier this month. Paul George shot 4-for-15 and missed all seven threes he attempted in the win, falling to 40.6% from the field and 31% from deep through his first 18 games of a four-year, $211.6 million contract that won the offseason. He suffered separate knee bone bruises that cost him nine games. 

Embiid missed the start of the year with a knee ailment nobody knew about publicly prior. Maxey suffered a hamstring strain. An altercation between Embiid and a reporter led to a three-game suspension. McCain, a lone bright spot as he ran away with rookie of the year, fell on his head during a scary layup attempt, exited the game and later learned he tore his meniscus after complaining about knee pain. In the game before their Christmas showcase, referee Jenna Schroeder ejected Embiid as he screamed in her face following an offensive foul call. Officials also kicked out Andre Drummond after his collisions with Victor Wembanyama, an apparent flop, before reversing the decision and allowing Drummond to run out of the tunnel back onto the floor. The next accident feels like it's around the corner, despite the promise they've shown through recent weeks. 

"You can't feel bad about yourself," Embiid said in the locker room on Wednesday. "Life is life. It happens. You do whatever is necessary to get better and get back on the floor, but it is tough, but what can you do? Some of (the injuries) are unfortunate, but you have to deal with it, take it in and get better." 

Another team that entered 2024-25 with hopes to build on their success last season, the Indiana Pacers, also faltered into the new season. They beat the Celtics in their first meeting, Mazzulla called their east finals series the most difficult challenge Boston faced on its way to the championship and Tyrese Haliburton joined the Olympic team in Paris, an affirmation that he moved past the hamstring injury that derailed his all-star start to last season and knocked him out of the final two games of the series in May. Whether mental or physical, he entered this season a shell of himself, shooting poorly and sometimes not at all. He attempted two and didn't score in the first half of Thursday's loss, finishing the game 2-of-6 as the Pacers tried to navigate away from the pressure Lu Dort threw at their point guard. Like in the east finals, Andrew Nembhard took over the reins offensively. 

The struggles left Haliburton on the edge of tears earlier this season. He's averaging 17.4 points per game, down from 20.1, and 8.8 assists per game, down from 10.9. His shooting dropped from 47.7% to 43.1%, and he struggled immensely from three before climbing back to 35.3% in recent weeks, within striking distance of his 36.4% mark last year, but far from the 40% standard he set during his breakout 2022-23 season. A back injury reportedly slowed him to open the schedule, in line with bumps and bruises that other Team USA participants carried into the year, and Haliburton didn't play many minutes with the national team in general, due in part to those health concerns. They only expanded across the roster when James Wiseman, who hoped to rejuvenate his career with Indiana, tore his Achilles. Energetic backup big Isaiah Jackson suffered the same injury shortly after, then Aaron Nesmith turned his ankle badly and has missed most of the season. The Pacers beat the Suns, Warriors and Kings on a successful west coast swing, but collapsed against Oklahoma City and Boston's defensive resistance later this week. 

"It was a great experience for us," Rick Carlisle said, looking back at the east finals run on Friday. "As we've gotten into this year, you get so immersed in this year that you want to be careful talking about last year in many ways, because this is a totally different year. It's a game that's being officiated much differently, our team has changed pretty significantly, even though we brought everybody back, quote, unquote, we got a lot of younger guys playing that are getting better, and are doing some very good things. Anytime you can have that kind of elevated experience against an eventual champion, it's an amazing opportunity. It was a rough four games, we did some very good things, but their ability to strike and strike at the end of games was something we just couldn't overcome. As we develop our team, our organization, we're working toward long term sustainability. We're always thinking about development." 

The Pacers get another shot at the Celtics on Sunday at 6 pm with a rest day, and like Doc Rivers, Carlisle pointed to extra practice time during the NBA Cup layoff as instrumental to Milwaukee and Indiana's turnarounds. Those two teams, along with Philadelphia and the Knicks, who have largely met or even exceeded expectations since their opening night blowout loss at Boston, were supposed to represent the greatest threats to the Celtics in the east. Cleveland leads the east, though Boston ended their 15-0 start with a statement win at home before the Cavs got them back to begin December with Jaylen Brown and Derrick White out. It's a month that, health and shooting wise, has challenged the Celtics while competitors emerge from slumps, but with other teams facing much greater adversity around the league, Boston still appears to be the best championship bet.

January will tell us much about how serious the Celtics' slump, losing 3-of-4, proved prior to Friday's win. They visit Minnesota and Houston back-to-back on Thursday and Friday, then play the Thunder next Sunday in a potential Finals preview before wrapping one of the toughest road trips you'll ever see in Denver. The Nuggets have had several calamitous losses, while avoiding a few others, to begin the season after beating Boston twice last year. They ultimately collapsed in round two against Minnesota, leaving some of the larger fears out west in the west. The path through the east could become more challenging this time, as Brad Stevens predicted. The field still has work to do to make that happen. 

"(Things feel) a lot different," Maxey said on Wednesday. "I said back then, just give us some time. It was difficult, because guys were in-and-out. We finally thought we were gonna have everyone playing, I got hurt, that sucks. I had a little rhythm going, and then I get hurt. Then, we gotta restart, figure it all out, I come back, Joel gets hurt, and we gotta figure it all out again. I think the biggest thing that we've really done is we came together a lot more. I feel like we got a lot of new guys. I don't know how many we got, seven or something like that? And it's difficult. You don't know how you want to play, you know what combinations go with each other. I think we're finally figuring that out. That's kudos to our coaching staff and Nurse." 

"Any win for us right now is a good win." 

Here's what else happened around the NBA this week...

Atlanta (16-15): Responded to three straight losses to beat the Wolves and come back from behind by 21 points against the Bulls with a 50-point quarter. The Hawks went on a 23-2 run to take the lead as Trae Young tallied his 11,000th career point with 27 in the win. Atlanta became the first team in the play-by-play error to score 50 points in a frame with only one turnover. Chicago hit 22 threes in the loss, going cold late in an example of the downside to playing the variance game with threes as they have more often this season. 

Boston (23-8): Lost back-to-back games to Orlando and Philadelphia as Jayson Tatum dealt with an illness, falling in 3-of-4, which the Celtics didn't do once last year. Joe Mazzulla admitted to defensive inconsistencies following the loss on Christmas, which Jrue Holiday (shoulder) missed and Kristaps Porzingis exited after spraining his left ankle again. They missed Friday's get right win over the Pacers, the first of a two-game mini series, while Jaylen Brown scored 44 points with four steals in the 142-105 win. Mazzulla defended the team's regular season motivation before the game, and called critiques of the team's defense and effort an easy observation for the untrained eye. Offense, Mazzulla believed, cost Boston against Orlando and he liked the defensive execution in Chicago, where Tatum erupted for nine threes to match his career high on Saturday in a blowout win.

Charlotte (7-23): Losers of six straight and 17-of-18 since Grant Williams went down as the first Charles Lee season turned sideways weeks ago. Worse, they lost to the Wizards twice in one week. They're 27th in offense and 20th in defense, and while injuries and lineup inconsistency explain some of it, they've been a significant disappointment so far. 

Cleveland (27-4): Won six straight games as their schedule softened, though they cruised through Giannis Antetokounmpo's Bucks and the Sixers on a strong Tyrese Maxey night before they unloaded 149 points on Denver on Friday. The streak built their advantage on Boston in the east standings to 4.0 games before continuing their west coast swing to Golden State, LA and Dallas. They're still the top offense in the NBA by 1.7 points per 100 possessions over the Knicks. Their net rating beats Boston's by 1.4 PP100. 

Dallas (20-11): Won a slugfest with Phoenix where Jusuf Nurkić literally came to blows with Naji Marshall as the Mavs began life without Luka Dončić, who will miss at least one month with a calf injury he suffered in their Christmas loss to Minnesota. The absence will eliminate Dončić from MVP and All-NBA consideration after he began his career by making an unprecedented five straight All-NBA First Teams across his first six seasons. He had averaged 28.1 PPG, 8.3 RPG and 7.8 APG, finishing fifth in ESPN's MVP straw poll. Kyrie Irving scored 20 points to lead Dallas in Dončić's absence, and said he'll pay PJ Washington and Marshall's fines for their altercation with Nurkić. The NBA announced a four-game suspension for Marshall and one game for Washington for their role in the altercation. 

Denver (16-13): Their season continues to feature Nikola Jokić triple-doubles, injuries, Aaron Gordon falling for at least two games with another calf injury and viral MIchael Malone press conferences. And maddening losses. Friday's sent Jokić and the team soul-searching again, 149-135 at home to the Cavs, as Jokić posted 27 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists. 

Detroit (14-17): In postseason position following a third straight win that matched their season total, 14, from the 2023-24 season. Cade Cunningham scored 33 more points with 10 assists, firmly on his way to the All-Star Game, and Malik Beasley briefly took over the NBA lead for made threes ahead of Anthony Edwards with 122. His 21 points downed his former Lakers team after Cunningham and Jaden Ivey both dropped 20 on the Suns in a road win. JB Bickerstaff's quick turnaround of a team that had the worst year by far of any team in 2024 deserves more recognition, and they're emerging as a strong candidate to face the Celtics in the first round. Ivey's four-point play might've altered Kings history. 

Golden State (15-15): Lost their third straight to fall out of the west postseason picture, putting up only 92 points at the Clippers with Steph Curry out of the lineup while four Warriors starters scored single-digits. Curry and LeBron James combined to put on a Christmas class two days prior in the prime time game, both players acknowledging that they don't have many matchups left in their decade-old rivalry. Curry hit a last second three to tie the game from near half court, reaching 38 points in 36 minutes, before Austin Reaves snuck to the rim for the game-winning layup with two seconds remaining. Dennis Schröder started 11-for-39 (28.2%) from the field in his first four Warriors games. 

Houston (21-10): With Jimmy Butler probably not landing here, buzz emerged this week that the Rockets could be waiting out De'Aaron Fox as his future with the reeling Kings becomes more uncertain. Fox bypassed a three-year, $165 million extension with Sacramento in October and has one season left at $37.1 million before hitting unrestricted free agency in 2026. Houston is believed to be the favorite to land the next star who changes teams as the Rockets own multiple future Phoenix draft picks. Houston is 4.0 games behind Oklahoma City and 0.5 from Memphis atop the west. 

Indiana (15-17): Aaron Nesmith missed his 26th straight game with an ankle sprain and Obi Toppin joined him on the bench for their blowout loss in a back-to-back at Boston. Andrew Nembhard also sat out the game while Tyrese Haliburton's season-long struggles continued, shooting 6-of-13 with 19 points after strangely shooting only six times the night before as the Pacers faded late against the Thunder. Indiana has won 6-of-10 overall, playing better in December, but they're eighth in the east, only two up on Philadelphia. 

Clippers (18-13): Law Murray of The Athletic reported that Kawhi Leonard's target date to return from his knee injury is on Jan. 4 against the Hawks. The massive development comes with LA's schedule about to grow more packed, raising questions about how often he'll be able to contribute immediately. It provides some relief to James Harden, Norman Powell and others who have kept the Clippers afloat while Leonard treated lingering knee inflammation that could come and go for the rest of his career. Murray noted that the team is still taking Leonard's recovery slowly, but he's ramped-up over the last month and joined the team on the road in the lead up to his likely season debut. LA plays important games against Minnesota and Denver in the week following that target date. Leonard teased his return with a New Balance ad. 

Lakers (17-13): Austin Reaves delivered a last-second win on Christmas at the rim after Anthony Davis went down earlier in the game with an ankle injury. Reaves added 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists alongside LeBron James' 31 points and 10 assists. The Lakers have stayed above the play-in line in the loaded west despite massive defensive issues all season and a fading offense in recent weeks. Only the Wizards have scored fewer points per 100 possessions over the last 10 games, and LA nearly blew the game with a defensive mistake on Steph Curry before his game-tying three. The latest James and Curry chapter powered high Christmas viewership for the NBA after last week's ratings debate. Shams Charania indicated earlier this season that 2025-26 could become James' final one in the league if his son Bryce doesn't make a run at the draft that summer. 

“Anytime you get an opportunity to be on the court and compete versus one of the greatest to ever play this game, you do not take it for granted,” James said. “You don’t know how many more opportunities you are going to get to go against each other." 

Memphis (22-10): Scored 155 points against the Raptors before generating 132 more over New Orleans to reach eight wins over their last 10 games, but Ja Morant suffered a right shoulder injury on Friday that could negate all their early season progress. He collided with Daniel Theis in the third quarter and left the game, returning to the sideline for the rest of the night without reentering. Morant suffered a season-ending torn labrum in the same shoulder last season. He wasn't wearing a sling in the locker room after. The Grizzlies travel to Oklahoma City on Sunday in a battle between the two best teams in the west. Marcus Smart missed the team's last three games with a finger injury. 

"Obviously, he took a nice shot there to the shoulder, but we'll get more of an evaluation in the next couple days," Taylor Jenkins said. 

Miami (15-13): Won their last two games without Jimmy Butler, who's in conditioning toward a return to play, according to the team. He will not travel to their weekend back-to-back between Atlanta and Houston. His absence follows an illness that knocked him out of the team's loss to the Thunder last Friday and a Shams Charania report that he prefers a trade out of Miami this week. Pat Riley made an official team statement that the Heat will not trade Butler this season, trying to end the first major trade saga of 2024-25. With the team clearly assessing the market for their star ahead of his potential free agency this summer, and not finding any suitors, this standoff feels far from over.  

Milwaukee (16-13): Rivals will continue to assess Giannis Antetokounmpo's future with the Bucks into the summer after the team's recent turnaround in case they suffer another disappointing playoff finish, according to ESPN. They had won 6-of-7 prior to a letdown against the Nets, though they've only posted a +1.2 net rating over their last 10 games. Damian Lillard returned from missing the last four games with an illness on Saturday. 

New York (21-10): Quietly only two games behind the Celtics in the east standings after a thrilling win over the Spurs on Christmas where Mikal Bridges scored 41 points in 43 minutes to overcome a late deficit in his signature performance with the Knicks. The ESPN Deck the Halls broadcast depicted him as Donald Duck as he went off into the fourth quarter, a fun alternate viewing experience called by Celtics play-by-play announcer Drew Carter that drew positive reviews. New York extended its win streak to six in blowout fashion at Orlando, and it should keep rolling with two games against the Wizards and a Jazz matchup ahead this week. 

Oklahoma City (24-5): Unlikely to be aggressive in taking on long-term salary ahead of the trade deadline as their roster grows more expensive internally. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led them to their ninth straight win on Thursday with 45 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, coming back late on the road at Indiana. They have 14 of their 15 players under contract for next season, own three first-rounders if they all convey in June's NBA Draft and Chet Holmgren will return for the stretch run. They're a real title threat.

Orlando (19-14): Moe Wagner tore his ACL last weekend to continue what's been a nightmare injury season for the Magic, who remain fourth in the east, 1.0 game up on Milwaukee, despite their losses. They rallied for an emotional win at home over the Celtics on Monday following the news led by Cole Anthony after he mostly sat out the start of the year without minutes. Rookie Tristan da Silva hit the game-icing three and combined for 35 points in a spot start alongside Trevelin Queen, who only played 35 NBA games prior. Orlando lost its following two games against Miami, on a Tyler Herro game-winner, and New York, but help could be on the way as the team upgraded Paolo Banchero's designation to conditioning, rather than the torn oblique that's sidelined him since November. He said this week that he's ramping up toward a return to play.  

Philadelphia (11-17): Joel Embiid received a $75,000 fine for his explicit gestures during the 76ers' upset win at Boston on Christmas. Philadelphia won its seventh game over its last 10. Is it the start of them playing how they should've to begin the year with their group almost fully intact? More winnable games await on the West Coast this week at Utah, Portland, Sacramento and Golden State before they return to the East Coast at Brooklyn to wrap the five-game slate. Forward KJ Martin will miss multiple weeks with a left foot stress reaction. He was wearing a boot in the locker room at Boston on Christmas. 

Phoenix (15-15): Jusuf Nurkić heard from the league office and will serve a three-game suspension after an unusually physical brawl between the Suns and Mavericks started by his elbow on Daniel Gafford. Nurkić smacked Mavs wing Naji Marshall before the melee ended with Nurkić, Marshall and PJ Washington ejected from the eventual Mavs win. The Suns have lost 7-of-10, falling into a tie with the Warriors for the 10th seed behind the Spurs only 2.5 games above the Kings. 

Sacramento (13-18): Fired head coach Mike Brown following a five-game losing streak and an extended stretch where the team lost 12-of-17. Brown oversaw the most successful Kings run in decades, 107-88 across three seasons including 2023, when Sacramento ended its 17-year postseason drought. The last two years saw more inconsistent returns and defensive issues that undermined their ability to enter contention despite De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis emerging as one of the league's best duo. The Kings partially overhauled their roster before the season to acquire DeMar DeRozan, tripling down on an offensive identity. They ranked eighth in offense and 16th in defense this year. Associate coach Doug Christie, who's been on the team's staff since 2021, will become the interim coach after playing for the team from 2000-05, overstepping associate head coach Jay Triano, who joined Sacramento with Brown in 2023. Coaches around the NBA sounded off on Brown's firing, including Rick Carlisle and former Kings coach Michael Malone, who revealed that the team fired Brown on his way to the airport to begin the team's road trip. Brown fielded questions at practice for more than 17 minutes before the firing.

San Antonio (16-15): Victor Wembanyama delivered a new signature moment in his emergence as one of the faces of the league at Madison Square Garden, scoring 42 points in 40 minutes alongside 18 rebounds and four assists as the Spurs squandered a late lead to the Knicks in a back-and-forth game to open Christmas Day. Only Wilt Chamberlain's 45 (1959) and Tracy McGrady's 43 (2000) surpassed Wembanyama's scoring in a Christmas debut. He shot 16-of-31 from the field in the loss and 6-of-16 from three with four blocks before he rejected six more in a win across town at the Nets. In December, he's averaging 28.1 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 5.1 APG and 4.8 BPG on 49% shooting while drilling 39.6% of his 9.6 three-point attempts per game. If those shots fall, he's going to become the best player in the league before long. Wembanyama spent Saturday morning at Washington Square Park in New York, playing three chess games in the rain against fans after tweeting out an invite to join him. 

Toronto (7-24): Losers of nine straight before they arrive to Boston to face the Celtics on New Year's Eve at 3 p.m. Rookie Ja'Kobe Walter has played well in his return from injury while Kelly Olynyk joined the team's starting lineup this week. Bruce Brown and Immanuel Quickley remained out in their blowout loss to Memphis, which featured the most Canadian players ever in an NBA game while the Grizzlies wore their Vancouver throwbacks. Head coach Darko Rajakovic lost his mind on the refs before getting ejected.