Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons dominating as 76ers beat Pacers | Bleacher's report

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The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Indiana Pacers, 100-94, Wednesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Joel Embiid (20 points and 10 rebounds) and Ben Simmons (16 points, ten rebounds and eight aid) opened the way for the Sixers.

Victor Oladipo was 36 points for the Pacers in the losing effort.

The Sixers finally prove that they can compete with Eastern competitors

While it's too early to panic about the start of the Philadelphia 6 to 5 season, some disturbing trends have emerged.

For starters, the 76ers had been 0-5 on the road this season. They also started the 0-3 night against the teams currently in front of them in the Eastern Conference standings.

Both trends ended on Wednesday.

By entering the night, Philadelphia had lost games on the road against the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks by an average of 16.7 points. It was clear from tipoff that Wednesday would be another story.

The Sixers took the lead 13-2 in the first minutes and continued to face as the Pacers reduced the gap. Even though it was not easy, they had a newfound confidence in a competitor.

As long as the Sixers remain healthy, they should be able to free themselves from their slow start and make the playoffs for the second year in a row. However, the mere fact of reaching the playoffs is no longer the goal.

For a deep race, the Sixers will have to figure out how to defeat the Celtics, Raptors and Pacers, no matter where the games are going. Boston eliminated Philadelphia in the second round last season in five games, 3-0 at TD Garden.

Philadelphia defended their home ground (6-0) earlier this season, but faced with less competition. The aspirations of the Sixers Championship will be to beat good teams on the road and they took a big step forward in this regard on Wednesday.

The depth of Philadelphia strong enough to overcome the trouble in 3 points

The 76ers entered the night class 22nd in the NBA in percentage of three points (33.9). These struggles continued on Wednesday, but they proved that they had enough talent to overcome one of their biggest problems.

Against Indiana, Philadelphia went from 10 to 32 beyond the bow. Dario Saric, who scored 23.2% on three points, made four of his six attempts. All other Sixers players combined for only six triples, including a 0 to 7 performance of JJ Redick.

And yet, Philadelphia still managed to beat a good team from Indiana on the road.

The Sixers have recorded only one player shooting better than 39% of the distance so far this season, with Robert Covington (42.2%) leading the pack. The first choice, Landry Shamet, is second with 38.3%. Meanwhile, two of the best shooters perimeter of the team last season, Redick (42% in 2017-18; 37.9% this season) and Saric (39.3% last season) have not yet found their rhythm.

Until now, support by Embiid and Simmons has helped the Sixers to win victories.

With Saric (18 points against the Pacers), Covington (13), Shamet (12) and Redick (10) all contributing to double-digit efforts, Philly had too much firepower to be overcome by Indiana.

Sixers head coach Brett Brown is hoping that Wednesday night's performance will bring Saric home and that Shamet will continue to start his career well while others are looking for their shot.

The Golden State Warriors are full of players who can hit three pointers. The Sixers must therefore find a way to systematically drain the triples to dethrone the defending champions.

Philadelphia has enough talent to qualify for the playoffs without consistently hitting three points. But by mid-April, Redick and Co. will have to be in top form.

The starting lineup of the Pacers does not provide enough support to Oladipo

To make a serious run at the NBA finals this season, the Pacers will need a total team effort. Even if Oladipo is good, he can not do it alone.

It was clear Wednesday.

Indiana took a 13-2 lead in the first minutes of the game, but Oladipo brought back his team, scoring 15 goals in the first period. This momentum continued in the second quarter, while he finished the first half with 24 shots out of 10.

The rest of the Pacers starters? A combined total of 3 out of 13 for eight points.

Things did not improve much in the second half either. The rest of the runners totaled 26 points on 9 shots out of 30, while Bojan Bogdanovic scored late to finish with 13 points.

In other words, Oladipo outclassed the other four Pacers runners by 10.

This is not a recipe for long term success.

Reinforced striker Domantas Sabonis (16 points) provided support to Oladipo, breathing life into the arena with a third-quarter Embiid postere:

However, Indiana did not have enough help around Oladipo, which eventually calmed down.

Oladipo set a new season high before the end of the third quarter, but as the All-Star 2018 was scoreless in the first half of the fourth quarter, the Sixers pulled out.

Oladipo, who entered the evening with an average of 23.0 points, could engage in the conversation with MVP if he continues to follow his current pace. But unless the reign of the most improved player in the NBA receives more help from its actors, the Pacers are going to have trouble making noise in the playoffs.

And after

Both teams will be back in play Friday night. Philadelphia (7-5) will host Charlotte Hornets and Indiana (7-5) en route to a match against the Miami Heat.