Tyrese Maxey celebrates 1st All-Star game starting nod with 29 points in 76ers' win over Pacers

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tyrese Maxey had 29 points and eight steals hours after being named an All-Star starter for the first time and Joel Embiid had 30 points and nine rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 113-104 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.

Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 18 points, and all five starters hit double figures.

Andrew Nembhard led the Pacers with 25 points and Pascal Siakam had 24 points on a night in which Indiana sports fans were more likely tuned to the college football national championship game.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle lamented before the game he would miss the showdown between the Hoosiers and Miami.

He called it a “bummer.”

Carlisle likely felt much the same way after the Pacers followed a modest three-game win streak with their third loss in four games.

Maxey — who thanked his “fellow Americans” for voting him into the game — shot 12 of 24 from the floor and added eight assists as he continued to show why he is one of the NBA's rising stars.

Maxey was named one of the five starters out of the Eastern Conference and is set to play for the United States in the first version of the U.S. vs. The World for next month's All-Star game.

Maxey will make his first start and earned his second selection for the Sixers on the strength of averaging 30.3 points headed into the game.

Maxey said he was asleep when rookie teammate V.J. Edgecombe called around 2 p.m. to congratulate him on the selection. Maxey then took an excited phone call from his mom — and he went back to bed.

The 76ers sleepwalked through most of the first three quarters and trailed the 10-win Pacers at halftime and only led 82-81 at the end of the third quarter.

By the time Embiid helped put some distance between the Pacers, Maxey was subbed out for good late in the fourth and earned a rousing ovation from Sixers fans.

Indiana: At Boston on Wednesday.

76ers: Host Phoenix on Tuesday.

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Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey dunks during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia 76ers' Dom Barlow, center, goes up to shoot as he is fouled by Indiana Pacers' Tony Bradley, right, and defended by Aaron Nesmith, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia 76ers' Dom Barlow, front right, passes the ball that he took away from Indiana Pacers' Pascal Siakam, back right, while on the floor during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Indiana Pacers' Tony Bradley, center, dunks as Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid, left, watches during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey, left, uses Joel Embiid (21) as a screen against Indiana Pacers' Andrew Nembhard, center left, as he makes his way to the basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

NEW YORK (AP) — As boos rained down while his team walked off the court after trailing Dallas by 30 points, Knicks coach Mike Brown decided it would be a waste of time to talk Xs and Os in the locker room.

“There was nothing to be said at halftime except for lock in and do your ... do your job,” Brown said Monday, catching himself when he started to use an expletive during his press conference.

His message might've been hard to hear, anyway, above the fans at Madison Square Garden who were loudly showing how fed up they are with a team that's lost control of a season which had championship aspirations.

The Knicks have gone from NBA Cup champions to not even being able to rule out the play-in tournament with a January freefall, losing for the ninth time in 11 games with their 114-97 loss to the Mavericks.

As for what's gone wrong since the Knicks raised the Cup last month in Las Vegas?

“There's been a lot of things to pinpoint, but I mean as a team we know what we have to do,” captain Jalen Brunson said. “It’s either we do it, we care enough to do it, or we don’t.”

Brunson was announced as an All-Star starter earlier Monday, then he and fellow starter Josh Hart were cleared to return from injuries. It had the makings of a celebratory day inside Madison Square Garden.

Instead, the Knicks were behind 16-4 minutes into the game and 75-45 just before halftime.

“I haven't seen this kind of effort that we had today. It was embarrassing,” Hart said.

Brown read off the stats that showed just how embarrassing: 27 fast-break points for the Mavericks in the first half and 28 in the paint — against an injury-depleted opponent without a true post-up player, he noted.

Brown inherited a talented and veteran roster when the Knicks surprisingly fired Tom Thibodeau despite reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years. He had the Knicks off to a 23-9 start, but they are now 25-18 and Brunson was asked how the team starts a soul-searching process.

“It should’ve started a couple week sago but we've got to start tomorrow,” he said.

Brunson was seen during the game televised nationally on NBC trying to urge on his teammates during a second-quarter timeout, but wouldn't say afterward what his message was. Nor could he or Brown explain the no-show in the first half.

The boos largely stopped in the second half, though they returned in the fourth quarter when Karl-Anthony Towns was subbed out of the game. Towns said he understood the frustration on a day the Knicks not only didn't win but didn't “really have a chance.”

“Fans are doing their part and we’ve got to do our part,” Towns said.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

New York Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns (32) dribbles against Dallas Mavericks' Dwight Powell, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown stands on the court during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson (11) defends the ball from Dallas Mavericks' Caleb Martin (16) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)