Sixers-Pacers observations: Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris strong in transition, Joel Embiid’s continued dominance over Indiana

The 76ers defeated the Indiana Pacers, 106-89, Sunday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center. Here are some observations and best and worst awards:

— The Sixers’ starting unit is terrific in transition. That’s because they can move the ball with Ben Simmons or Tobias Harris in the middle of the break. It didn’t take long for the Pacers to find out. Harris stole the ball 2 minutes, 5 seconds into the game underneath Indiana’s basket. He initiated the fast break before passing the ball to Simmons at midcourt. The point guard delivered a bounce pass back to Harris, who was trailing, at the foul line, and he finished with a dunk six seconds later.

— Darren Collison was a tough defensive assignment for JJ Redick from the start. The Pacers point guard blew by Redick three times in the early go en route to making something good happen. The play that really stood out was his receiving a dribble handoff from Thad Young, pausing for a second before driving past record for an easy finger roll.

— The Pacers have been unable to do anything to stop Joel Embiid this season. His blend of size and quickness is just a bad matchup against Indiana’s bigs. They had no answer when Embiid went baseline or into the paint. Indiana starting center Myles Turner picked up five fouls guarding Embiid. He averaged 28.8 points and 14 rebounds in this season’s four series meetings.

— Jimmy Butler went back to being an afterthought in the Sixers offense. The swingman’s lone shot attempt of the first half came on made 14-foot, pull-up jumper with 10:07 left in the second quarter. Butler did have three assists and made all four of his first-half foul shots. He finished the game with 12 points on 3-for-8 shooting.

— Best performance: Embiid gets this in his first game back after being sidelined with left knee tendinitis. He finished with game highs of 33 points and 12 rebounds for his 49th double-double of the season.

— Worst performance: I had to give this to Turner, even though he finished with a game-high three blocks. He was abused by Embiid on the block while staying in foul trouble. He also was held to six points on 2-for-7 shooting.

— Best defensive performance: This goes to Embiid for providing a solid presence. He also had two steals.

— Worst statistic: This goes to the Pacers making 9 of 38 shots in the second half.

— Best statistic: This goes to the Sixers holding Indiana to the fewest points against them since giving 88 points on Feb. 6, 2013.