Oh, and by the way, TJ McConnell was back in town on Friday too.

That was completely irrelevant on a night when Joel Embiid left the Sixers-Pacers game after suffering an accidental blow to the face. That this happened on Friday the 13th may seem significant, except for the fact that the Sixers haven’t had much luck on many other days this season either.

Meanwhile, McConnell continues to lead a charmed life. He’s 10 years into a career that began when the Sixers acquired him as an undrafted free agent in 2015 at the heart of The Process. He finds it hard to believe that so much time has passed, and at the same time, he understands that the same approach that served him well is serving him well now as he becomes one of the NBA’s most valued backup point guards has become.

“It’s one of those things where you just imagine you’re still that rookie that didn’t make it and a guy that’s still fighting for everything,” he said. “That’s my mindset. Every game out there I’m scratching and scratching, grabbing at everything. And I haven’t lost that attitude.”

At 32, he is in his sixth year with Indiana after four years in Philadelphia. The Pacers rewarded him with a four-year, $45 million contract extension in August, and while the team as a whole has struggled – Indiana remains just 11-15 despite Friday’s 121-107 win – he is averaging 11 .5 points per game on 57.4 percent shooting, both career highs.

Last Sunday he scored 30 points, another career high, in a loss to Charlotte, and on Friday he delivered 11 points and four assists in 18:22. But as always, its value is best measured by the energy it generates, by the chaos it causes. That was the word his coach Rick Carlisle used when talking about McConnell – chaos. Specifically remembered how dramatic his impact was when he was with the Sixers.

“You came in here and had about 14 turnovers at halftime and were down eight or 10 points,” Carlisle said.

Mainly because of TJ, he claimed.

“The guy has had an amazing career so far,” Carlisle said. “It’s been 10 years. His contract runs for a few more years. Who knows how long he can keep this up?”

Indefinitely, it seems. McConnell has been durable, playing in 69 or more games in all but one of his first nine seasons, and he has significantly improved his offensive game. During his time with the Sixers, he averaged 6.4 points per game on 48.7 percent shooting. With the Pacers he increased this to 8.7 points per game with an accuracy rate of 54.3 percent.

While he had a productive college career – first at Duquesne and later at Arizona, where he will be inducted into the Ring of Honor next Wednesday – he was not selected in the 2015 draft. And when he arrived in Philadelphia for his first training camp, there were five other point guards on the roster. When asked Friday, he was only too happy to list them.

“Pierre Jackson, Scottie Wilbekin, Kendall Marshall, Tony Wroten and… Ish (Smith)?” he asked. “No, Isaiah Canaan.”

TRUE. Three of those guys — Wroten, Marshall and Jackson — were injured early on, giving McConnell a longer look than he otherwise would have gotten. He remembered that there wasn’t a single a-ha moment, that there wasn’t a single moment where he thought things were going to work out.

“It was definitely more gradual,” he said.

But one day coach Brett Brown called him into his office to tell him he had made the team — “a surreal moment,” McConnell said.

While Canaan and later Smith, who took over at center, saw most of the action at the point on a team that finished 10-72, McConnell averaged 6.1 points and 4.5 assists in just under 20 minutes per night . And of the 18 players who suited up for that ragtag team, he’s one of three still in the league; the others are Jerami Grant (Portland) and Richaun Holmes (Washington). (Two others – Smith and Christian Wood – played through last season.)

“I felt like I went out there and deserved what I got and just put my head down, got to work and let the chips fall,” McConnell said. “And somehow I don’t regret it.”

He gave a special tip to former Sixers assistant Chris Babcock, who spent countless hours working with him. And while McConnell wasn’t sure what kind of reception he would receive Friday night — there were a few boos as he entered the game, but that was outweighed by appreciative applause — he will always cherish his time in Philadelphia.

“I mean, this place gave me a chance,” he said, “so I’m forever grateful and the city accepted me.” That’s why I love this place very much. I love the fans very much. And it was a great four years. I think we have achieved a lot.”

After Friday’s game, several teenagers hung out in the stands overlooking the tunnel leading to the visitors’ locker room, chattering nonsense about the Pacers as they passed. (It may well have been the same fools who chastised Orlando guard Jalen Suggs for his bald spot after the Magic beat the Sixers last week. Suggs took two steps into the locker room and then jumped back out. “That’s a sign of wisdom,” Suggs exclaimed.)

On this occasion there was more discussion at the highest level.

Kids (to relay Pascal Siakam): “You’re a bum, Siakam!”

Siakam: “Your mom is a bum!”

But when McConnell died, all the teenagers did was shout his name. He responded with a thumbs up. (And yes, that was the finger he gave.)

Things always seem to be looking up for him. And that has been the case for a good decade. This was even the case this Friday the 13th, something the home team would like to forget.