Jared McCain has been assigned to the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats, the 76ers announced Saturday.
McCain did not play in the Sixers’ Friday loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and his rotation minutes have diminished in recent games as the roster has returned to full strength. The Blue Coats play at the Noblesville Boom on Sunday and Monday.
It has been a challenging second NBA season for McCain, who is about 13 months removed from meniscus surgery and also underwent thumb surgery in September. The second-year guard is averaging 6.3 points on 35.4% shooting from the floor in 30 games, but has been surpassed on the depth chart by dynamic rookie VJ Edgecombe and sixth man Quentin Grimes.
McCain also had two-game stint with the Blue Coats in November to help him regain conditioning and his shooting stroke shortly after returning from injury. Sixers coach Nick Nurse said throughout McCain’s reacclimation that game experience is expected to help him return to form.
Before his surgeries, McCain was a Rookie of the Year frontrunner after averaging 15.3 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 23 games. He shot 38.3% on 5.8 three-pointers per game, after connecting on 41.4% of his long-range attempts during his one college season at Duke.
Tyrese Maxey could easily begin rattling off several games that the 76ers had already let slip away this season.
Both visits to the Chicago Bulls. Both contests against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons, including a Nov. 14 trip in which they led in the fourth quarter. Two games against the Toronto Raptors, a potential first-round playoff opponent.
That barely scratched the past 12 days. The Sixers on Jan. 5 lost in overtime to a Denver Nuggets team that intentionally rested the bulk of its rotation. Then, last Sunday, they surrendered a four-point lead with 20 seconds remaining in regulation in Toronto before falling in overtime. Then came Friday night, when the Sixers blew an 11-point fourth-quarter lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 117-115 defeat at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
And in the bunched-up Eastern Conference standings — where three games separated second place from seventh entering Saturday — Maxey acknowledged that “those hurt.”
“We’ve had plenty of them,” the star point guard added. “ … But it’s OK. You’ve got to keep going. We’ve got 42 more games, so can’t dwell on it.”
The consequence of such late collapses was immediately clear late Friday, when the 22-18 Sixers dropped from fifth place to seventh in the East. They also are quite acquainted with down-to-the-wire scenarios, entering Saturday tied for third in the NBA with 25 “clutch” games played, which is classified as a game with the scoring margin at five points or less with five minutes remaining in regulation.
Recent results, though, have shifted from the early season, when part of this team’s resurgent charm was its knack for flipping poor third quarters into valiant comebacks. Their three consecutive clutch defeats have dropped their record to 13-12 in such games, which partially mirrors a perplexingly average 10-11 home record.
“It kind of evens out a lot over the year,” coach Nick Nurse said after Friday’s game. “I thought we were really great early, and I think we’ve got to get a little bit better right now at it.”
The Sixers entered Saturday ranked sixth in the NBA in defensive rating in those clutch minutes (101.2 points allowed per 100 possessions), but 17th in offensive rating (109.7 points per 100 possessions). Standout veterans Joel Embiid and Paul George both attribute those offensive sputters to execution woes, particularly while still gaining rhythm with a finally healthy roster.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points in his team’s first win over the Sixers this week.
“We’ve just need to be organized,” Embiid said after Friday’s game, “and, I guess, keep running the same plays that are working.”
Added George: “We’ve got to probably drill it a little bit more. We’re out there together. We kind of know where we’re at. What we’re doing. What we’re running. What sets can we get into? Because the fact of the matter is they’re not going to make it easy for us.”
That starts with Maxey, the NBA’s third-leading scorer who will have the ball in his hands in crunch time.
He was self-critical after missing potential game-winners at the end of regulation and overtime against Denver, noting that he should have been more demonstrative in directing teammates and where he wanted the ball. He believed he and the Sixers had improved in that regard in their first matchup in Toronto, when he ripped off seven consecutive points — including what could have been a game-clinching deep shot — before the Sixers botched an inbounds pass. On Friday, Maxey shook loose for a game-tying floater with 8.1 seconds remaining before Evan Mobley’s winning dunk, but had been physically guarded throughout a 9-for-23 shooting night.
“Just not good enough down the stretch,” Nurse said of Maxey and the offense, “with either making a shot or getting a good enough one.”
During the final 3 minutes, 53 seconds — when Cleveland staged a 13-4 run to close the gap and seize the lead — the Sixers missed four out of their five shot attempts that came from Maxey, George, Embiid, and Kelly Oubre Jr. That put the Sixers “in scramble mode” on defense, Nurse said, whenever the Cavaliers turned missed shots or turnovers into transition opportunities. Maxey also emphasized an uptick in “broken plays,” such as loose balls and rebounds that the Sixers have not secured frequently enough in those crucial late minutes.
“Those come back to bite you,” Maxey said.
This was a rare week for the Sixers to play two consecutive games apiece against the Cleveland and Toronto, who also are in the thick of those muddled East standings. The Sixers are now 0-3 against the Cavaliers, officially losing the tiebreaker before a final meeting in March in Cleveland. They have finished the regular-season series against the Raptors at 2-2.
The positives? The Sixers have clinched a 2-1 tiebreaker against the Orlando Magic, whom they play only three times in the regular season. And they hold a 2-1 lead over the Celtics before their final matchup in March in Boston, and 2-0 lead over the New York Knicks ahead of two home games next weekend and just before the All-Star break.
Sixers forward Dominick Barlow was back in the rotation after suffering a back contusion earlier this week.
Maxey enthusiastically clapped when asked earlier this season about his team’s abundance of close games, believing they would hold long-term benefits. Nurse added that, whenever he is asked about this topic at coaching conventions, he stresses that defensive execution is “equally important — maybe more” than offensive execution.
“And then, like anything else,” Nurse said, “it takes some work. It takes some repetition. It takes some focus. And then it takes belief.”
The past 12 days have demonstrated that the Sixers still have room to grow in those areas. Because they let three consecutive clutch games slip away, which caused them to slip down the crowded East standings.
“We’ve got to close games,” Embiid said, “and we’ve had a lot of games that [we] probably wish we could take it back.”
As soon as De’Andre Hunter had dropped his bags at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ hotel in Philly on Tuesday, he headed to Dalessandro’s Steaks.
“That’s mandatory any time I’m here,” Hunter said of visiting the local cheesesteak giant.
Spoken like a true Philly native. And one who, because of unfortunate scheduling around an in-season trade, never played in his hometown in 2024-25.
Hunter relished finally being back in front of family and friends inside Xfinity Mobile Arena Wednesday night. That “love in the air,” he said, powered his 17 points, four rebounds and four assists off the bench in the Cavaliers’ 133-107 thrashing of the 76ers. The performance also helped rebalance shooting struggles that have hindered Hunter’s first full season with Cleveland.
“When he plays like that,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said of Hunter’s outing, “we’re tough to beat.”
Entering Wednesday, Hunter was shooting a career-worst 30.3% from three-point range, while his percentage from the floor (42.5%) was the lowest since his rookie year. Those dips somewhat mirror the disappointment so far surrounding the 23-19 Cavaliers. They were expected to be a Finals contender after boasting the Eastern Conference’s best regular-season record last season, but exited Wednesday as the seventh seed (a half-game behind the fifth-seeded Sixers, who are 22-17).
When the Cavaliers acquired Hunter, a Friends’ Central School graduate, from the Atlanta Hawks at last February’s trade deadline, they envisioned him as the final player needed to make a championship push. The 28-year-old wing possessed the 6-foot-7, 220-pound frame to guard multiple positions, and was thriving as an off-ball, catch-and-shoot offensive player.
Hunter’s initial transition was described in March by Atkinson as “seamless” and “as quickly as I’ve seen anybody acclimate.” As a key reserve, Hunter averaged 14.3 points on 48.5% shooting from the floor — and an eye-popping 42.6% from beyond the arc — in 27 regular-season games with the NBA’s most efficient offense, while adding 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
After Cleveland fizzled in a second-round playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers, however, Atkinson said he looked forward to getting to know Hunter better during offseason visits. Today, the coach says he has learned even more while Hunter has faced personal adversity through the regular season’s first half.
“It’s like your kid, right?” Atkinson said before Wednesday’s game. “One that’s struggling a little or things aren’t going perfect, you probably spend more time with him.”
Through those conversations, Atkinson said, Hunter has reiterated he cares most about winning. After Cleveland’s home loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday — which was part of a 2-for-10 shooting slump from Hunter — the coach said he needed to do a better job of putting Hunter in his comfort zone on the floor. And Atkinson appreciates that the struggles have not sent Hunter “into a shell” or affected the rest of the Cavaliers’ locker room.
“It’s been the opposite with him,” Atkinson said. “His body of work speaks for itself. He’s done it for a long time in this league, and it’ll come back.”
Hunter, meanwhile, has leaned into his work habits. To try to regain rhythm, he recently completed individual workouts that were deliberately intense — “despite how your body’s feeling” — and simulated game-like scenarios.
“Keep doing what I know how to do,” he said. “I’ve been shooting for years.”
It took multiple bounces on the rim for Hunter’s first three-point make to fall through the net Wednesday. But then he scored in the lane, and splashed another deep shot. Though a three-point try at the first-quarter buzzer rimmed out, he let the ball fly again just before halftime to give Cleveland a 60-47 advantage.
Hunter then helped cool the Sixers’ rally attempt in the third quarter, when twice he got free in transition for a layup and one-handed dunk. Shortly after hitting a turnaround jumper early in the final period, Hunter got to enjoy the rest of the night from the bench as the Cavaliers finished off a dominant victory.
“His aggression was the biggest thing,” star guard Donovan Mitchell said of Hunter’s impact after the game. “ … That’s the ‘Dre that we all know, and it’s great to see. He puts the time in. He puts the work in.
“So the biggest thing now is just keep going. Keep doing it. We believe in him.”
De’Andre Hunter (left) has struggled from the field to start his season, shooting a career-worst 30.3% from three-point range.
The Cavaliers and Sixers will square off again Friday, giving Hunter a longer-than-usual regular-season visit to Philly. That means there is time for another Dalessandro’s trip.
Then, he gets the opportunity to finally generate some on-court consistency in his first full season with the Cavaliers — while again playing in front of family and friends.
“That’s something I’m working on, and something I’m looking to do,” he said. “… What they expect from me, just providing that every night.”
TORONTO — Photos from Kyle Lowry’s fabulous Raptors tenure lined the hallway leading to Scotiabank Arena’s visitors’ locker room. No. 7 jerseys peppered the home crowd. And Tyrese Maxey told Lowry at the start of Monday’s matchup that his 76ers teammates would “do whatever we’ve got to do to get you in tonight.”
Maxey kept his word by spearheading the Sixers’ 115-102 victory, allowing Lowry to check in late and soak in (potentially) one last ovation from an adoring crowd that watched the North Philly native become a six-time All-Star and 2019 NBA champion.
“Probably one of the greatest basketball moments of my personal career,” Lowry said after the game.
Lowry, who now is primarily a veteran mentor with his hometown team in his 20th NBA season, received that joyous curtain call because of the Sixers’ scorching offensive start to build a 33-point cushion. They dropped a season-high 80 first-half points on 73% shooting from the floor, making 13 of 20 shots from three-point range. It was a resounding response to the previous night, when the Sixers collapsed in regulation before falling in overtime against this same opponent.
So as the fourth quarter progressed, a faint “We want Lowry!” chant turned boisterous. Teammates encouraged the crowd from the bench before, at coach Nick Nurse’s command, Lowry finally unzipped his blue hoodie.
Maxey swung his arms in support as Lowry took the floor. Nurse drew up a play to get Lowry a three-point look on his first possession, which he left well short. Teammates kept getting the ball into his hands for shooting opportunities, before his third and final long range-attempt rimmed out. Lowry held onto the ball as the final seconds ticked down in the Sixers’ win.
“A lot of neat [moments] up here,” said Nurse, who coached Lowry with the Raptors and Sixers. “And that was another one.”
The sentimental emotions were complemented by spicy ones, however. As Maxey poured in 18 first-quarter points, he visibly barked at the Raptors’ bench multiple times. Joel Embiid said after the game that he was displeased with Toronto’s Alijah Martin pointing at Maxey as the Raptors finished off Sunday’s overtime thriller, and used that as an extra dash of motivation in his return from a one-game absence because of knee/groin injuries.
“They were talking a lot last night after they won,” Embiid said at his locker. “With just me sitting on the bench, that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. So just wanted to make sure we came out aggressive and set the tone. …
“I don’t know about everybody else, but I didn’t like the way [Martin] was pointing at Tyrese last night. So that’s why, tonight, I had to make sure everybody was on point.”
Sixers players cheer as teammate Kyle Lowry (left) enters what could be his final game in Toronto.
Following this unique road back-to-back, the regular-season series between the Sixers and Raptors is over at 2-2. But if the playoffs began Tuesday, they would face each other in the matchup between the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds.
Sign us up for at least four more of these games, eh?
Here are some more observations from the Sixers’ 2-1 road trip.
Get well soon, Bill Kennedy
Early in the victory against the Magic on Friday in Orlando, Nurse heard referee Bill Kennedy scream and grab his leg along the baseline near the Sixers’ bench. Then Kennedy yelled again and went to the floor.
Kennedy’s reported hamstring injury, which will keep him out indefinitely, captured the attention of the most dialed-in NBA followers. He is a rare example of an official fans actually like because of his entertaining explanations of replay reviews and coaches’ challenges.
Referee Bill Kennedy suffered an injury during the Sixers’ game against the Orlando Magic.
Several Sixers players and staff members displayed concern for Kennedy when he hit the floor. Embiid and fellow center Andre Drummond were among those who helped Kennedy into a wheelchair to leave the court.
“I’ve had some of the most unfortunate injuries,” Embiid said after that game. “So every single time I see someone struggling or getting hurt, I know that kind of hits me a little bit. … Hopefully it’s nothing too bad. I’ll be praying for him.”
Embiid, the All-Star?
In Orlando, Embiid was asked about the new All-Star Game format, and whether he would play for the U.S. or World team.
“Am I going to make it?” Embiid quipped. “I think I should. I don’t think we’re pushing it enough, but I’ve been playing a lot and I think I’ve got pretty good stats. You guys should start putting the word out that Joel Embiid is back.”
Such consideration would have seemed outlandish even a few weeks ago. But Embiid has played in six of the last seven games, including logging 40 minutes for the first time since the 2024 playoffs. He has progressed from a ho-hum late-game dunk in a Jan. 3 win at the New York Knicks to a nasty one-handed flush in traffic Monday night in Toronto. He is contesting shots at the rim and taking center court for jump balls. He is averaging 23.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, and on Monday surpassed the number of games he played in during the entire 2024-25 season (20).
And Embiid meshed Friday’s playful trolling with expressing genuine emotion about looking — and feeling — more like himself in recent weeks.
“I know I usually say, ‘Got to keep building,’” Embiid said. “But this is a moment where I’m like, ‘Wow.’ A lot of people, I think, never thought this would happen again. So got to keep praying and put in the work to keep that going.”
But … back to a potential All-Star choice.
Though Embiid played for the U.S. in the 2024 Olympics, he reiterated that he is “always going to be from Cameroon.”
“I’m part of the whole world,” Embiid said with a grin. “I wasn’t planning on [being an All-Star], but I guess since you’re talking about it, maybe there’s a chance.”
Get your popcorn ready
As Maxey packed up his belongings at his locker in Toronto, he spotted a staffer with a bag of popcorn and asked for his own.
This is no surprise. A box of popcorn is often found in his locker at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Whenever the Sixers visit Chicago, an attendant brings Maxey a trash bag filled with it.
It’s not just his go-to locker-room snack, but a go-to snack, period. For a simple reason: It’s what his mother, Denyse, used to give him most often as a child.
“She said it had good fiber in it,” he said.
Where’s Watford?
Nearly three hours before each game’s tipoff, Lowry is always the first Sixer to go through his pregame shooting routine. But Monday evening, Trendon Watford had joined him on the floor.
The versatile forward has not cracked the rotation since returning from a 17-game absence with an adductor strain in his thigh. When asked about remaining steps to reintegrate and potentially earn more minutes, Nurse said Watford still has “a ways to go” with his conditioning.
The coach also wants to exercise extra caution because, after Watford also missed training camp and the preseason with a hamstring issue, he does not want to risk another injury.
“I want to kind of take some baby steps with him,” Nurse said. “Because I want him to be in for a while. I don’t want to see three games and then not see him for three weeks again.”
Watford is averaging 7.4 points, 4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 17 games, including a triple-double against the Raptors in November. He checked in at the stoppage in play with Lowry on Monday, recording one rebound in 1 minute, 27 seconds.
And when Lowry detoured from the locker room for a formal postgame news conference, Watford sneaked into the back of the room to take in the scene.
Tip-ins
Eric Gordon pulled out his cell phone as soon as he returned to his locker following Friday’s win in Orlando. The former Indiana star and Indianapolis native needed to catch the end of the Hoosiers’ blowout win over Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinals to continue that program’s magical ascension.
Quentin Grimes donned appropriate game-day attire in Toronto, wearing half brother Tyler Myers’ Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres hockey jerseys to the arena. Myers, a defenseman, also played for the Winnipeg Jets.
While reminiscing Sunday about Lowry’s tenacious playing style, Nurse mentioned that the three most relentless players he has ever coached were part of the current Sixers’ locker room. The other two are player development coaches Fabulous Flournoy, whom Nurse coached with the Birmingham Bullets of the British Basketball League, and Curtis Stinson, whom Nurse coached with the then-D League’s Iowa Energy.
Quotable
Embiid on Lowry’s legacy in Toronto: “When you play this game, that’s the respect you want at the end of your career. I loved it. I know Philly’s tough, but hopefully one day I’m in that position, too.”
Maxey on Lowry’s legacy in Toronto: “Any time I ask him to set up reservations for me [in this city], he gets me in wherever I need to get in like that.”
TORONTO — Joel Embiid (knee/groin) and Paul George (knee) will return for the 76ers’ game at the Raptors on Monday night after missing Sunday’s overtime loss against the same opponent.
Embiid had been ruled out of Sunday’s game earlier in the day after groin soreness popped up following Friday’s victory against the Magic in Orlando, coach Nick Nurse said. George was a late scratch after he attempted his pregame warmup twice and could not adequately push off his leg, Nurse said.
Before Sunday, Embiid and George had gained some rhythm in availability and production after a cautious ramp-up following knee surgeries. Embiid, the former MVP, is averaging 23.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 19 games. George has averaged 16 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.4 steals in 20 games.
Their returns will boost a 21-16 Sixers team playing its final regular-season game against the 24-16 Raptors, who would be their first-round opponent if the playoffs began Monday.
TORONTO — Trendon Watford’s eyes widened as he walked into Scotiabank Arena’s visitors’ locker room and noticed the media scrum surrounding Kyle Lowry’s locker. Teammates Justin Edwards and Jared McCain joined the back of the crowd, with McCain pulling out his cell phone to pretend to ask a question.
“This is why I’m here,” Lowry quipped to those gathered.
The scene was warranted. This could be Lowry’s final visit as a player to Toronto, where the North Philly native and former Cardinal Dougherty and Villanova star became a Raptors franchise legend and NBA champion. And the 76ers’ back-to-back against the Raptors — they lost a 116-115 overtime heartbreaker Sunday night — represents another bridge between the city that Lowry now calls his second home and his hometown Sixers, the team with which he is likely to wrap up his NBA career primarily as a mentor on the bench and behind the scenes.
“You’ve got to find ways to challenge yourself,” Lowry said when asked about his role before Sunday’s game. “And the challenge for me is to try to help these guys every single day. … It’s just finding that niche and helping people get better — and me being in a place where I’m happy.”
The 39-year-old Lowry went into last offseason with a public declaration that he wanted to play one more season to reach the “massive accomplishment” of 20 in the NBA. Only 12 players have achieved that benchmark in league history, including two who stood 6-foot or shorter (Lowry and Chris Paul). His sons, Karter and Kameron, who are still based in Miami following Lowry’s post-Raptors tenure with the Heat, signed off on him pursuing that milestone.
Yet when asked before the Sixers departed for Toronto late Friday if he expected this to be a farewell trip of sorts, Lowry’s tone shifted to “I don’t know, honestly.” It is possible that the Sixers (21-16) could return to Canada after these consecutive regular-season matchups because, if the playoffs began Monday, the 24-16 Raptors would be their first-round opponents. Lowry also believes his leadership is “immensely important to what this organization is trying to do.”
“You’ve got to be able to kind of take yourself out of it sometimes,” Lowry said, “and be able to say, ‘OK, how can I pay it forward a little bit?’ … It’s that balance of I know I’m not on the court, so I can’t yell at them and curse at them. But I can say, ‘Hey, these are the things that I see. Let’s try to do that.’”
Kyle Lowry played nine seasons in Toronto (2012-21), winning a title in 2019 and being named to six All-Star teams.
It is a transition that those who knew Lowry in Toronto — where he was a six-time All-Star and a notoriously tenacious point guard — might be surprised he has so wholeheartedly welcomed. Though he became a starter after joining the Sixers off the 2024 buyout market, Lowry’s minutes dramatically diminished while hampered by a lingering hip issue for the bulk of last season. He has played in 42 total minutes across five games this season, receiving a rousing reaction from teammates when he buried a three-pointer in his debut at the Brooklyn Nets in November.
Survey those same teammates about Lowry’s daily influence, and faces typically light up.
Rookie VJ Edgecombe can count on Lowry to “keep it real,” including during a pressure-releasing pep talk before Edgecombe scored 34 points in his NBA debut at the Boston Celtics. Quentin Grimes said Lowry’s diligent workout routine — he is still the first Sixer on the floor for his pregame shooting nearly three hours before every game, and puts in extra individual work before and after practices — provides a blueprint on how to prepare as his own career progresses.
And though star Tyrese Maxey jokingly calls Lowry “old as hell,” he also views the veteran as “like, my leader. He comes to me and leads me, and I try to lead the team.” Lowry fosters this relationship while regularly rebounding and screening for Maxey during workouts, and when he calls the 25-year-old “at least three or four times a day,” Maxey said.
“I couldn’t do this without him, honestly, right now,” said Maxey, who finished Sunday ranked third in the NBA in scoring at 30.9 points per game and has entered the MVP conversation.
Even Sixers coach Nick Nurse, who also led Lowry’s Raptors teams, said the point guard has “talked me off the ledge a couple times” during games this season. Nurse views Lowry as a valuable conduit between the players and the coaching staff, providing insight on when the Sixers might need a day off from practice or should be pushed.
“There’s times when I’ll be leaning on him,” Nurse said. “He’ll get behind me and say [to teammates] … ‘This is what it takes.’”
The relationship between Nick Nurse and Kyle Lowry is extensive and built on trust.
Before Sunday’s game, Nurse said that he would speak to Lowry about his desire to hit the floor inside Scotiabank Arena again. Lowry acknowledged he would “love to get in there for the fans, and help my team,” but stressed that winning was the top priority. There was no appropriate opportunity for Lowry to enter during Sunday’s down-to-the-wire overtime defeat.
Still, Lowry remained active from the bench. He jetted onto the court to greet Maxey after he drilled a three-pointer with 20.1 seconds remaining in regulation. He stood between Nurse and assistant Bryan Gates during an overtime discussion. And after Kelly Oubre Jr. attempted what he described as a “terrible” inbounds pass to Edgecombe that became a critical crunch-time turnover, Lowry pointed out that Grimes also had leaked open.
“He’s been there, done that,” Oubre said of Lowry. “Been at the highest level. For him to be so engaged and allow him to use his IQ to help us grow ours, it’s amazing. He’s definitely a huge leader on this team, and his voice is always heard.”
Doug Smith, the longtime Raptors beat writer for the Toronto Star, suggested in an article that Nurse should put Lowry in Monday’s starting lineup so he can bask in a pregame introduction here one last time. When asked how it will feel to see his No. 7 raised into the rafters someday, Lowry’s response was, “Y’all ever seen me cry?”
He walked into the arena Sunday wearing a signed jersey from Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews, a tribute to the player and the city. He confirmed that, whenever the time comes, he would sign a one-day contract to retire as a Raptor.
Veterans like Joel Embiid (21) know the impact Kyle Lowry has made during his 20 seasons in the NBA.
And his forever connection to Toronto was clear when Joel Embiid tried to land a playful jab inside Friday’s postgame locker room in Orlando. Hours before the Sixers’ flight across the border, Embiid interrupted an interview with Lowry by asking, “Why are they talking to you?” in an exacerbated tone.
“Where you lost Game 7 at,” said Lowry, referencing the Sixers’ crushing playoff defeat to the eventual-champion Raptors in 2019.
“Talking about how great of a cheerleader you are?” Embiid countered.
“Yes, basically,” Lowry responded.
“He’s a great cheerleader,” Embiid conceded.
Because right now, Lowry is a Sixer. And when asked about how enthusiastically those teammates describe Lowry’s impact in his 20th — and, potentially, final — NBA season, his emotions again bubbled to the surface.
Kyle Lowry could be finishing a storied career with a mentor role on a possible playoff team.
“It means a lot, to be honest,” Lowry said. “Because I really give to them the purity of how I feel about them. Like I said, sacrifice. I don’t care about myself as a basketball player. I know in my career what I’ve done. And what I’ve done is I’ve given everything to this game. Everything I could possibly give to this game, physically and mentally.
“You see me every day with these guys. I cheer for them. I clap for them. I help coach them from a player’s perspective. I try to give them things in life. I try to help them out, just overall, in general.
“I guess it’s a testament to how they feel about me. I’m the ancient man in this locker room. I embrace it, and they embrace me.”
TORONTO — Joel Embiid missed Sunday’s game against the Raptors with left groin soreness and left knee injury management. Paul George was a late scratch for the game with left knee soreness.
Embiid had played in six consecutive games — and hit 40 minutes Monday in an overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets — for the first time since the 2023-24 season. Embiid had been listed Saturday as questionable on the injury report for left knee injury management ahead of this back-to-back in Toronto on Sunday and Monday. The groin soreness, which coach Nick Nurse said emerged following Friday’s victory at the Orlando Magic, was added to the report on Sunday.
Embiid, the former MVP who is coming off multiple knee surgeries, is averaging 23.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 19 games. George has averaged 16 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.4 steals in 20 games.
Without Embiid, the Sixers will turn to Andre Drummond and Adem Bona at center against the 23-16 Raptors, who sat a half-game ahead of the Sixers (21-15) in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings entering Sunday. Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker are also small-ball options at that position.
Nurse said after Sunday’s overtime loss that George, who was not listed on the injury report at any point leading into the game, felt stiffness in his knee while attempting to warm up “two different times, and he just couldn’t get to where he could push off it enough or accelerate.”
Kelly Oubre Jr., who returned earlier this week from a knee injury, slid into the starting lineup in place of George.
Sixers second-year wing Justin Edwards, meanwhile, has been recalled from the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats and will be available for Sunday’s game.
ORLANDO — Nick Nurse called a timeout about two minutes into Friday’s matchup at the Magic, frustrated that his 76ers were “standing up straight and not moving great” defensively.
The coach continued to cycle through personnel groupings, searching for a spark on that end of the floor. He found it at the top of the final period, with guards VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes, wings Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr., and center Andre Drummond.
Their suffocating, versatile defense turned a four-point Sixers lead into a 13-point advantage in an eventual 103-91 victory at Kia Arena. It helped the Sixers (21-15) overcome a night when they shot 4-for-28 from three-point range to secure the tiebreaker against a potential Eastern Conference playoff opponent. And the almost-five-minute surge happened with stars Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid getting their customary rest.
After the game, George said he believes the “scrappy” effort from that fourth-quarter lineup was only a flash of the Sixers’ potential on the defensive end of the floor.
“I think we can be special defensively,” said George, a four-time, all-defense selection during his standout career. “And that’s where the praise needs to be.”
The Sixers exited Friday ranked 12th in the NBA in defensive rating, with 113.3 points allowed per 100 possessions. Yet in their last five games, which have coincided with a return to a fully healthy roster for the first time since December of 2023, they are sixth (109.1 points per 100 possessions).
Nurse’s teams have regularly been lauded for an aggressive defensive style, anchored by playmakers who can deflect passes and generate takeaways. Yet this season’s Sixers also exited Friday ranked 12th in opponent turnovers (15.2 per game) and steals (8.7 per game).
Though the Sixers did not force a turnover during Friday’s decisive fourth-quarter stretch, Oubre and Grimes disrupted ballhandlers with their perimeter pressure. That allowed George and Drummond to “[patrol] in the back” near the basket. And it was a block party at the rim, with Drummond, George, and Oubre all rejecting one shot during the Magic’s 1-for-12 stint from the floor.
“We were just really keeping the ball in front,” Nurse said. “And when it did get past us, we always were sending a crowd to it.”
It was the second consecutive game that Nurse turned to the lineup that began the fourth quarter, after it blew open Wednesday’s home victory against the Washington Wizards. In 14 minutes across those two victories, that lineup has a stunning defensive rating of 48.1 points allowed per 100 possessions and a net rating of plus-74.9.
Even with that minuscule sample size, that group’s success perhaps represents a more under-the-radar benefit to the Sixers regaining health.
Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe was part of a game-altering defensive effort.
Outsiders may believe roster continuity is most helpful on the offensive end, where timing and chemistry between teammates are critical. But Nurse said last week that it also would allow the Sixers to add defensive schemes to complement the offensive firepower of Maxey, who dropped another 29 points Friday, the returning-to-form Embiid (22 points, nine rebounds) and George (18 points, nine rebounds), and the complementary scoring potential of Edgecombe, Oubre, and Grimes.
When George was sidelined to begin the season, for instance, Nurse said the wing would be especially valuable to this team as a defensive communicator. Oubre, who earlier this week returned from a month-plus-long absence with a knee injury, also welcomes guarding wings and switching onto multiple positions. Edgecombe is already an impact player on that end, a rarity for a rookie, while Maxey is a noticeably improved defender. And if Embiid continues to improve physically, he could become an impact rebounder and rim protector again.
Those options mean the Sixers can contest outside shots and “make it a tight paint” on drives, George said. At other points Friday, the Sixers shifted into a zone defense and used Drummond to “blitz” out on perimeter ballhandlers. The next step as a group, George said, is to become even more comfortable playing “on a string” and rotating sharply with teammates.
Nurse, though, may have discovered a lineup that can provide a defensive spark. And George believes Friday’s five-minute effort is only a glimpse at the Sixers’ capabilities on that end of the floor.
“I know it’s tough to do — especially more now than ever in this league,” he said. “But I think the versatility that we have, we should be able to do it.”
About 70 minutes before tipoff Wednesday, Kelly Oubre Jr. let out a scream when he popped into the 76ers’ locker room. A few minutes later, Tyrese Maxey announced that “12 [is] back” while settling into his seat next to Trendon Watford.
They were, indeed. Oubre and Watford both returned from lengthy injury absences in the Sixers’ comfortable 131-110 victory over the Washington Wizards at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Their modest stat lines — Oubre totaled two points, three rebounds, and two steals in 20 minutes, 16 seconds; Watford three assists and did not attempt a shot in 4:45 — reflected that they had been sidelined for more than a month.
But their outings were an appropriate first step for the 20-15 Sixers, who had their full roster available for a game for the first time since December 2023.
“It’s been a long journey to get back out there,” Oubre said postgame. “And it felt amazing, just to even be able to just touch the court and be able to do anything out there.”
Coach Nick Nurse’s eyes widened when informed that, according to research by PhillyVoice, it had been more than two calendar years since the Sixers had not ruled out any players before a game because of injury or personal reasons. When the public address announcer shared that the Sixers had “no injuries” a few minutes before tipoff, cheers erupted from the crowd.
There was another big ovation when Oubre initially checked in during the first quarter, wearing a knee brace under a leg sleeve that provides proper support but “just [messes] my swag all the way up,” he quipped.
Kelly Oubre Jr. averaged 16.8 points on 49.7% shooting along with 5.1 rebounds in the season’s first 12 games.
Oubre airballed his first shot, an elbow pull-up off a rebound that he said he rushed because he “was so happy and geeked” to be back on the court. After two more misfires — which the 11-year veteran attributed to fatigued legs — Oubre’s fourth-quarter jumper in the lane bounced in just before he exited for the final time.
But on the defensive end, the Sixers consistently felt Oubre’s full-court pressure. That was where he was most eager to test that knee, he said.
“He just started going out there and picking his guy up,” Nurse said. “And everybody behind him saw how hard he was working, and I think they picked it up, too.
“I think he was a big spark tonight, even though it doesn’t look like his offense is anywhere near his capabilities yet.”
While rehabbing the knee sprain he suffered on Nov. 14, Oubre said he felt “no pain” but added that he needed to regain his stability and strength. When he finished “like my 1,000th sprint,” however, Oubre said he was “so done.”
“I just wanted to get out there and play basketball,” Oubre said, “and test my wind out there on the court.”
Next, Oubre will be tasked with recapturing his career-best play, when he averaged 16.8 points on 49.7% shooting along with 5.1 rebounds in the season’s first 12 games. He was more in control with the ball in his hands on offense and was another defender who could guard bigger wings and switch on to multiple positions.
Oubre also has been a consistent starter when healthy throughout his two-plus Sixers seasons. Dominick Barlow, who had become a terrific fit as a rebounder and cutter in Oubre’s absence, maintained that first-team role Wednesday.
Nurse said before the game that he would prefer to eventually become “a little more fluid” with lineup combinations, depending on opponent matchups. Personnel tweaks also could affect players further down the rotation, such as Jabari Walker and Jared McCain.
Watford, who averaged 8.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 14 games before suffering an adductor strain in his thigh, put himself in the category of needing to earn one of those spots again.
He believes his three assists in Wednesday’s short stint are evidence of his playmaking as a 6-foot-8 “point” forward. He said he needs to get more comfortable playing off former MVP center Joel Embiid, who is looking far more like himself than earlier in the season.
Yet after Watford also missed training camp and the preseason with a hamstring injury, Nurse said he needs to evaluate the forward for “a long stretch of games.”
“We certainly like his size, his skill, his kind of versatility,” Nurse said. “But I just haven’t seen enough of it yet to really understand where he’s going to help us and fit into this thing.”
That process will continue when the Sixers hit the road for a Friday matchup against the Orlando Magic before two straight games against the Raptors in Toronto. Nurse knows Oubre and Watford regaining their conditioning, rhythm, and “peak performance” will take time. And the coach does not want to disrupt the cohesion that has been building as Embiid and Paul George have become more available, mobile, and productive alongside the dynamic backcourt of Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.
But Wednesday was the first step with the Sixers’ full roster.
Finally.
“I feel fine,” Oubre said. “I feel amazing, actually. So I’m just happy to get one under my belt and just continue to grow from there.”
An onlooker could have determined that Tyrese Maxey simply lost his dribble at the end of regulation Monday in a loss to the Denver Nuggets, forcing him into a rushed, fading three-point attempt.
But the 76ers’ star point guard already recognized that he wished he had gotten an earlier screen from teammate VJ Edgecombe. That would have given him more time to determine whether he should pass the ball if he drew multiple defenders or attack the basket with his explosiveness.
“Once I came off the screen, there was like four or five seconds left,” Maxey said postgame. “They were kind of faking the double[-team] at me, and that was a little difficult for me.”
The Sixers never should have been in a last-possession situation against the depleted Nuggets, who played their 125-124 overtime victory at Xfinity Mobile Arena without their top seven players, including MVP front-runner Nikola Jokić. But Maxey had the ball in his hands at the end of regulation and the extra frame and missed two potential game-winning shots.
That developing responsibility comes with the 25-year-old’s continued ascent that includes being named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, being ranked second in the East in fan voting in the first All-Star returns, and earning legitimate MVP buzz for the surprising 19-15 Sixers.
“I’m just learning what [actions] I want to get into, how I want to play, where I want guys,” said Maxey, who totaled 28 points, six rebounds, six assists, and four steals against Denver. “… I could have done a better job of explaining what I wanted and what I wanted to happen.”
Tyrese Maxey had 28 points, six rebounds, six assists, and four steals against Denver on Monday.
Maxey also misfired at the end of overtime on an attempt he described as a “good look” but that coach Nick Nurse called “OK.” Maxey took the inbounds pass with less than five seconds remaining and turned the right corner around the defender, but tripped over his foot and, while falling, lofted a floater that bounced off the rim.
“Got a little off-balance,” Nurse said, “and probably wasn’t as clean a look as he wanted to get.”
Maxey and the Sixers are no strangers to matchups going down to the wire this season. They entered Tuesday tied for second in the NBA with 23 “clutch” games played, when the scoring margin is five points or fewer with five minutes remaining in regulation. They are 13-10 in such situations and are tied for ninth in the league in winning percentage (.565) and are sixth in net rating (plus-1.4).
Maxey has played in 21 of those games, and ranks 10th in the league in scoring average in those minutes (four points) among players with at least 10 clutch appearances. Maxey is shooting 39.7% from the floor, including 22.7% from three-point range in those minutes, significant dips from his overall shooting numbers (47.5% from the field, 40.5% from long range) while sitting third in the NBA in scoring at 31 points per game.
The defense — and pressure — increases down the stretch of tight games, of course. But this season, reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder is shooting 49.2% from the floor in clutch situations, while averaging 7.4 points. Last season, NBA Clutch Player of the Year Jalen Brunson connected on 51.1% of his attempts and averaged 5.6 points in those minutes for a New York Knicks team that advanced to the Eastern Conference finals. Entering Tuesday, Anthony Edwards, Cade Cunningham, and Devin Booker are shooting 50% or better in at least 12 clutch games played this season.
Tyrese Maxey has become a focal point in big moments as Sixers stars including Joel Embiid have become less available.
They headline the elite guard group that Maxey, in many ways, has already cracked. Yet he spoke last season about experiencing a variety of new defensive coverages while becoming the Sixers’ clear top offensive option, while former MVP Joel Embiid and perennial All-Star Paul George mostly were sidelined with injuries. Consider these clutch demands — which were a rarity during a woeful 24-58 season in 2024-25 — the next layer.
Long before Monday’s waning seconds of regulation and overtime, Nurse said the Sixers lost “strictly a shooting percentage game” by allowing the shorthanded Nuggets to get comfortable from the floor (53.1%) and beyond the arc (18-for-37). Embiid, meanwhile, called the Sixers’ offensive spacing “kind of terrible,” and said the basketball IQ required to counter the smaller Nuggets’ double teams of him was “high school stuff.” Denver gained its final lead in overtime via a goaltending call on Embiid, who acknowledged that he mistimed his jump to challenge a Bruce Brown transition layup.
In November, Maxey fervently clapped when asked about the crunch-time games the Sixers had already compiled. He said then that he was proud of his team’s resilience, and that the experience should hold long-term benefits. On his own, Maxey had already rewatched the Sixers’ first two matchups against the Boston Celtics (a one-point win and one-point defeat, respectively), along with their 136-124 victory against the Orlando Magic on Oct. 27 and their dreadful 113-111 loss at the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 4.
“There were a couple times I just got in the paint, kicked it out, got some open threes,” Maxey said then. “I think that’s the biggest thing. And then, sometimes, I’m going to have to shoot some tough shots — and make some tough shots. I can live on that hill.”
Sixers coach Nick Nurse described Tyrese Maxey’s final look against the Nuggets as “OK.”
Since then, Maxey has connected on timely fourth-quarter shots at Madison Square Garden to keep the Sixers out of clutch territory in Saturday’s victory over the Knicks. And he covered the ground for an highlight-worthy chase-down block on former teammate De’Anthony Melton to preserve a Dec. 4 home victory against the Golden State Warriors. And he dished to Edgecombe for an overtime game-winner at the Memphis Grizzlies last week.
That play featured the screen timing from Edgecombe that Maxey desired Monday, when he got going too late before bobbling the ball. By the time Maxey hit the podium for his postgame news conference, he had vocalized that to his rookie teammate.
That is part of Maxey’s development — and responsibility — as a clutch player. And Embiid, who has plenty of experience in those final-possession scenarios, believes in his star point guard.
“You have the ball, the whole defense is looking at you,” Embiid said. “… You don’t necessarily have to take that last shot. The double comes, you invite it, and then you make the right plays.
“I think [Maxey] has the right mindset to make those plays, and we’re still going to trust him to make those plays.”
