OKLAHOMA CITY — Joel Embiid has been ruled out for Sunday’s afternoon game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Paycom Center with a sprained right ankle and right-knee injury management.
The 76ers center has been dealing with right knee issues since early November, which led to him missing nine consecutive games earlier in the season.
However, Embiid’s absence from the Thunder game should not come as a surprise. The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder usually doesn’t play with less than two days in between games. He played in Friday’s 109-102 loss to the Chicago Bulls. So, according to his regular schedule, Embiid wouldn’t play again until at least Tuesday.
Sixers center Joel Embiid will miss Sunday’s game against Oklahoma City due to a sprained ankle.
Embiid is averaging 21.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game. He finished with 31 points and five rebounds in the road loss to the Bulls.
He’s already missed 16 of the Sixers’ 29 games this season.
Embiid isn’t the only Sixer who will miss the game. Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee LCL sprain) and Trendon Watford (left adductor strain) will remain sidelined. Meanwhile, Paul George (left knee injury management) is probable.
The defending NBA champion Thunder have the league’s best record of 26-5. They’re also 14-1 at home.
CHICAGO — Joel Embiid scored the ball with ease but didn’t do much else.
Tyrese Maxey shot poorly, then got hot before regressing down the stretch.
And Paul George continued to be an asset for the 76ers, even when he struggles to make shots. But his teammates didn’t continue to feed him the ball once he finally got hot.
Embiid had one of his best offensive performances of the season and finished with 31 points on 10-for-19 shooting to go with five rebounds, one assist, and a block. The 7-foot-2 center made two of his four three-pointers and all nine of his foul shots. He did all of that while noticeably limited by his ailing right knee.
Embiid gingerly ran up and down the court. The 2023 league MVP also grabbed his knee while grimacing in pain on the three occasions he fell to the floor. That has been the case on most nights that Embiid plays.
The seven-time All-Star struggled mightily on defense. He didn’t show much lateral movement and constantly appeared to be out of position. As a result, the Bulls’ post players feasted on him. Embiid didn’t have the quickness to come out and contest shots, nor was he able to prevent anyone from getting to the rim.
“I don’t know about that,” coach Nick Nurse said when a reporter pointed out Embiid’s defensive struggles. “I got to look at that first [on film]. I thought he had some really good possessions by him defensively. But let me look at the film first before I comment. I don’t think that.”
This appears to be the version of Embiid the Sixers (16-13) will have to live with.
But he stepped up offensively after the Bulls knotted the score at 96 with 5 minutes, 11 seconds remaining. Embiid drained a pair of foul shots to give the Sixers a two-point cushion 10 seconds later. Then on their next possession, he assisted on Maxey’s layup that made it a 100-96 game.
But after scoring a layup, Embiid was dunked on at the other end. On the Bulls’ next possession, Coby White shot a three-pointer over Embiid to give the Bulls a 104-102 advantage with 1:54 to go.
None of this was surprising as Chicago (15-15) was attacking him on screen-and-roll plays all night.
Cold to hot to cold
For a minute, it appeared that Maxey would have his second straight horrid shooting night.
He couldn’t find his rhythm while struggling through 3-for-14 shooting in Tuesday’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets. He continued where he left off in the first quarter of Friday’s game, scoring three points on 1-for-7 shooting.
A lot of his early issues were because of the Bulls’ defense.
The standout point guard drew two and three defenders and had a tough time getting to his preferred spots on the floor.
But Maxey made his first three shots while scoring nine points on 3-for-4 shooting in the second quarter. He did the same thing in the third, adding nine more points while making 3 of 4 shots. The 2024 All-Star’s persistence is why he’s an All-NBA candidate.
Then came the fourth quarter, when he had six points on 2-for-9 shooting as the Sixers faded. Maxey finished with 27 points, eight assists, and two blocks.
George’s contribution
George made solid contributions, even though it took the forward a while to find his shooting touch. He played solid defense, grabbed rebounds, and initiated the offense while recording 15 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. George shot 5-for-15 — including going 4-of-9 on three-pointers.
He was held to three points on 1-for-5 shooting while missing both of his three-point attempts before intermission. George got going in the third quarter, when he made three huge three-pointers and had nine points.
He made a three-pointer at the start of the fourth quarter to give the Sixers a seven-point cushion. The nine-time All-Star then missed two shot attempts before subbing out with 6:41 left.
However, he didn’t attempt a shot after reentering the game with 5:26 remaining.
Would Nurse like to see George more involved in the fourth quarter after his solid third period?
“Yeah, for sure,” he said. “I think that we certainly got him going in the third. Tried to stagger some different guys in there to do just that. He was giving on defense there. He was really playing hard and was doing a lot at both ends, obviously on the boards, everything, yeah.
“Yeah, I would have liked to see him get a few shots. But I don’t feel like there was any real horrendous possession. … I can think about some wide-open shots and some shots at the rim. We just didn’t finish them.”
CHICAGO — MarJon Beauchamp was back in Seattle, preparing to spend the holidays with his family, when the 76ers delivered him an early Christmas gift.
The Delaware Blue Coats swingman received a call stating that the Sixers would sign him to a two-way contract and that he’d spend the holidays on an NBA road trip. So Beauchamp packed his luggage and flew to the Windy City on Christmas Day to meet the team. The Sixers announced his signing Friday morning.
“This is just a blessing,” Beauchamp said before Friday morning’s shootaround at the United Center. “I’m just here to seize that opportunity. I feel like I can help. I’m ready, and I belong.
“So it’s just coming in with confidence and trying to learn the system and help the team.”
The Sixers face the Chicago Bulls at 7:30 p.m. before traveling to Oklahoma City for Sunday’s game against the Thunder at the Paycom Center. Then they’ll face the Memphis Grizzlies (Tuesday) and Dallas Mavericks (Thursday) before concluding the trip on Jan. 3 at the New York Knicks.
Beauchamp spent a week with the Sixers in October after signing an Exhibit 10 contract on Oct. 14 but did not appear in an NBA game. After being waived, the 25-year-old joined the Sixers’ G League affiliate. But there was always a possibility that he would garner a two-way deal once one became available.
Beauchamp, who is 6-foot-7 and 200 pounds, has three years of NBA experience after being selected 24th overall in the 2022 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks traded him to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Kevin Porter Jr. on Feb. 6. However, the Clippers released Beauchamp on March 1. Three days later, he signed a two-way contract with the New York Knicks for the remainder of last season.
Beauchamp has averaged 4.1 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 10.9 minutes in 135 games, including 12 starts, over three seasons.
Having his NBA dream cut short could have been devastating. But Beauchamp said he remained focused by staying in the gym.
“I kept working on my game and waiting for my opportunity,” he said. “I feel like every time I had an opportunity, I seized the moment.
“Obviously, I had ups and downs mentally, just trying to stay confident during those times. But I just trust in the Lord and his time and just control what I can control. I feel like I did that.”
The mindset has led to impressive showings for the Blue Coats.
He appeared in seven games, averaging 20.7 points on 50% shooting — including 45.2% from three-point range. Beauchamp also averaged 4.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.1 steals. He scored 30 points on 55.6% shooting from three and added seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals against the Santa Cruz Warriors on Dec. 19.
And he could get the opportunity to provide depth for the Sixers (16-12), who need another athletic wing with Kelly Oubre Jr. sidelined by a left knee sprain.
“Guys are injured,” Beauchamp said of the Sixers. “I feel like I can help the team with my length, my defensive abilities, and my shooting abilities.
“I shot well in the G League this year. I feel like I can bring a lot to the team, and just my young energy, and bring good energy around the team. So I just feel like it’s a great opportunity.”
Bombarded with injuries and illness, the Sixers have yet to play with a full roster. But they’re 16-12 and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers are 1½ games behind the third-place Boston Celtics, whom they defeated twice this season. And their signature win was Dec. 19’s 116-107 road victory over the second-place — and NBA Cup champion — New York Knicks.
But with offseason uncertainty surrounding Embiid and George following left knee surgeries, the safe preseason projection for the Sixers was the NBA Play-In Tournament.
The uncertainty surrounding Sixers center Joel Embiid at the beginning of the season has worn off as the longtime center settles in following offseason knee surgery.
We may get a better idea of how good they are during the upcoming post-Christmas, five-game road trip. The Sixers open the road trip on Friday against the Chicago Bulls, who are riding the conference’s longest winning streak at four games despite having a 14-15 record.
Then, on Sunday, they face the defending NBA champions and the best team this season, the Oklahoma City Thunder. After facing the Thunder (26-5), the Sixers will play the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday and the Dallas Mavericks on New Year’s Day. They’ll conclude the five-game trip with a rematch against the Knicks (21-9) on Jan. 3.
Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey had 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists in a 113-111 victory over the Sixers on Nov. 4.
Like the Bulls, the Grizzlies (14-16) and Mavericks have shown recent improvement. Dallas (12-20) is 7-5 after opening the season 5-15. The Mavs also won their last five home games.
“It will be a good test to play some really good teams,” George said of the road trip. “It will for sure be a test for us. But we’ve been playing great basketball, despite this loss [Tuesday night to the struggling Nets],”
Before that loss, the Sixers had won six of eight games, with their two losses coming to the Los Angeles Lakers (Dec. 7) and Atlanta Hawks (Dec. 14).
“So we’re playing pretty good basketball,” George said. “[Tuesday] was one of those nights we were a little bit flat. And we’ll pick up the pieces and keep it moving.”
But George doesn’t see this as a defining road trip because the Sixers still don’t have their full complement of players.
Embiid is not expected to play in every game of this road trip because of management of injuries to both knees and soreness. Kelly Oubre Jr. (LCL sprain in his left knee) and Trendon Watford (adductor strain in his left thigh) remain sidelined. And VJ Edgecombe, Dominick Barlow, and Quentin Grimes were sidelined against the Nets (9-19) with illnesses.
Embiid, Edgecombe, Barlow, and Grimes are listed as questionable for Friday’s game
“As far as defining us, it’s still early,” George said. “We’re playing good basketball. Our record doesn’t indicate how well and challenging it’s been. We haven’t had a full roster at any point this season. Whether I’ve been down to start the season, myself and [Watford]. I come back, Kelly goes down. You know, Joel has been injured. Tyrese has been sick.
“So we really haven’t had a full roster. So it’s hard to tell what we are, who we can be.”
Sixers standout rookie VJ Edgecombe missed Tuesday’s game with an illness.
But the Sixers are eager to avenge their 113-111 loss to the Bulls on Nov. 4 at the United Center, when they blew a 24-point lead.
The Sixers relied heavily on Maxey and Embiid, either in the two-man game or in one-on-one situations, that night. The problem was that neither player could get anything going down the stretch, as the Sixers missed their final 11 shots from the floor.
Maxey finished with a game-high 39 points. However, he had eight points on 2-for-8 shooting in the fourth quarter. Embiid was worse. He was held scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting in the frame. That came after he scored two points on 1-for-5 shooting in the third period, and he finished with 20 points on 7-for-21 shooting.
The Bulls went ahead 113-111 on Nikola Vučević’s game-winning three-pointer with 3.2 seconds left. It was their only lead of the game.
The Sixers must maximize everyone’s talent and move the ball if they expect to be competitive. They must also find a way to contain Josh Giddey, who had 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists in that meeting. The guard is averaging 16.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 7.8 assists in the last five games against the Sixers, along with that triple-double.
Chicago Bulls and former Sixers center Nikola Vučević has consistently been a strong contributor against his former team.
Meanwhile, Vučević has tallied five double-doubles and one triple-double across his last 10 games against his former team. In addition to containing the duo, the Sixers will look to snap a three-game series losing streak.
They also believe this 10-day road trip will benefit team growth.
The trip will “get us out of our home market and be with each other on the plane, on the team bus, at the hotel, like, actually get a chance to do a few things together, too,” Andre Drummond said. “We have a couple of days in between games, too. So I know we’ll set up some team activities and really continue that bonding experience that we’re feeling right now.”
And we may get a better idea of how competitive the Sixers are, even while being undermanned.
The 76ers waived rookie Hunter Sallis, who was on a two-way contract, following Tuesday’s 114-106 loss to the Brooklyn Nets at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The team made the move to sign MarJon Beauchamp to a two-way deal. Beauchamp was a member of the Delaware Blue Coasts, the Sixers’ NBA G League affiliate. The 6-foot-6 swingman has three years of NBA experience after being selected 24th in the 2022 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Beauchamp could get an opportunity to provide depth for the Sixers (16-12), who need another athletic wing with Kelly Oubre Jr. sidelined by a left knee sprain.
Sallis, a 6-4 combo guard, logged the final minute of Tuesday’s contest. In seven games with the Sixers, the Nebraska native scored seven points on 3-for-5 shooting to go with four assists, one rebound, and five turnovers in 25 minutes. He averaged 12.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists through eight games with the Blue Coats.
Beauchamp averaged 26.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists with Delaware in two regular-season games. He averaged 18.4 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in five games during the Tip-Off Tournament.
MarJon Beauchamp began his career with the Milwaukee Bucks and has had stops with the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks as well.
The Bucks traded the 25-year-old to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Kevin Porter Jr. on Feb. 6. However, the Clippers released Beauchamp on March 1. Three days later, he signed a two-way contract with the New York Knicks for the remainder of last season.
Those things stood out in Tuesday’s 114-106 setback to the Brooklyn Nets at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Winless with star trio
The Sixers (16-12) know much of their success ultimately will depend on how they play when Embiid, George, and Maxey are available.
Well, let’s say they have a lot of work to do.
Tuesday’s loss dropped the Sixers to 0-3 this season in games in which all three play. They suffered a 142-134 double-overtime home loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 30. And the Sixers lost, 112-108, at home to the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 7.
The team was missing several rotation players because of illness and injury. The Nets (9-19) also have won two straight and six of nine games. However, with their best three players, the Sixers were expected to beat Brooklyn.
Sixers forward Paul George scores two of his 19 points on Tuesday night.
So what’s the next step to a victory?
“We all just got to figure out how to find rhythm, playing off one another,” George said.
But early Tuesday, the Sixers lacked ball movement. It was a game in which Embiid and George tried to get themselves going. Meanwhile, Maxey was a bystander, despite entering the game as the league’s third-leading scorer at 31.7 points.
He was scoreless on 0-for-1 shooting in the first quarter and finished with 13 points. He missed 11 of 14 shots — including all five of his three-pointers. Maxey also finished with three rebounds, two assists, four steals, and four turnovers.
Afterward, Maxey said he didn’t get into rhythm.
But was only getting one shot attempt in the first quarter a result of that? Or was that a matter of trying to get others involved?
“I feel like I was trying to make the right play,” he said. “But I got to stay aggressive.”
Embiid had 27 points on 8-for-13 shooting along with six rebounds, four assists, three turnovers, and two blocks. George had 19 points on 5-for-14 shooting to go with four rebounds, two assists, four steals, three turnovers, and two blocks.
As a team, the Sixers shot 40.7% — including making just 7 of 27 three-pointers. They also committed 17 turnovers.
“Just being stagnant,” George said of what led to the Sixers’ struggles. “We got stagnant, loss of rhythm, team-wise. And we just played slow. I think our pace was a little slow, which, give them credit. They were making shots, which made it tough to get out, and play, and run fast.”
Embiid scare
Embiid went back to the locker room after falling to the court 25 seconds into the second half after being fouled by Terance Mann. It initially appeared that Embiid turned his ankle. However, he reached down and grabbed his right knee.
The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder returned with 6 minutes, 49 seconds remaining in the quarter. Embiid has already missed 16 games this season because of injuries to both knees. The Sixers had to be elated that this wasn’t serious.
Embiid returned to the bench midway through the quarter with both of his knees wrapped.
“Just hyperextended it,” Embiid said. “Went to the locker room, checked it out, and we’ll see how I feel.”
Before the injury, he was off to a solid start, with 19 first-half points on 7-for-10 shooting.
Embiid had missed the previous two games because of an illness and right knee injury management.
“It’s all right,” he said of his hyperextension. “We’ll see how it feels. Obviously, when you’re hurt, it’s kinda hard to judge, so we’ll see how it feels tomorrow.”
Sixers center Joel Embiid (left) attempts a layup against the Nets. He scored 27 points.
Gordon is still a sharpshooter
Gordon, who turns 37 on Christmas Day, has had a solid NBA career. But now in his 18th season, the shooting guard rarely plays because the Sixers have younger, more athletic guards in Maxey (25), VJ Edgecombe (20), Quentin Grimes (25), and Jared McCain (21).
While he’s not as mobile as before, Father Time has not impacted Gordon’s shooting. He shot 61.5% from the field and 62.5% on three-pointers in his first five appearances of the season.
He made his sixth appearance on Tuesday with Edgecombe and Grimes sidelined by an illness.
And Gordon again had a solid shooting night.
He finished with a season-high 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting. He made his first three shots.
The Indianapolis native entered the game with 3:56 left in the first quarter. He made a layup at the 3:00 mark. Then he drained a three-pointer to tie the score at 27 with 16 seconds left in the frame. He hit his third shot attempt, a three-pointer that gave the Sixers a five-point cushion, 1:28 into the second quarter.
He added a three-pointer in the final second of the third quarter.
“I’m going to be ready for whatever opportunity comes,” Gordon said. “I played in this league for a long time. I can still move. I can still shoot. I can still create my own shot. I don’t know, maybe we will see when the times get harder, play against tougher teams, or whatnot.
“But I know we got a lot of young guys that we need to continue to play and whatnot. I’ll just be ready when it’s my time because I know I can fit in and gel with these guys and keep the floor open for these guys. As you can see, whether I play, miss 10 games and don’t play, come in, you know, I’m still going to be ready to go.”
A need to get healthy
Before the game, the Sixers were excited to have Embiid, Maxey, and George together on the floor.
But they didn’t like the fact that several of their key rotation players were sidelined.
Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee LCL sprain) and Trendon Watford (left adductor strain) have been out for several weeks. Dominick Barlow also missed Tuesday’s game because of illness.
With Edgecombe and Barlow sidelined, the Sixers started McCain and Jabari Walker alongside Embiid, George, and Maxey.
Grimes and Barlow initially were listed as questionable on Monday evening’s initial injury report. The team announced Tuesday morning that Edgecombe also was questionable. Moments later, they canceled the morning shootaround.
But the team has been dealing with illness for a couple of weeks.
Paul George (left) and Tyrese Maxey celebrate after George made a shot against the Nets on Tuesday night.
Maxey missed the Sixers’ games against the Indiana Pacers (Dec. 12) and Hawks (Dec. 14) with an illness. Embiid sat out both games of Friday and Saturday’s back-to-back against the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks with an illness and right knee injury management.
“It has kind of gone for a bit,” coach Nick Nurse said. “It probably started with Tyrese, but that would seem to be an isolated case, and now it’s kind of making its way a little bit, obviously. The guys that weren’t feeling great yesterday didn’t report to practice. This morning, when we didn’t see much improvement and added another to the list, we postponed shootaround, as you guys well know. You probably would have been here this morning. Just keeping the guys away until we can bring them to the game.”
Michael Porter Jr. (center) is defended by Paul George during Tuesday night’s game.
The Sixers can only hope Edgecombe, Grimes, and Barlow are back when they embark on their five-game road trip against the Chicago Bulls (Friday), Oklahoma City Thunder (Sunday), Memphis Grizzlies (Dec. 30), Dallas Mavericks (Jan. 1), and New York Knicks (Jan. 3).
With the trio out, Justin Edwards was the sixth man. Gordon was the seventh man, and Kyle Lowry was the ninth. This was the fifth game for the 39-year-old Lowry, who’s in his 20th NBA season.
“You know what we missed? We missed three athletes,” Nurse said. “Other than Tyrese, that’s our speed, right there. We got Q, explosive. Barlow, athlete. VJ, athlete that we [depend on]. We missed all three of them. And it kind of made it hard for Tyrese to not … have other guy [Edgecombe] out there to crack into the paint a little bit and do some of the things that VJ does for sure.”
This was a bad loss to a team over which the Sixers had averaged 18-point victories in their first two meetings.
“They were definitely missed,” George said. “Their energy, their extra plays. Those guys have a great feel for the game and just understanding where to be the defensive mindset. So they were for sure missed.
“But, you know, this is a very winnable game with [the Nets also being] down [players.] So you can’t make excuses that they weren’t there.”
NEW YORK — Exactly six months before Christmas Day, the 76ers received an early holiday gift in VJ Edgecombe.
On June 25, they selected the combo guard from Baylor over the polarizing, perceived-to-be-more-NBA-ready Ace Bailey with the third pick of the NBA draft.
“He’s a dynamic athlete, potential All-Star, two-way player,” Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said of Edgecombe the night of the draft. “Really helped his team. He’s got all these winning qualities that we think fit. Great teammate. His story and what he has done to get to this point is really unbelievable.
“We think he’s on a great trajectory to take where he’s come from and continue to improve … all the way through a very long and very promising NBA career. And we’re excited it’s here with the 76ers.”
The 6-foot-5 , 195-pounder made Morey look like a genius by scoring 34 points on 13-for-26 shooting to go with six rebounds in the Sixers’ 117-116 season-opening victory over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. It was the third-highest scoring debut in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 43 points on Oct. 24, 1959, and Frank Selvy’s 35 on Nov. 30, 1954.
And nothing has changed since then to make the Sixers rethink the selection.
Edgecombe outperformed No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg while finishing with 26 points, six rebounds, and four assists in Saturday’s 121-114 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
It was his fourth straight game with at least 22 points, tying Charlotte Hornets forward Kon Knueppel for the longest 22-plus-point streak by a rookie this season.
Edgecombe is averaging 16 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.3 steals in 24 games. He is also shooting 38.3% from three-point range.
Meanwhile, Bailey averaged 10.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists through 26 games with the Jazz. His highest-scoring games were 21 points twice, whereas Edgecombe has scored at least 21 points seven times while playing alongside Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Paul George.
Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe scored 23 points and made clutch plays in a win over the Knicks.
And even though he shone in Saturday’s game against the struggling Mavs (11-18), folks were still marveling over Friday’s performance against the NBA Cup champion New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Following his stellar performance in the 116-107 victory over the Knicks, several Sixers were asked if his play has surprised them this season.
“Sadly, no,” Maxey said. “I want to say yes, but, sadly, no. Like, this is who he is, you know what I mean? We realized that Game 1. Yeah, you can do what you want to do in the preseason, and all that and practice in training camp, but when the lights come on, you just never know, and the lights came on, and he came on with it.”
Against the Eastern Conference second-place Knicks (19-8), Edgecombe finished with 23 points, 18 of which came after halftime. He also finished with four assists, two steals, and one block while being a plus-13 and logging a game-high 38 minutes, 4 seconds.
His most notable achievement was his stellar defensive performance against Knicks guard Jalen Brunson. The two-time All-Star point guard finished with 22 points on 7-for-22 shooting and missed 6 of 7 three-pointers. With Edgecombe guarding him, Brunson was held to six points on 1-for-10 shooting in the second half.
He kept hounding Brunson with his ability to get over screens.
“To be honest, it’s kind of like a skill and wanting to do it,” Edgecombe said of battling through screens. “You know, everyone, when you see a teammate come in, you say, ‘Oh, switch.’ But that’s like wanting to [stay on your man]. You got to put in the effort, and knowing who I’m guarding also, an elite player, someone that thrives off coming off ball screens … so I’m just trying to make it difficult.”
Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe held Knicks All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson to six points on 1-for-10 shooting in the second half on Friday.
Andre Drummond has been most impressed by the Bahamian’s poise.
“Despite whatever comes in the game, he still plays the game,” Drummond said. “He doesn’t get too sped up, and the way that he defended Brunson [Friday night] was textbook.”
But isn’t it rare for a 20-year-old rookie to have that kind of poise?
“I think I told you guys at the beginning of the season that he doesn’t count,” Drummond said. “He’s been a professional for God knows how long with the Bahamian national team. So he knows what it takes to play against tough competition. He’s been doing it since he was very young.
“So no surprise there. We are just going to expect more from him. That’s all.”
But coach Nick Nurse admitted that Edgecombe surprised him against the Knicks. The coach mentioned his tough buckets down the lane when the Sixers needed them and raved about Edgecombe’s huge two offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter to keep possessions alive when they desperately needed to match the Knicks’ scoring.
“So that was, I don’t know, surprising,” Nurse said. “He’s really good. He’s getting better, too.”
Edgecombe averaged 19.6 points on 48.6% shooting — including making 14 of 28 three-pointers — in the five games entering Saturday.
But his role has shifted game to game, with his responsibilities affected by Embiid and George missing time because of injuries and Maxey being sidelined for the two games before Friday with the flu.
“To be honest, when one of them is out or not, the three of them tell me all the time, ‘Stay aggressive,’” Edgecombe said. “So regardless of the game, they are going to tell me to stay aggressive all the time. In Atlanta [on Sunday], Joel was telling me, ‘Stay aggressive.’ ’Rese tells me, ‘Stay aggressive every night.’ P always tells me, ‘Be aggressive; be aggressive.’
“So I say my role is just to be myself, and the adjustment to the pro game has been going well, to be honest with you. It’s the pros, the best players in the world. Just to be in the league, I know I have a lot of work to do because one day I want to be the best player.”
Sixers guard Vj Edgecombe (77) scored 17 of his 26 points in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.
With Maxey out against the Hawks, Edgecombe scored 17 of his 26 points in the third quarter to keep the Sixers in the game. He did that while making 5 of 7 shots, including all three of his three-pointers. He was 4-for-4 from the foul line while playing the entire quarter.
Edgecombe has been solid for most of the season. It’s just been a matter of keeping him involved. He gave the crowd in Atlanta a glimpse of what he can do when the offense runs through him. Then he showed folks at MSG why he’s an early Christmas gift for the Sixers.
“Do I surprise myself? No, I don’t, to be honest,” he said. “I don’t want to sound cocky or nothing, but I don’t surprise myself at all. I know what I’m capable of doing.”
As much as the 76ers may want things to change, they’ve remained the same. Yet it has yielded positive results.
Meanwhile, VJ Edgecombe and Dallas Mavericks guard Cooper Flagg are far from ordinary rookies. But on Saturday, Edgecombe shone brighter.
And Joel Embiid is, once again, wading into the dangerous territory of being disqualified for regular-season awards.
Those things stood out in the Sixers’ 121-114 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
According to the script
Coming off Friday’s 116-107 statement victory over the New York Knicks, the Sixers (16-11) were expected to have a comfortable win over the Mavs. But they once again struggled in the third quarter and needed to mount a fourth-quarter comeback.
The Mavs shot 78.9% (15-for-19) in the third quarter to outscore the Sixers, 35-23, and take a 97-91 advantage into the fourth. In addition to not getting stops, the Sixers hit just 8 of 23 shots.
But the Sixers opened the fourth quarter with a 24-7 run to take a 115-104 lead on Tyrese Maxey’s three-pointer with 6 minutes, 35 seconds remaining in the game.
Maxey scored 16 of his game-high 38 points in the fourth quarter on 6-for-10 shooting. The Sixers went with a lineup of Jared McCain, Jabari Walker, Adem Bona, Edgecombe, and Maxey for the final 13:11. That grouping shot 50% from the field in the fourth quarter while holding the Mavs to 30.4%.
Coach Nick Nurse stuck with that lineup because he felt his trio of guards in McCain, Maxey, and Edgecombe were all impacting the game.
“As far as the two bigs, I felt Jabari was playing Flagg super physical,” the coach said. “And the other thing, we started doing some switching between the four and five. Jabari also would get switched onto [Anthony] Davis and was playing him physically to get him off the block and battle him.
“I don’t know how many rebounds Jabari got. But it sure seems like he snatched a bunch of them down there, that was also critical.”
Adem Bona played all of the fourth quarter when the Sixers rallied for the victory.
Walker, a power forward, grabbed six of his eight rebounds in the fourth quarter. He also scored his only two points and recorded his steal in the quarter. On a two-way contract, Walker also helped hold Flagg to four points on 2-for-6 shooting in the final quarter.
“We got a great scout report,” Walker said. “ … I think [Dominick] Barlow started off on him. Big credit to him. He had a great night tonight also. I want to show him some love with that. I think either one of us could have finished the game. We both understand that about each other. So, some games it is going to be [like that]. So I just tried to feed off the energy he had tonight.”
He also studied how Barlow forced Flagg into certain spots defensively, and implemented that in the fourth quarter.
Barlow, the starting power forward who is also on a two-way contract, tied a career high with 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting.
The Sixers have won seven games this season while trailing at the start of the fourth quarter, which is tied for first in the NBA.
Not your ordinary rookies
Sixers fans know Edgecombe is special. And they were aware of all the hype surrounding Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick, coming into the game.
The 19,056 in attendance found out Saturday that the hype surrounding Flagg is legit. At 6-foot-9, Flagg, who turns 19 on Sunday, is a mix of explosiveness, power, and a solid basketball IQ.
Before Walker kept him in check late, Flagg had his way with Barlow through three quarters, scoring 20 of his 24 points on 6-for-10 shooting. He also went 8-for-8 from the foul line and recorded all three of his assists during that time.
But even before the fourth quarter, Flagg took a backseat to Edgecombe.
The 6-5 , 195-pound shooting guard got things going early for the Sixers, scoring 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the first quarter.
“He’s making all kinds of plays,” Nurse said. “I think that’s the big thing. Where do you want to start? Big rebounds? Knocking the ball away? But probably the offensive rebounds [three], the biggest ones are you get a tough stop. It’s a fairly close game. We get the ball out, he takes it coast to coast and moves through for an easy bucket when scoring is pretty hard in the fourth, right? Those are like super momentum plays.”
Cooper Flagg of the Mavericks lays the ball in as the 76ers’ Andre Drummond looks on.
He and Flagg don’t play like rookies, which has been indicative of how several of the league’s top rookies have performed this season.
“It’s amazing,” Nurse said. “You are right on with your point. The rookies that have impacted in a big way is really something. Especially considering those two guys are really young. I guess they’re really good. I think most rookies, you will see flashes. You will see one great game, then six go by. These guys are starting to do it like night in, night out. And to me, that’s like what the NBA is.”
No awards for Embiid
Saturday marked the 16th game that Embiid has missed this season because of left knee injury management, right knee injury management, right knee swelling, and an illness.
He sat out Friday and Saturday because of right knee injury management and an illness.
Nurse was asked whether Embiid had a setback with his health.
“Nah, he went into last night with both of those things,” the coach said of the knee and illness. “He just didn’t have a great week with the illness and a little bit of soreness in the right knee. And fortunately, we can get through the week and … get another couple of days, and hopefully get him going.”
The NBA, in cooperation with the National Basketball Players Association, instituted a 65-game rule two seasons ago for players to qualify for awards, hoping it would deter players and teams from relying on load management.
Sixers center Joel Embiid missed his 16th game of the season on Saturday.
Embiid was disqualified in each of the last two seasons. He played in 39 games in 2023-24 and 19 in 2024-25. The most games Embiid can play this season is 66 if he doesn’t miss another game, starting with Tuesday’s home game against the Brooklyn Nets. But his availability for many of those games is doubtful since Embiid is not expected to play back-to-back nights.
Nurse’s first season was in 2023-24. Embiid was playing better than his MVP season before having the first of two left knee surgeries in 14 months.
“He had a serious injury and hasn’t quite been able to get back,” Nurse said. “You asked me if I’m empathetic, absolutely. You know, I thought we were going [upward] for a bit. I think we’ve got to try to keep going that way.”
Those things stood out in Friday’s 116-107 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Statement victory
The Sixers (15-11) have played hard in most of their games, with several of those contests having exciting finishes. But the fact remained that they were 4-10 against teams with winning records.
So this matchup against the Eastern Conference’s second-place Knicks (19-8) was a chance for the Sixers to make a statement.
Before Friday, their only victories against teams with winning records came against the Boston Celtics (on Oct. 22 and Nov. 11), the Orlando Magic (Oct. 27), and the Toronto Raptors (Nov. 8). And this victory snapped their five-game losing streak against winning teams.
The Sixers tried to downplay this victory, saying it wasn’t a statement win.
“No, I think it’s just another one, to be honest,” Tyrese Maxey said. “Obviously, it’s a really good team, but it’s just another win. We have a long way to go. We have to keep getting better and get onto the next game, which is tomorrow.”
But beating the Knicks has to be a confidence boost, considering their recent results against winning teams, right?
“It’s definitely good to get the win, especially a team in the East,” Maxey said. “We got a game tomorrow. You know, it’s the NBA, so we got to try to win against them tomorrow.”
The Sixers will entertain the Dallas Mavericks at 7 p.m. Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Against the Knicks, the Sixers played hard and kept things competitive throughout, as expected. But down the stretch, they made the clutch plays that winning teams have usually completed against them.
“Yeah, this is something we talked about, you know, finishing games and not allowing it to slip down the stretch of the game, coming out slow in those third quarters,” Andre Drummond said. “So, I think for us, we’re starting to turn it around a little bit, little by little. So, we’ll take the small victories and progress that we’re making and continue to build on it.”
They took an 88-87 lead into the fourth quarter after Adem Bona split a pair of foul shots. Then Maxey’s three-pointer gave them a 97-92 advantage with 8 minutes, 4 seconds remaining. Then, Edgecombe’s three-pointer with 2:44 left made it a 108-102 game. And Maxey hit another three-pointer with 47.9 seconds left to extend the Sixers’ lead to nine points.
The standout point guard showed why he’s worthy of being voted an Eastern Conference All-Star starter by outplaying the Knicks’ All-Star point guard, Jalen Brunson.
The Sixers picked up a rare victory over a winning team in Friday’s defeat of the New York Knicks.
Maxey finished with a game-high 30 points while making 6 of 12 three-pointers to go with nine assists. Brunson finished with 22 points on 7-for-22 shooting – including missing 6 of 7 three-pointers – along with six rebounds and nine assists.
With Edgecombe guarding him, Brunson was held to six points on 1-for-10 shooting in the second half.
“He’s a tough player,” Edgecombe said. “Everyone knows he’s super good. I just try to make it difficult. You’re not going to hold him scoreless, but just try to make it difficult. I was just trying my hardest to make sure he didn’t get off any clean looks or anything like that.”
In addition to shutting down Brunson, Edgecombe had 23 points, four assists, two steals, and a block.
Drummond showed his shooting range while starting at center in place of Joel Embiid, who had the night off. Drummond made a career-high three three-pointers while finishing with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. It was his 10th double-double of the season.
Third quarter Edgecombe
This was the second consecutive game where Edgecombe dominated in the third quarter. The shooting guard scored 11 of Friday’s points on 5-for-6 shooting, including hitting a three-pointer, in the quarter.
This comes after Edgecombe scored 17 of his 26 points in the third quarter of Sunday’s 120-117 loss. On that night, he made 5 of 7 shots, including all three of his three-pointers, in the quarter. Like on Sunday, Edgecombe played the entire third quarter.
His ability to take over enabled the Sixers to snap out of their third-quarter blues.
“I have to be more aggressive in that quarter,” Edgecombe said. “It’s not just that whole quarter, it’s the whole game. I know myself. I tend to be slow in the third quarter. We are trying to get over that hump where we start to slow in the third. If that takes me scoring, I’ll do that.”
He added seven points on 3-for-4 shooting in the fourth quarter. But the third quarter got him going and kept the Sixers in the game.
“We talk about the third quarters a lot,” McCain said. “It’s something that we’re trying to obviously get better at, and when he’s aggressive like that, especially in the third, that’s what we need. So, he was perfect, and he’s been doing great with the thirds.”
Karl-Anthony Towns, left, was one of the few bright spots for the Knicks on Friday.
Mr. Healthy
McCain can just focus on hoops.
Friday marked his second game playing without a brace on his right thumb since returning from September’s surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament.
“Thank God for that,” McCain said. “So now, I guess that’s pretty much the last thing, now. Just being able to get back in rhythm without a brace and without the tape around it. So last game was the first time we just tried it, and now it’s just getting used to it.”
The second-year combo guard went scoreless on 0-for-5 in Sunday’s 120-117 road loss to the Atlanta Hawks. However, he tied season highs with five assists and two steals. On Friday, McCain finished with 12 points, three rebounds, and one assist. He hit several big shots and closed out the game for the Sixers.
McCain was also still working his way back from last season’s left-knee injury.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder missed the final 4½ months of last season with a torn meniscus. McCain suffered the injury on Dec. 13 during a home loss to the Indiana Pacers. He said Friday morning that he’s confident in the knee.
“I think I’m back,” he said. “I mean, I think I’m fully to where I need to be. I think most of it now is just being able to know when I’m coming in and being warm and being ready to come in, because the knee will get stiff if I don’t keep it warm.
“So, kind of just when I go back to warm up, I try and get ready, but sometimes it goes longer, and so I have to keep staying warm, keep doing jumping, or whatever I’m doing to get warm.”
NEW YORK — Joel Embiid has been ruled out for Friday night’s game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden with an illness and right-knee injury management.
The 76ers center was initially listed as questionable due to illness only. However, he’s been dealing with right knee issues since early November, which led to him missing nine consecutive games earlier in the season.
Embiid’s absence from the Knicks game should not come as a surprise, though. The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder doesn’t play on both nights of back-to-back games. After facing the Knicks (19-7), the Sixers (14-11) will play the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Embiid is averaging 20.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. He had a season-high 39 points and nine rebounds in a 115-105 home victory over the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 12. Two nights later, Embiid had 22 points and a season-high 14 rebounds in a 120-117 road loss to the Atlanta Ha
wks.
He’s already missed 14 of the Sixers’ 25 games this season.
Embiid isn’t the only Sixer who will miss the game. Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee LCL sprain) and Trendon Watford (left adductor strain) will remain sidelined.
