NEW YORK — Nick Nurse asked the assembled media to check their notes. But the 76ers coach could not recall the last time his team rolled out the same starting lineup for three consecutive games.
“That might be a record for us in the last 18 months,” he said. “… I really don’t remember that happening for a long time.”
This newfound continuity occurred within a tiny sample size of the 82-game regular-season grind. But the Sixers are beginning to see results, including a 130-119 victory over the New York Knicks on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
The win capped a holiday-season road trip that began 0-2 before reversing into three consecutive victories. It was the second time in 16 games that the Sixers topped the Knicks — a legitimate NBA Finals contender — on their home court. And it put the 19-14 Sixers five games over .500 for the first time this season, perhaps providing a glimpse of what this team can become in a fascinating Eastern Conference pecking order.
“The biggest difference is we just feel better as a unit,” said veteran forward Paul George, who finished Saturday with a balanced 15 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. “We trust in the process of this team. … It’s safe to say everybody in this locker room is starting to enjoy the game. We’re starting to enjoy being out on that floor, playing on both ends. And I think we’re just jelling.
“It’s translating. Everything that we’ve been trying to connect with is translating on the court.”
Injuries, scheduled rest days, and illness had limited the Sixers’ trio of max-contract players (George, Tyrese Maxey, and Joel Embiid) to 125 minutes over six games before Saturday, with a net rating of plus-7.2. That group combined with standout rookie VJ Edgecombe had gotten even less time together: 74 minutes over five games, with a net rating of minus-1.1.
Yet against the Knicks, Nurse estimated his team logged about 40 minutes of “making the absolute right decision on offense.”
Embiid recorded an efficient 26 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in his first game in this building since the 2024 first-round playoff series. He reiterated that New York City is his “favorite place in the entire world,” yet needled Knicks supporters for being “quiet, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re losing the whole game.”
A noteworthy sign of the former MVP’s physical progress, following multiple surgeries on his left knee and an issue with his right one: He dunked for the first time this season.
“I wish it had been one off the backboard,” said Embiid, another playful jab after he executed such a move inside the Garden during the 2024 playoffs. “That’s the next step.”
George, who battled numerous health issues in a disappointing first season as a Sixer, also spoke about feeling satisfaction while continuing to hit his own mental checkpoints that are morphing into production. He knocked down two key corner three-pointers in the second half, then collected a timely offensive rebound and dish to Quentin Grimes for an underneath finish to help quash New York’s final rally attempt.
Maxey, meanwhile, amassed 36 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. He shot 14-of-22 from the floor and 6-of-9 from three-point range, looking precisely like the dude who unleashed a masterful playoff performance here in 2024 and not the one who went 0-for-10 from beyond the arc while trying to play through an injured finger last season.
And then there’s Edgecombe, who had already been referenced to by Nurse as part of the Sixers’ “Big Four” before the rookie’s second consecutive dazzler inside basketball’s Mecca.
He finished with 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor, fearlessly launching open three-pointers and finding space to drive while Embiid and Maxey’s lethal two-man game attracted defensive attention. He wowed onlookers with an athletic sequence when he blocked Knicks wing Mikal Bridges in one corner, then beat everybody down the floor for a transition dunk. And he flashed his beyond-his-years basketball IQ by stealing a late inbounds pass, calling timeout while falling to the floor, and, after the break, faking a pass before getting to the rim for another slam.
“He plays like a 10-year vet with his composure,” Nurse said. “Just kind of keeps making plays and does a little bit of everything.”
Added Edgecombe: “At the end of the day, I’m just hooping, man. … I’m just happy to see Joel and Tyrese and PG on the floor. I’m super happy, man. It’s like a little kid in me, playing alongside the superstars that I was watching.”
The Sixers had already handled injury absences significantly better than last season, when championship aspirations instantly crashed into a 24-58 disaster. Maxey vowed at media day that they would play with the same intensity and style no matter who was on the floor for that particular game. They leaned into their guard-heavy roster by pushing the pace.
But although the Sixers have been “making it work” with such lineup inconsistency, Maxey said, “it’s difficult with guys in, guys out” while Embiid and George slowly reacclimated.
After the Sixers surrendered a late lead in Chicago to open this trip, then got blasted by the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder, Maxey said there was no massive off-court reset. They hung out in the team’s Memphis hotel, the “same stuff we always do.” They finally won a game when Maxey, Embiid, and George all played, topping the Grizzlies on Edgecombe’s overtime winner. Two days later, they won again in Dallas.
Before Saturday’s matchup, Nurse touched on how he could continue experimenting with personnel combinations and the actions that originate from them. George now feels the growing rhythm in defensive positioning, offensive spacing, and in how teammates communicate within the game. Nurse added there even is “a little bit more to explore” between Embiid and Maxey’s already-proven two-man connection, and in how teammates complement it.
“The first couple games, we didn’t know what to run,” Maxey added. “We didn’t know, ‘Hey, how we going to get this person the ball?’ [or] ‘How we going to do that?’ … That’s the biggest thing: knowing what to run, when to run it.”
Added Embiid: “Everybody understands that, at some point, it will be your time. But until then, just do your job. It’s not necessarily that everybody knows their role. We’re just playing basketball, and we like each other. No one cares about taking a step back for the other.”
And the Sixers still do not have their full rotation available. Nurse said Saturday that starting wing Kelly Oubre Jr., who arguably was playing the best basketball of his career before missing more than a month with a knee injury, and versatile forward Trendon Watford, who has missed 16 games with a strained adductor muscle in his thigh, are ready for five-on-five action at the Sixers’ next practice.
Until then, the Sixers will next host the depleted Denver Nuggets and woeful Washington Wizards before another challenging road trip to Orlando and back-to-back games in Toronto. After that, the Sixers play nine of 10 games to finish January at home.
When asked about this finally-getting-healthier team’s ceiling, Nurse pumped the brakes. The Sixers are still digging out of last season’s disappointment as 2025-26 gets closer to its midpoint. But more roster continuity means more wrinkles in offensive sets. And more counters to opponents’ game plans. And more defensive schemes.
A fourth consecutive game with this group — already unofficially dubbed a Big Four — would be another long-awaited step toward all that.
“We see how good we can be when we’re jelling and everyone’s touching the rock,” said Edgecombe, echoing George. “Everyone’s playing hard. Everyone’s bought into their role and what they have to do.”
