NEW YORK — Tyrese Maxey scored 22 points, Jared McCain had 20 off the bench and the 76ers beat the Brooklyn Nets 115-103 on Friday night in an NBA Cup game.
Quentin Grimes added 19 points, and Paul George had 14 to help the short-handed Sixers snap a two-game losing streak.
The Sixers (10-8) played without starting center Joel Embiid (right knee management) and VJ Edgecombe (left calf tightness), and then lost backup center Andre Drummond (sprained right knee) midway through the second quarter.
Drummond attempted to block Tyrese Martin’s floater and then tried to grab the rebound with his left hand, but fell on the court and immediately reached for his knee.
Egor Demin scored a career-high 23 points, and Martin had 16 for Brooklyn. The Nets (3-15) have lost three consecutive games and fell to 0-9 at home this season. They are the only team without a home win this season, with their last one at Barclays Center on April 8 against New Orleans.
The Sixers led by as many as 21 points in the first half and saw their lead cut to nine after Brooklyn went on an 11-2 run, capped by Denim’s 3-pointer that made it 74-65 with 4 minutes, 7 seconds left in the third quarter.
Brooklyn Nets’ Drake Powell (center) is defended by Sixers center Adem Bona, left, and Jared McCain during Friday night’s game.
Denim cut it to nine again with a three-pointer with 4:35 to play. Demin’s layup made it 112-103 with 1:13 left in regulation before Grimes found an open Adem Bona, whose three-pointer extended the lead for good.
Both teams were 1-3 in NBA Cup play.
The Sixers will host the Atlanta Hawks at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Sunday (6 p.m., NBCSP).
Andre Drummond left the 76ers’ game at the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night with a right knee sprain. The veteran center dropped to the floor after contesting a second-quarter shot, then grabbed at his right leg before being helped off the floor. The 76ers announced that he will not return to the game.
Drummond had been enjoying a resurgent season for the Sixers, averaging 8.3 points and 10.7 rebounds in 16 games entering Friday and filling in as a starter while Joel Embiid has nursed issues with both knees throughout the early season. Drummond had totaled seven points and four rebounds in 10 minutes before leaving the game.
Fellow center Adem Bona on Friday returned from a five-game absence from a sprained ankle. Rookie Johni Broome also saw first-half action after Drummond departed the game. Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker are small-ball options at the center spot, if Drummond and/or Embiid remain sidelined beyond Friday.
Trendon Watford will miss at least two weeks after an MRI revealed that the 76ers forward suffered a strained adductor muscle in his left thigh Tuesday during a loss to the Orlando Magic, the team said Wednesday.
Watford is averaging 8.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists, including one triple-double, in 14 games this season. His versatility will be missed on a team that played Tuesday without starting forwards Kelly Oubre Jr. (knee) and Paul George (ankle) and starting guard VJ Edgecombe (calf). Watford missed the season’s first three games with a hamstring injury.
“We were just getting ready to get used to him,” coach Nick Nurse said of Watford after practice on Wednesday. “He was kind of going to be this Swiss Army knife kind of guy that probably plays anywhere from [point guard] to [power forward] for us and [we can] move him around.
“He had a good knack of getting us some timely buckets. Good knack of setting things up for other people. … He can guard multiple positions. That’s kind of a lot of stuff.”
Reserve big man Adem Bona, meanwhile, said after practice that he is optimistic he will return from a five-game absence because of a sprained ankle on Friday against the Nets in Brooklyn.
“That’s the goal,” Bona said.
George and Edgecombe participated in practice, the team said. Joel Embiid (knee) did not, but he did go through an individual strength and conditioning session. Embiid initially was “trending” toward playing Tuesday before being ruled out, Nurse said.
All nine questions posed to Nick Nurse during Tuesday’s pregame news conference pertained to the 76ers’ mounting injuries. Joel Embiid’s knee. VJ Edgecombe’s calf. Paul George’s ankle.
The five-minute session felt like a flashback to last season, when inquiries about statuses and ramp-ups and rotation ripple effects piled up as jarringly as the Sixers’ losses. So did the ensuing on-court product, a 144-103 shellacking by the Orlando Magic peppered with boos from the Xfinity Mobile Arena crowd.
The Sixers (9-8) so far have handled health absences significantly better than last season, though this version of the roster was at its most depleted Tuesday. Now the Sixers must prove that showing was a brutal blip that’s inevitable over the course of an 82-game regular season and not slippage into a “here we go again” injury conundrum.
“We weren’t who we are tonight,” Nurse said postgame. “I’m super proud of what they’ve done the rest of the other games. They fought like crazy. And tonight, we couldn’t catch and we couldn’t shoot and we couldn’t fight.”
Nurse said pregame that he would be “really surprised” if the Sixers’ rotation remains this decimated for Friday’s matchup at the Brooklyn Nets. Embiid, who practiced fully Monday and participated in “parts” of Tuesday’s shootaround, was “trending” toward playing against the Magic before being ruled out for an eighth consecutive game because of right knee injury management, Nurse said. George, who is nursing a sprained ankle, had been downgraded from probable to play Tuesday to out.
To better withstand any inconsistent availability from the oft-injured Embiid and George, the Sixers deliberately got younger and more athletic. Their guard-heavy, fast-paced approach already has been more competitive and entertaining in this season’s first month than during virtually any stretch of 2024-25, when the Sixers were 3-14 through 17 games.
But now injuries have struck starting wing Kelly Oubre Jr., who was playing perhaps the best basketball of his career before a knee sprain that is scheduled to be reevaluated next week. Edgecombe’s terrific rookie season has been interrupted by a calf issue that could benefit from a cautious treatment approach. Reserve big man Adem Bona, whose size is needed when Embiid is sidelined, was testing his sprained ankle during pregame on-court work Tuesday.
Those absences have meant that, during the last week, the Sixers needed a career-high 54 points from star point guard Tyrese Maxey to beat a Milwaukee Bucks team missing Giannis Antetokounmpo in overtime (though that still was an admirable Sixers effort on the second night of a home-road back-to-back). Sunday’s loss to the Miami Heat was competitive until the Heat closed out the fourth quarter.
Then, after the opening frame, Tuesday was disastrous for the Sixers on both ends of the floor.
The injuries forced Dominick Barlow to be the starting forward and backup center, even against the 6-foot-11 Goga Bitadze. Rarely used veteran guard Eric Gordon played legitimate rotation minutes, and rookie big man Johni Broome entered during garbage time while chants of “We want Kyle [Lowry]!” rang through the arena.
Maxey unsurprisingly was the last starter standing Tuesday, and even he began the day listed on the injury report with a shoulder sprain he suffered vs. Miami.
He also entered the night leading the NBA in minutes per game (40.4), then logged another 31 minutes, 58 seconds in a game the Sixers trailed by as many as 46 points. His workload prompted a pregame question about whether it is time to strategically scale back Maxey’s playing time, especially after all that he shouldered physically and mentally during last season’s slog.
“We’re always trying to get him a few minutes here and there a little bit more,” Nurse said, “And just see if it presents itself. He’s obviously vital to the team, especially right now.”
Edgecombe, meanwhile, entered Tuesday ranked third in minutes (37.4 per game), a much heavier load than any college player experiences. Oubre also was in the top 20 in that category, at 34.8 per game, a number slightly skewed by logging only 14:56 before leaving the Nov. 14 loss at the Detroit Pistons with his knee injury.
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has played heavy minutes to start the season.
Yet the injury bug is not only affecting the Sixers. The number of NBA stars — including the Magic’s Paolo Banchero — already missing notable time has again become a leaguewide topic in recent days. And Maxey publicly called for his deeper-bench teammates to seize their chance to make an impact.
“This is your time,” Maxey said during his postgame news conference. “When I was a rookie and guys either sat out or just got hurt, I knew I had to step up and bring something to the table to help our team win. And for the most part, every single time that happened, I pretty much did. …
“You wish for opportunity. Now, when the opportunity presents itself, you’ve got to go out there and put your mark on the game.”
That was a continuation of Maxey’s preseason vow to set a standard, and style of play, no matter who is on the floor. That sentiment has been echoed by Nurse, who said his primary goal was for spectators to conclude whenever they left the arena that the Sixers “played their [butts] off.”
Calling Tuesday’s effort a failure in that regard would be a massive understatement. One could blame the depleted roster, which got two recovery days before Friday’s game in Brooklyn.
That will be the Sixers’ opportunity to squash what briefly felt like a flashback to last season’s injury misery.
“I know, firsthand, that’s the worst feeling to know when people go down,” said second-year guard Jared McCain, who underwent knee and thumb surgeries within the last year. “So I hate seeing it. … Now, it’s just chalk this game up [and] understand that this isn’t us.
“We’re not going to go back to last year. [We are] trying to do our best to just get back to our personality, our character, and how we play as a team.”
They had no answers for the Magic on a night when the home crowd of 19,746 booed them loudly over the last three quarters. Fans even began heading for the exits at the conclusion of the third quarter. And with the Sixers down 42 in the fourth quarter, the remaining fans chanted, ‘We want Kyle,’ in reference to Sixers reserve point guard Kyle Lowry, who’s in his 20th season.
The Sixers (9-8, 0-3 East Group B) hobbled into their group play game against the Magic (11-8, 3-0).
Tyrese Maxey and Dominick Barlow, who started the first two games in place of George, were the Sixers’ only available starters from the opening day lineup.
Embiid (soreness in right knee), George (sprained right ankle), Kelly Oubre Jr. (sprained left knee), VJ Edgecombe (left calf strain), along with reserve center Adem Bona (sprained right ankle) missed the game.
The Sixers’ able bodies shrunk when Trendon Watford suffered a game-ending left adductor strain with 4 minutes, 7 seconds remaining before intermission.
The reserve power forward grabbed the inner part of his left leg while passing the ball before falling to the court. After being helped up, Watford was assisted to the locker room.
He had eight points, one rebound, and an assist in 11 minutes. He was 2-for-2 from the field and 4-for-4 from the foul line.
The Sixers got another scare when Justin Edwards appeared to hurt his foot after scoring a third-quarter basket. He went to the locker room during a timeout to be checked out and returned to the game.
Sixers rookie Johni Broome played in just his fourth game of the season on Tuesday night.
With all the injuries, seldom-used guard Eric Gordon was the ninth man off the bench, and rookie power forward Johni Broome entered the game in the third quarter.
“It’s out of our control, man,” Drummond said of the injuries. “It’s the next-man mentality. It’s Barlow, [Jabari] Walker, Broome, and [Hunter Sallis]. These guys got to step up and be ready to fill those shoes. You know we are not excited for our guys to go out. But for them, it’s a great opportunity to come in and showcase themselves.”
While this is an excellent opportunity, the Sixers need to get healthy if they expect to remain competitive as they embark on an upcoming rough stretch of games.
Is the attrition starting to catch up to the Sixers?
“It sure felt like it tonight,” coach Nick Nurse said. “But, again, I think two or three times a season, you are going to have games like this where it’s like everything goes wrong. All of a sudden, they get hot. They start throwing in threes. We start turning [over the ball]. We can’t catch the ball. We can’t get back. We can’t grab a rebound. Just everything was really out of whack. You never really explain it. …
“Just like I told the guys, we’ve got to be better. That’s certainly not who we are out there tonight. We’ve got to get rid of this one, get rest and treatment over the next couple of days, and get back to who we are.”
Sixers must stop the ball
The Sixers struggled to stop the Magic’s dribble penetration. Orlando routinely drove to the lane with ease. Perhaps realizing the Sixers couldn’t stop it, the Magic prioritized the dribble drive for long stretches.
This was similar to what the Hornets did to the Sixers during the second game of the season. Charlotte led, 80-56, in points in the paint and had an 20–6 advantage in second-chance points.
Thirty of the Magic’s points in the paint came in the second quarter, where they outscored the Sixers, 51-25, to take an 86-60 halftime lead.
“It was one of those days, 82 games,” Drummond said. “These types of games do happen. Not that we want it to happen, but [stuff] does happen. It is what it is. Everything they shot went in. And it also didn’t help that we gave them that momentum in the second quarter, going into halftime.
“So it’s something to learn from. We’ve got to get some rest. A lot of guys are out, banged up right now. I think these next two days are very crucial for us going into Brooklyn.”
While Drummond downplayed it, the Sixers will have to improve their defense if they expect to beat quality teams. In a copycat league like the NBA, teams will watch this game film and attack the rim until the Sixers can stop them.
Drummond still an elite rebounder
Drummond squaring up with Orlando center Wendell Carter Jr. was one of the most memorable things about this game.
The Sixers center got into a fighting stance after fouling and exchanging words with Carter. Things escalated after Orlando point guard Jalen Suggs shoved Drummond. That caused Walker to push Suggs.
Suggs received two technical fouls and was ejected. Meanwhile, Carter, Drummond, and Walker each received a technical.
“I had to stop the bleeding, man,” Drummond said of his exchange with Carter as the Sixers trailed 82-58 with 26.6 seconds left in the half. “They went on a crazy run. For me, if you can see me, I looked up at the score, and I was, like, ‘Man, this [expletive] is nasty. I got to do something.’ And I was just [expletive] with him, and he reacted. I was like, ‘OK, I got to capitalize on it!’
“I mean, I’m not one of those players who do anything dirty, so once I did what I had to do, I was clapping because I got the reaction I was looking for, I got somebody thrown out, hoping it would get us going a little bit. Still ended up losing by 30-plus, so it was one of those nights for us. Got to learn from it, watch film, and move on to the next one.”
But aside from that, Drummond continued to show that he’s still an elite rebounder.
The 32-year-old, in his 14th season, finished with three points and a game-high 12 rebounds in 22 minutes, 19 seconds. He is averaging 13.7 rebounds in his last eight games as a starter. That included a season-high 24 rebounds in Sunday’s 123-114 loss to the Miami Heat. And he had 18 boards in a Nov. 17 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Drummond said his goal is to lead the league in rebounding. That will be tough to do once Embiid returns and takes a chunk of Drummond’s minutes. He’s currently ranked ninth (10.7) in rebounding. His play has been one of the team’s bright spots.
“For me, I’m trying to get back to No. 1,” Drummond said. “I’m [at] 10 right now. I think the leader [San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama] is averaging [12.9]. I’m not too far off. The goal is to win, obviously. That’s first and foremost. [Rebounding] is what I’m known to do. So I got to keep putting a show on.”
Sixers guard Jared McCain and forward Trendon Watford walk off the court during a timeout during their loss Tuesday night to the Magic.
Same old story with George and Embiid
A season ago, Embiid had only played in four of the Sixers’ first 17 games while George played in eight. Tuesday’s contest marked this season’s 17th game. And at this point, George has played in only three games, while Embiid has been available for six.
George was sidelined with a sprained right ankle. Meanwhile, Embiid missed his eighth consecutive game because of knee injuries. The last seven were because of right knee injury management or soreness. He also missed the Sixers’ 111-108 home loss to the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 9 because he doesn’t play on back-to-back nights to rest his left knee.
George missed the first 12 games while recovering from left knee surgery. Then he sat out Wednesday’s 121-112 loss to the Toronto Raptors because he isn’t cleared to compete on both nights of a back-to-back.
The Sixers signed George to a four-year, $211.5 million contract on July 6, 2024, to form a Big Three with Embiid and Maxey. But for the second straight season, Maxey is carrying the bulk of the load while the duo is dealing with injuries. The hope is that things will change as the season goes along.
Tyrese Maxey carried the scoring load for the Sixers with 20 points.
But one could argue that, for the time being, they’ve been worse, with George playing in five fewer games and Embiid out since Nov. 8.
A year ago, Embiid missed the entire preseason and first six games of the season because of left knee management. After that, he served a three-game suspension for an off-court altercation.
Embiid made his season debut last year against the New York Knicks on Nov. 12, 2024. After playing in three of the next four games, he missed seven straight contests.
George was also hampered by injuries before the start of last season.
He was sidelined for three weeks after hyperextending his left knee during an Oct. 14, 2024, exhibition game against the Atlanta Hawks, leading to a bone bruise. George suffered the same injury during the Sixers’ loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Nov. 20, 2024, the team’s 14th game of the season. That cost him the next three games.
Give the Sixers credit for handling their absences better than a year ago, when the team was 3-14 through 17 games. But they are starting to fall apart, losing eight of 13 games after starting the season 4-0. And not seeing Embiid and George play is very reminiscent of last season.
Anthony Black scored 27 of his career-high 31 points in the first half, Franz Wagner added 21 points and the Orlando Magic routed the injury-depleted 76ers 144-103 in an NBA Cup game on Tuesday night.
Orlando’s Jalen Suggs was ejected with 27 seconds left in the first half after receiving two technicals during a heated altercation between the teams.
Tyrese Maxey scored 20 points to lead the Sixers, whose absences included Joel Embiid (right knee injury management), Paul George (right ankle sprain) and rookie VJ Edgecombe (left calf tightness).
Orlando improved to 3-0 in the Cup and the Sixers dropped to 0-3.
The game was tied at 35-all after the first quarter before the Magic took control in the second period. Philadelphia fans started showering boos on the court when Orlando went up 17 points with 5½ minutes left.
The frustration spilled onto the court with 27 seconds before the break when the altercation led to Suggs’ ejection.
A scuffle between Sixers’ Andre Drummond and Magic’s Wendell Carter Jr. led to Jalen Suggs’ ejection.
The Magic dominated the second quarter, outscoring Philadelphia by 26 points in the period to take an 86-60 lead at halftime.
Trendon Watford limped to the bench with just over four minutes left in the first half and did not return due to a left adductor strain.
Embiid missed his eighth game in a row and 11th this season. The seven-time All-Star and 2023 MVP began the season recovering from left knee surgery, limiting him to 20-to-25 minutes when available, but has since had issues with his right knee.
George, who signed a four-year, $212 million deal with Philadelphia prior to last season, made his season debut on Nov. 17 after offseason knee surgery. He missed the following game, played the next two before sitting out against Orlando.
For Orlando, Paolo Banchero was sidelined for his seventh consecutive contest with a left groin strain.
Up Next
The Sixers travel to Brooklyn to face the Nets on Friday night (7:30 p.m., NBCSP).
Trendon Watford exited Tuesday night’s game against the Orlando Magic after suffering a left adductor strain with 4 minutes, 7 seconds before the intermission. He will not return to the game, the 76ers said.
The Sixers’ reserve power forward grabbed the inner part of his left leg while passing the ball before falling to the court. After being helped up, Watford was assisted to the locker room.
The 76ers will be without Joel Embiid and Paul George when they face the Orlando Magic in Tuesday night’s NBA Cup game at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The perennial All-Stars were scratched from the game on Tuesday afternoon.
George is sidelined with a sprained right ankle. Meanwhile, Embiid will miss his eighth consecutive game because of knee injuries. The 2023 MVP was listed as questionable on Monday evening and Tuesday morning.
So what happened?
“Just not quite there yet [to play],” coach Nick Nurse said of Embiid before the game. “I mean, you guys know that we said yesterday that he practiced fully, and he participated in most, well, I don’t know, parts of the shootaround today, but just not quite there.”
If Embiid’s still not quite ready, why did the Sixers list him as questionable?
“I guess I would say there was a chance he would be ready,” Nurse said. “I think that’s what we have to do. It was trending towards he was going to play.”
This contest will mark the seventh straight game Embiid has missed as the team manages the soreness in his right knee. He also missed the Sixers’ 111-108 home loss to the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 9 because he doesn’t play on back-to-back nights to rest his left knee.
Embiid, who has no structural damage to his right knee, had been listed as day to day. The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder has already missed 10 of the Sixers’ 16 games because of knee ailments. He is averaging 19.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 23.3 minutes.
Sixers center Joel Embiid watches his teammates play the Orlando Magic on Oct. 27.
George injured his ankle in Sunday’s 127-117 loss to the Miami Heat. The nine-time All-Star had 10 points and five assists in his third game of the season. He missed the first 12 as he recovered from a left knee injury.
Nurse was asked if there was any additional information on George’s ankle that caused him to be downgraded from probable to out.
“Nope,” he said. “Just that it is reported soreness in the ankle after the game the other night. He has not been in anything since then, and we’re just trying to keep following up with that and see where he is.”
The 6-8, 220-pounder is averaging 13.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and one block in 22.0 minutes.
Nurse said the Sixers have yet to determine whether George will miss an extended period of time with the injury.
“I think we’re in the process of checking in to see what exactly is wrong and what the extent of it is,” he said. “We’ll, obviously, give you that when we have it.”
Two other starters, Kelly Oubre Jr. (sprained left knee) and VJ Edgecombe (left calf strain), and reserve center Adem Bona (sprained right ankle) will remain sidelined for Tuesday’s game.
As a result, Tyrese Maxey and Dominick Barlow, who started the first two games in place of George, are the Sixers’ only available starters from the opening day lineup.
Joel Embiid’s availability is either the NBA’s biggest mystery or the 76ers’ best-kept secret.
The 2023 MVP has missed the last seven games because of knee injuries. So what is his status for Tuesday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic at Xfinity Mobile Arena?
“The same as it was,” coach Nick Nurse said Monday, hours before Embiid was listed as questionable. “He’s still day to day.”
Embiid has missed the last six games because of soreness in his right knee. He also missed the Sixers’ 111-108 home loss to the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 9 because he doesn’t play on back-to-back nights as part of the rest and recovery plan for his left knee.
The Sixers have said there’s no structural damage to his right knee. So what’s holding up his return?
“Just waiting for doctors to clear him,” Nurse said.
Asked if Embiid has been a full participant at practice, the coach said he was during Monday’s session. Nurse said the center is in good spirits despite being sidelined for two weeks.
“He’s a little frustrated about it,” the coach said. “But I think it was cognizant that he was feeling something there, and he immediately wanted to get it figured out.
“Like I said last night, he’s trying to do a lot of stuff to try to get back on the floor. So his spirits are good.”
The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder has missed 10 of the Sixers’ 16 games. He is averaging 19.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 23.3 minutes.
Sixers center Joel Embiid (left) talking with Tyrese Maxey after a victory against the Orlando Magic on Oct. 27.
The expectation was that Embiid would miss some time this season after arthroscopic surgery in his left knee in April. It was his second left-knee surgery in 14 months and third in nine years.
The plan was for Embiid sit out the second night of back-to-back games. He also wasn’t expected to play when there were fewer than two days of rest between games.
But now Embiid hasn’t played since Nov. 8, when he scored a season-high 29 points and posted six rebounds and four assists in a season-high 25 minutes, 57 seconds against the Toronto Raptors.
He has missed 64 games since the start of the 2023-24 season because of injuries. Embiid played in 39 games in 2023-24 and 19 games last season.
“As a friend, you want him to be healthy and ready to play,” Tyrese Maxey said of Embiid. “You want him to be happy. As long as he’s happy, then I’m happy. That’s at the end of the day.
“Yes, basketball is our career, but life is life, you know what I’m saying? You only get one life. So you’ve got to live life to the fullest. And as long as people are happy, his family’s good, he’s good, and he can get on the basketball court as much as possible, I’m happy.”
But Embiid isn’t the only banged-up player on the Sixers’ roster.
Two other starters, Kelly Oubre Jr. (sprained left knee) and VJ Edgecombe (left calf tightness), and reserve center Adem Bona (sprained right ankle) will remain sidelined for Tuesday’s game. Paul George (sprained right ankle) and Maxey (sprained right shoulder) are listed as probable. However, Maxey downplayed his injury.
When asked about coping with the team’s injuries, Maxey said the Sixers have a good mentality about them this season.
“It’s just like whoever’s playing is playing, whoever is not is not,” he said, “and they’re going to cheer the teammates on.”
Sixers guard Kelly Oubre Jr. shooting over Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs on Oct. 27.
The standout point guard said he would love to have everyone available for all 82 regular-season games. Maxey knows that’s not possible.
“But you just have to have the next-man-up mentality,” he said, “and we move on from there.”
The Sixers (9-7) are focused on securing their first NBA Cup victory when they host the Magic.
They’re 0-2 in East Group B after a 114-105 loss to the Pistons on Nov. 14 at Little Caesars Arena. The Magic (10-8, 2-0) are tied with the Pistons for first place in the group.
The Sixers must find a way to contain Orlando forward Franz Wagner, who averages 23 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal. The 6-10, 230-pounder has scored in double figures in every game this season. He scored at least 20 points on 13 occasions, including a season-high 37 points Saturday in a 133-121 victory over the New York Knicks.
Orlando All-Star forward Paolo Banchero will miss his seventh consecutive game with a left groin strain. Speaking to the Orlando Sentinel on Sunday, Banchero said he’s “pretty close” but could not pinpoint when he would return.
The Magic had their three-game winning streak snapped Sunday in a road loss to the Boston Celtics. Meanwhile, the Sixers are 5-7 after opening the season with four straight victories.
While the team has faded a little, Maxey has been one of the season’s elite players.
He scored a career-high 54 points to go with nine assists, five rebounds, three steals, and three blocks Thursday in a 123-114 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum. Maxey was second in the league in scoring before Monday’s games at 33.0 points per game, and seventh in assists at 7.8.
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey shoots as Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson defends him on Sunday.
“I just want us to win,” Maxey said when asked if winning MVP was a goal. “If we win, and that comes with it, I’m happy. But I don’t really care. Like last night, we lost [to the Heat]. When I play well, and we lose, it doesn’t make me happy at all.
“But when I play bad, and we win, I’m extremely happy because at the end of the day … the wins mean more to me. Right now, we have nine wins. That means the most to me. It’s to keep stacking days, keep winning, keep getting better every single day, and keep leading this team.”
Jared McCain called for a Dominick Barlow screen, then created the space to get to his spot and elevate for a mid-range jumper.
The 76ers’ second-year guard has long identified that “bump middie” as one of his favorite types of shots. And that first-quarter bucket ignited McCain’s best performance — in statistical production and in mobility — since returning from a nearly 11-month absence following knee and thumb surgeries.
It was evidence of the positive steps McCain has taken since going on a G League assignment — and an encouraging longer-term sign for a Sixers team already utilizing guard-heavy lineups this season.
“I felt really good today,” McCain said after the game. “I felt like I got a little burst for my first step. Just continue to build off each game, the more minutes I play.”
He played only five minutes during last Monday’s home victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Then he finally made his first shot in Wednesday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors, a moment of “pure joy” captured when he threw his arms out and yelled in celebration. He then cleared another medical checkpoint by also playing the second half of a back-to-back the following night at the Milwaukee Bucks, scoring eight points and looking “a little bit more like we needed him to play,” coach Nick Nurse said.
Sunday afternoon, the still-uber-popular McCain was greeted with exuberant cheers upon entering the game late in the first quarter. After his first bucket, he got downhill for a finger-roll layup and flexed after burying a game-tying three-pointer late in the second quarter. A third-quarter deep shot from the top of the key pushed his point total into double figures for the first time this season. Another three-pointer got the Sixers within 102-96 early in the final period, before Miami’s final surge.
An acceleration in McCain’s reacclimation would be a plus for a Sixers team already thriving while playing three-guard lineups.
Tyrese Maxey, Quentin Grimes, and Edgecombe have boasted a plus-14.6 net rating (and have averaged 121.1 points per 100 possessions) while sharing the floor for 213 minutes in 15 games, often in closing lineups. Before the season, Nurse even floated experimenting with four guards on the floor together. But if Edgecombe’s calf issue lingers, McCain could immediately slide into such personnel combinations.
This long recovery process has taught McCain — who was an early Rookie of the Year front-runner before suffering a torn meniscus in mid-December — to practice patience and recognize “small wins.” Being able to walk again after surgery. Or play in an NBA game. Or take a hit from a defender and still step back onto his left foot and fire a shot.
He proclaimed earlier this week that there was “no such thing as garbage time” while regaining comfort on the floor. And even after he missed his first nine shot attempts over four games since debuting Nov. 4 at the Chicago Bulls, he said he did not believe in slumps.
“I put in the work,” McCain said after shootaround last Monday, “so I know it’s going to show whenever it needs to.”
Aiding that recent progress has been a switch from a bulky knee brace — “every time I dribbled, it felt like I was about to fall over,” McCain said — to a compression sleeve called Incrediwear. He also said he is unbothered by the brace he continues to wear on his shooting hand, though: “I try not to put any negative energy in the universe talking about the thumb.”
So what are McCain’s next incremental goals?
Sixers guard Jared McCain drives to the basket against Miami’s Dru Smith on Sunday.
Defensively, he wants to improve at running full speed to close out on a shooter, then push off his left leg to change direction to cut off another player. Offensively, his first step with the ball in his hands still can get quicker.
And after Sunday’s game, Nurse reemphasized the importance of McCain’s three-point shooting, after he made 38.3% of his 5.8 attempts in 23 games as a rookie and shot 41.4% from long range during his one college season at Duke. That floor-spacing can be particularly valuable when Maxey relentlessly attacks the rim.
“I know I keep saying that,” Nurse said, “but we do need that production from him.”
As Sunday’s halftime clock ticked down, McCain was one of the first players out of the Sixers’ locker room.
He uses that additional time to get his knee moving again, after sitting during the break. But he also aims to mimic part of the routine of future Hall of Fame sharpshooter Stephen Curry, who said he visualizes shots falling before the third quarter begins.
“I just want to get loose again,” McCain said. “So I try to come out as early as possible and get my reps up, and see the ball go through the net.”
McCain is still not back to the player he was before his surgeries and lengthy absence. But Sunday marked his best game since his return, an important step for him and the Sixers.
“I just want him to keep being aggressive and keep being himself,” Maxey said of McCain earlier this week. “ … It’s going to take some time. I think [we need to] just keep pushing confidence into him.
“Just remind him who he is, and remind him what he does.”
