The NBA All-Star break has finally arrived for the Sixers, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the team’s three most important pieces: Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe.
“I think everybody’s looking forward to it,” coach Nick Nurse said of the time off. “I think we need it. It’ll be pretty good timing for us.”
Yes, Wednesday’s 138-89 loss to the New York Knicks was embarrassing, but despite the Sixers’ ups and downs this season, they are firmly in a playoff spot. Still, the Sixers need a physical and mental reset, even if some of their stars won’t be entirely off.
Maxey will be heading to Los Angeles as an All-Star Game starter, with Edgecombe in tow to play in the Rising Stars game. But Embiid will have a full, much-needed weeklong break.
Embiid missed his second consecutive game Wednesday with right knee soreness. Quentin Grimes also missed Wednesday’s game, while Dominick Barlow, who missed the final game of the road trip at Portland, returned to play 30 minutes, 37 seconds on Wednesday.
Nurse said before Wednesday’s game that there was “not a ton of concern” about Embiid’s knee long-term.
Joel Embiid has missed the Sixers’ last two games with right knee soreness.
Embiid has appeared in 31 of the Sixers’ 54 games so far this year, skipping one leg of back-to-backs and missing most of November. But since that month, Embiid has quickly rounded back into form.
“He’ll still tell you that he’s — I don’t know, you can have him tell you — but still not near 100%, not close,” Nurse said. “I think that’s encouraging because he’s starting to look pretty good again in a lot of different areas.”
Some might consider Embiid’s exclusion from the All-Star Game a snub, but because of the break, the Sixers don’t play again until Feb. 19.
That’s a full week for Embiid to stay off his knee and recover while the Sixers can stay locked into their sixth-place spot in the East. Since January, the Sixers are 12-5 with Embiid in the lineup, and 1-5 without him.
“It’s hard,” Maxey said of playing without Embiid. “You go from one way to play without him early in the season, he comes back, you’ve got to play that way, then play a different way when he’s there — which is OK, it’s fine. It’s the reality of it, and we’ll be all right. I think he’ll be here more than he isn’t here when we get back, and we’ve just got to maintain those games that he’s not there.”
It’s not just Embiid who can benefit from the time off. Edgecombe will be competing in the Rising Stars event at All-Star Weekend, but the rookie, who has played in 50 of the Sixers’ 54 games, will get a brief, needed reprieve from the grind of the NBA schedule.
“He’s never played these type of minutes in his life,” Maxey said. “Even playing a 40-minute basketball game in college is way different than this. … We’re asking him to do a lot, so he’s probably definitely tired, but it’s OK. This is what the break is for.”
Rookie VJ Edgecombe has already played in 17 more games than he did all of last season at Baylor.
Entering the final game before the break, Edgecombe averaged 35.4 minutes, the most of any rookie, and ranked ninth in the NBA. Edgecombe played just 33 games at Baylor last year.
Edgecombe ended Wednesday night with 14 points on 6-for-16 shooting, displaying his incredible physical tools and his recent shooting woes. Early in his career, Maxey learned how seriously he needs to take recovery in order to keep playing big NBA minutes.
“I used to be like, ‘I don’t need treatment.’ I thought I was Superman,” Maxey said.
He’s making sure Edgecombe is taking that feedback.
But there might not be anyone on the team who needs rest more than Maxey. He has taken on the role as the Sixers’ top offensive option, and he is playing a career- and league-high 38.6 minutes per game.
Maxey has also made 52 starts and played the most games of anyone on the Sixers. He scored 32 points in 32:07 on Wednesday but sat for the entire fourth quarter of the blowout. He’ll get a little less rest than his teammates, since he’s making his first All-Star Game start — and taking part in Saturday night’s three-point contest — but said he still would make plenty of time for relaxation.
“I just want to get out there and just chill, sit in my hotel room, relax, get some good weather,” Maxey said. “I’ll get some relaxation and be good to go by Thursday.”
Kevin Ibach reached a milestone as Tampa Bay Rays assistant general manager in September 2020. The Rays defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in the wild-card round, marking the first time in Ibach’s 20-year career in baseball that he made it past the opening round. Before the team opened its next series against the New York Yankees, though, Ibach received news that crushed his mood.
La Salle, his alma mater, was shutting down its baseball program after the 2020-21 school year. Ibach played middle infield for the Explorers from 1996-2000, but the program that helped forge his baseball career was suddenly on its way out.
The Rays reached their second World Series that year, but the success was stained for Ibach.
“I have a ring to this day from that journey and at the same time, it was the low point,” Ibach said. “A program that I cared so much about. Four years that were instrumental in my life and my development that probably led me to my job today. Getting that email that they were shutting the doors was pretty disheartening.”
When Ashwin Puri took over as La Salle’s athletic director in July 2023, he ensured that those doors did not stay closed. With a three-phase plan centered on facility upgrades, fundraising and fan experience, Explorers baseball was officially welcomed back in April 2024, targeting a return this year.
“What I soon realized after being here for two or three months was that every other conversation was about baseball,” Puri said. “I don’t know if it was fate or chance, but I felt an amazing sense of pride and connection to the university. A lot of people love baseball and care about baseball.”
La Salle spent 2025 preparing to throw its first pitch in four years. Now, the program’s return is right around the corner. The Explorers will open their season against Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday (2 p.m.) at Hank DeVincent Field.
La Salle baseball players practicing Wednesday at Hank De Vincent Field.
Coach David Miller constructed a roster that is ready to write a new chapter of La Salle baseball while remembering the history that brought the Explorers to this point.
“It’s going to be a lot of hard work that everybody collectively did to make this happen,” Miller said. “That first pitch, hopefully that first win, it’s going to be a great day for La Salle athletics.”
Bringing a vision to life
The main step in getting the program off the ground was improving the stadium and facilities while raising the necessary funds. An alumni advisory board formed to lead the operation helped focus on alumni outreach, and after a few months the progress in donations became notable.
“When baseball came back, there was a small group of us that were excited to have the program back,” said Bill Watts, who played at La Salle from 1991-94 and serves on the advisory board. “Ashwin reached out and asked, ‘Would you be willing to be part of the rising here?’ I thought about it for a while and talked it over with some of my teammates and decided if we did it, we needed to do it the right way.”
The feedback and excitement from alumni have been encouraging. More than 200 former players and alumni attended a “La Salle first pitch” dinner as an official welcome back for the program. While the program may have taken a few years off, the history and tradition carried on.
The Explorers held alumni games in 2023 and 2024 at Hank DeVincent Field. La Salle made its conference tournament nine times before the program shut down. In its last season, La Salle finished with 32 wins, the most in program history.
It is important, Puri said, that the program’s history is remembered in a new era.
“I think history is a big part of it, but we also want to do things a little different this time,” Puri said. “We are going to take baseball very seriously. We are going to invest and we want to compete.”
Building the team
To put a team back on the field, Puri and the advisory board knew it started with one man: Miller.
Miller was named La Salle’s head coach in 2018 and had the Explorers on an upward trajectory before the program shut down. They went 14-41 in his first season, then improved to 25-31 in 2019. After a shortened 2020 season, Miller led La Salle to one of its best performances in program history in 2021, finishing 32-21. Miller was named Atlantic 10 coach of the year and believed he was on the verge of accomplishing something special.
That momentum was halted when the program shut down.
Miller coached at Manhattan for two years before he got the offer to return to La Salle. Despite having to take a year off from coaching in 2025, the former Penn Charter coach decided it was worth it.
David Miller returned to La Salle as the head coach, after serving at the helm for four seasons before the program was cut.
“There’s just something about this place that draws me,” Miller said. “It’s like home to me. When my time is up here, I want La Salle baseball to be a destination baseball program in the northeast. And I don’t see why we can’t be.”
With Miller back at the helm, the next step was putting the roster together. It was no easy task, considering he was starting from scratch.
La Salle netted the 17th-ranked recruiting class by Perfect Game in 2025, bringing in 36 commitments. Next, its attention turned to the transfer portal.
The Explorers brought in seniors who were looking for one more season to play college baseball or underclassmen seeking a fresh start. For utility man Chase Swain, a transfer from West Virginia, playing at La Salle brings his college career full circle.
“I was committed here for like two years in high school,” said Swain, who played at Woodstown High. “… [The program getting cut] threw everything into a tailspin for me, recruiting-wise. So this place coming back, it was always in the back of my mind. I wonder what it would have been like there. I stayed loyal and the second that they brought it back, it was like a light bulb went off in my head, and I thought I would really enjoy playing there.”
Underdog mentality
With a completely new team, the players understand that expectations from the outside are low. The Explorers know a restarted program won’t be picked as a preseason favorite in the Atlantic 10 Conference, but they are using that as a chip on their shoulders and carrying an underdog mentality into the season.
Because of the weather, La Salle has been forced to travel about an hour away to find an indoor facility for practice. The team has embraced the challenges.
La Salle coach David Miller says his team is “more excited now than ever to play.”
“I think we can take the motivation of being a gritty program because we don’t have all the facilities and everything that a lot of other schools have in Division I baseball,” said shortstop Justin Szestowicki, a transfer from Elon out of Kingsway High. “But I think we take that as an advantage. We have more of a chip on our shoulder, just knowing that, based on our opportunities to create a grittier play style, instead of just being taken care of all the time, we have to take some accountability for ourselves to be successful.”
The players and coaches counted down the days until Friday, when they can say La Salle baseball is back and the two-year rebuilding process has come to fruition.
Miller is ready to show the college baseball world who the Explorers are.
“You’re seeing all these high-profile fans from Tennessee and LSU saying, ‘La — who?’” Miller said. “And we embrace that. That’s now my hashtag for the year. We’re going to show you who it is. These kids are more excited now than ever to play, because all the vision that we talked about, and getting them to see what’s coming, is here.”
Ibach added: “I think that a lot of players who will be playing can take that inspiration to show the world, show the city, that La Salle baseball’s back on the map.”
There is no Philadelphia sports figure without blemish.
The Phillies’ hitters failed again, and Zack Wheeler is hurt. The Eagles collapsed en masse after winning their second Super Bowl; even Saquon Barkley took hits before and during the season. The Flyers remain mired in a rebuild. And no team has engendered as much disappointment, if not disgust, as the Sixers over the past 14 years.
With one exception.
Tyrese Maxey.
With his incandescent smile, his irrepressible joy, his boundless energy, and what has turned into a sterling set of skills and talents, Maxey is a beacon among the blurred and foggy landscape of Philadelphia sports.
Everybody loves Maxey. He’s the breath of fresh air Philly sports needed. He’s never worried about the score of the game. You never see him dog it. He’s Pete Rose with a jump shot.
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey (right) no longer has to play second fiddle to Joel Embiid.
Maxey will represent the Sixers as an NBA All-Star Game starter in Los Angeles on Sunday. This is fitting, since he’s the embodiment of what the Sixers hope to be and emblematic of how Philadelphia sees itself.
Joel Embiid represents “The Process,” has been diminished as a part-time role player, and is a reminder of the disastrous slash-and-burn rebuild that began in 2013.
Paul George represents the failed philosophy of Sixers president Daryl Morey, who bet everything on James Harden both in Houston and Philadelphia and made a similarly bad bet on George, addled by injury and seven games into a 25-game drug suspension.
Rookie guard VJ Edgecombe was the MVP of the Rising Stars All-Star competition Friday night and represents the future, but it is a future that depends on working in harness with Maxey.
Maxey represents the Philly of today: a city that sees itself as a collection of hardworking, well-meaning, decent, and spirited underdogs.
Philly guy
From Vince Papale to Rocky Balboa to the 2017 Eagles, Philly loves an underdog.
Eagles tackle Lane Johnson dons a dog mask after a playoff victory against the Atlanta Falcons on Jan. 13, 2018.
Maxey has always been an underdog.
He was never touted as an AAU player. He played for Kentucky for one uninspired season. He then was the 21st overall pick of the COVID-19 draft in 2020, behind the likes of Killian Hayes (seventh) and Kira Lewis (13th). A poor shooter, he started just eight games as a Sixers rookie. The Sixers hoped he’d be Dario Šarić or Landry Shamet, players drafted outside of the top 10 who have become dependable, if limited, NBA performers.
His maniacal offseason workout regimen focused on shooting and turned him from a 30.1% three-point shooter as a rookie into a 42.7% bomber in his second season. His scoring average over the years went from 8 points to 17.5 to 20.3 to 25.9, which made him the 2023-24 Most Improved Player and an All-Star reserve. He missed much of last season with injuries and still averaged 26.3 points, and now he’s at nearly 29 points per game, an All-Star starter, and an MVP candidate.
Like former Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland said: Hungry dogs run faster.
Maxey stays hungry. Hungry for wins.
“I just want everybody to know I try extremely hard, I work extremely hard, and I leave it all out there on the court every single night. I play through whatever,” he said recently. “That’s the legacy I want to leave behind. But the main thing is to win.
“This is a town that believes in winning. And I believe in winning.”
Tyrese Maxey (left) and VJ Edgecombe form a potent combination at guard for the Sixers.
Ravenous
Maxey used to practice so much they had to take away his keys to the gym.
He never was expected to play point guard. The Sixers drafted Maxey while Ben Simmons was on the team, then traded Simmons for Harden, then, when Harden forced a trade in 2023, Maxey took over the point. It was not pretty. He went to work.
He’s a complete point guard today. His ballhandling and passing have advanced so much that his Player Efficiency Rating this season is 22.72, about three points higher than his last All-Star season and fifth among point guards. He trails reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, five-time top-10 MVP candidate Luka Dončić, two-time MVP Steph Curry, and 2026 All-Star and NBA champ Jamal Murray. Which is why Maxey is an MVP candidate himself.
“I play three different roles on this team,” he said. “Sometimes I’ve got to shoot 30 times. Sometimes I’ve got to get Joel the ball. Sometimes I have to play full-time point guard and guard [elite] people. That’s OK. Whatever it takes to win.”
He didn’t just develop a three-point shot, he developed Harden‘s three-point shot after pestering Harden to teach him during the Beard’s 1½ seasons with the Sixers. The result: a lethal, sidestep-stepback, coil-and-release mortar shell whose range knows no limit.
This season, he mastered the most important skill of any backcourt scorer: the pull-up jumper, the most lethal weapon in basketball, from Jerry West to Michael Jordan to Kobe Bryant to Kevin Durant.
How far has he come? He’d dropped in the draft because he couldn’t shoot. Now, on Saturday, he’ll be the first Sixer to compete in the three-point shooting contest since Kyle Korver in 2005.
He remains driven by that disrespect, but he isn’t disrespectful, and that endears him to Philly even more. Sure, Philly’s a rough place. Some people got a kick out of Embiid and his Twitter-beefing with players like Karl-Anthony Towns. Some people loved it when Bryce Harper stared down mouthy Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia in the 2023 playoffs.
But those incidents also rubbed some people the wrong way. Maxey seems to always rub folks the right way.
What’s not to like? After all, Maxey is the No. 1 dog dad in a canine-crazed city.
Maxey owns three dogs. His first is named Apollo, after the Apollo Creed character in Rocky. Then he got Aries and Arrow. They are his family. Maxey told Sixers videographers that when he bought a house in South Jersey, he insisted it have lots of land: “Try to create a happy home for my dogs. Let them run around in this big backyard.”
He made a cameo appearance at the National Dog Show when it visited the Philadelphia area in November.
So, he loves dogs. He loves kids, too.
Maxey won the Bob Lanier Community Assist Award in 2024 for his offseason work with youths in Philadelphia and his native Dallas.
The NBA today announced @sixers guard Tyrese Maxey as the @nbacares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award winner for the offseason.
Maxey is being recognized for his efforts in supporting youth in Philadelphia and his hometown of Dallas through the Tyrese Maxey Foundation.
I ran an informal Twitter/X poll Tuesday into Wednesday that asked, “Who’s your favorite Philly athlete?” I listed Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Saquon Barkley, and Maxey. (X only allows four entries.) Maxey won with 38% of the votes. Schwarber got 23%, Harper got 15%, and Barkley got 24%.
No, it’s not a scientific poll, and yes, it drew only about 400 respondents, but it makes sense nevertheless.
When the local TV broadcast spotted Maxey’s parents, Tyrone and Denyse (his name is a combination of theirs) at the Sixers’ game Saturday in Phoenix, play-by-play announcer Kate Scott called them “the Royal Family of Philadelphia.”
That’s because, at this moment, their son is king.
Always ‘us,’ never ‘me’
In an era of shameless self-promotion, Maxey never lobbies for personal accolades. He has never deemed himself an All-Star or an MVP until somebody else deemed him thus.
He’s always accountable, but he spreads the love. When Embiid dropped 40 on Jan. 31, Maxey detailed how the big guy’s game had developed to the point that Embiid found Maxey late in the game instead of forcing his own shot: “He played the right way.”
When George got suspended in the middle of a playoff push, Maxey never wavered: “We stand with Paul.”
He plays a child’s game with a child’s glee. It isn’t perfect, but Maxey has the most recognizable Philly smile since Flyers legend Bobby Clarke, and he flashes it all the time.
Bobby Clarke and Ed Snider in the Flyers’ locker room in 1974. (Spectrum Archives)
From diet to conditioning to practice to rest, he adores the process and the progress as much as he relishes the result.
It was Maxey who, in a team meeting last season, finally confronted Embiid about his selfishly tardy habits: how he kept teammates waiting at meetings, on buses, and on planes.
Maxey just shows up on time, pays attention, and plays his hardest every second. He’s the type of player Philadelphians swear they would be if they had the chance. He understands that he has a gift, and that he should rejoice in his gift, even if it doesn’t take him to the top of the mountain.
NHL players are playing in the Winter Olympics for the first time in 12 years, going back to the 2014 Sochi Games. The United States will open Group C play at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Thursday against Latvia. Live coverage is scheduled to begin at 3:10 p.m. Philadelphia time (USA Network).
Because of that 12-year gap, forced by scheduling issues and the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of NHL All-Stars will be making their Olympic debuts for Team USA. Among them are Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs), Jack Hughes (New Jersey Devils), and Jack Eichel (Vegas Golden Knights).
After Latvia, the U.S. will face Denmark and Germany in Group C games. Out of 12 teams, the top four (three group winners and the best second-place team) will advance to the quarterfinals. Then eight teams will face off in qualification games to fill the remaining four quarterfinal spots.
Here’s the full U.S. men’s hockey schedule:
Thursday: Latvia vs. U.S., 3:10 p.m.
Saturday: U.S. vs. Denmark, 3:10 p.m.
Sunday: U.S. vs. Germany, 3:10 p.m.
Tuesday: Qualification playoff (if necessary)
Wednesday: Quarterfinals
Friday, Feb. 20: Semifinals
Saturday, Feb. 21: Bronze medal game
Sunday, Feb. 22: Gold medal game
Three Flyers players are competing in the Olympics for other countries — Travis Sanheim (Canada), Rasmus Ristolainen (Finland), and Dan Vladar (Czechia).
Princeton grad Chloe Kim goes for Olympic three-peat
Chloe Kim of the United States during women’s snowboarding halfpipe qualifications on Wednesday.
U.S. snowboarder and Princeton grad Chloe Kim is hoping to join elite Olympic company Thursday, going for her third straight gold medal in the halfpipe competition.
The halfpipe finals begin at 1:30 p.m. and will air live on NBC.
Kim is looking to become the first snowboarder to win three straight Olympic gold medals, a feat she would accomplish while still recovering from a torn labrum in her shoulder she suffered last month.
“Honestly, I’m just happy to be here because for a little bit a couple months ago, it wasn’t looking too certain,” Kim said after Wednesday’s qualifier.
She will be joined in the halfpipe final by American teammates Maddie Mastro and Bea Kim.
Other Olympics events to catch Thursday
Speedskating: Julie Letai and Kristen Santos-Griswold will attempt to become the first Americans to win gold in the 500-meter short track since 2010. The event will air live on NBC beginning at 2:15 p.m.
Other gold medal events: Women’s super-G (5:30 a.m.), men’s moguls (6:15 a.m.), women’s speedskating, 5,000 meters (10:30 a.m.), luge team relay (12:30 p.m.), men’s short-track speedskating (3:43 p.m.)
How to watch the Olympics on TV and stream online
NBC’s TV coverage will have live events from noon to 5 p.m. Philadelphia time on weekdays and starting in the mornings on the weekends. There’s a six-hour time difference between Italy and here. The traditional prime-time coverage will have highlights of the day and storytelling features.
As far as the TV channels, the Olympics are airing on NBC, USA, CNBC, and NBCSN. Spanish coverage can be found on Telemundo and Universo.
NBCSN is carrying the Gold Zone whip-around show that was so popular during the Summer Olympics in 2024, with hosts including Scott Hanson of NFL RedZone. It used to be just on Peacock, NBC’s online streaming service, but now is on TV, too.
Every event is available to stream live on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app. You’ll have to log in with your pay-TV provider, whether cable, satellite, or streaming platforms including YouTube TV, FuboTV, and Sling TV.
On Peacock, the events are on the platform’s premium subscription tier, which starts at $10.99 per month or $109.99 per year.
As a general rule, our schedules include all live broadcasts on TV, but not tape-delayed broadcasts on cable channels. We’ll let you know what’s on NBC’s broadcasts, whether they’re live or not.
NBC
Noon: Freestyle skiing — Men’s moguls final (tape-delayed)
12:30 p.m.: Luge — Team relay
1:30 p.m.: Snowboarding — Women’s halfpipe final
2:15 p.m.: Speedskating — Men’s 1,000 meter short track, women’s 500 meter short track
When Joe Pagliei moved to the Azalea senior living facility in September of 2023, word spread quickly. This was not just because he spent a season playing for the Eagles.
It was also because of his unabashed personality.
Pagliei would walk the halls of the Cinnaminson retirement home practicing his golf swing. If he lost a game of bingo, he’d throw the cards into the air and accuse his neighbors of “cheating.”
Every day, at 3 p.m., he’d sit at the bar, nursing a ginger ale, with copies of a book about his life stacked beside him. Before long, residents began to ask for some.
This wasn’t your average nonagenarian, after all. Pagliei spent parts of the 1950s and 1960s as a pro football player, first in Canada in the CFL, then in the NFL, and eventually, the AFL.
He played the 1959 season as a fullback and punter with the Eagles. Pagliei was the last cut in training camp before the 1960 season. The Eagles called him back, asking if he’d want to rejoin the team, but it was too late.
The fullback had already signed with the New York Titans, later to become the New York Jets. Pagliei ended up missing out on a championship.
“Big mistake,” joked his daughter Vicki.
It didn’t hamper Joe’s confidence. The former football player worked in auto sales and real estate for a few years, and became a jockey agent in 1970 out of Garden State Park Racetrack.
Joe Pagliei points to himself, wearing No. 32, in the 1960 Eagles team photo taken at Franklin Field.
When the track burned down in 1977, Pagliei headed to Atlantic City, where he became a casino host, crossing paths with everyone from Mickey Mantle to Joe Frazier to Sammy Davis Jr.
He moved to Mount Laurel with his wife of 62 years, Rita, and four children in 1991. He sold cars for a few years, retired in 2000, and moved to Azalea after Rita died in 2023.
At 91, Pagliei is believed to be the oldest living former Eagle. It is not a title he takes lightly. Last year, before the Super Bowl, his senior facility arranged for a visit from an Eagles-themed bus.
Dressed in his kelly green jersey, Pagliei signed one of the bus panels: “Joe Pagliei, #32.”
When he’s not lifting weights, or playing poker, he is watching Eagles games in his apartment, often with critiques of his own. Philadelphia will always be his favorite team, but he does have some misgivings about how he was used back in the day.
“I was awfully good to be sitting down,” the 91-year-old said. “Not enough [playing time].”
‘I’m going to make you famous, buddy’
Pagliei grew up in Clairton, Pa., a small town southeast of Pittsburgh, full of hard-nosed steel mill workers. His father, Alberto, emigrated from Italy and spent 48 years working as a janitor at the local plant.
The elder Pagliei, a pragmatic man who saved every dollar, didn’t see the benefit in his son joining the football team. He refused to let him play until the 11th grade.
Despite missing a few seasons, the younger Pagliei was not short on confidence. On the first day of practice, he walked straight up to his new coach.
“I said, ‘I’m going to make you famous, buddy,’” Pagliei recalled. “He said, ‘You’re full of [expletive].’ And I said, ‘Oh really?’
“I didn’t know the plays. I went out on a Wednesday. I ran two touchdowns. He said, ‘Wow.’ I said, ‘You just put my [butt] in there. Don’t worry about it.’”
Famous might have been an exaggeration, but Pagliei did catch the attention of some big-name schools. According to his 2017 self-published book, The Roast Master, he received more than 100 recruitment letters.
The fullback chose Clemson University in South Carolina. His arrival on campus in 1952 marked the first time he’d ever traveled outside of Western Pennsylvania. He played both football and baseball, and separated himself on the gridiron.
Joe Pagliei came to football later than most, but he made up for lost time as a dual-position standout.
In 1954, he led the Atlantic Coast Conference in punting, averaging 37.8 yards on 26 kicks. In 1955, his senior year, he topped the conference again, averaging 39.1 yards on his punts. He also made a dual-threat impact for the Tigers on offense, rushing for 476 yards and catching 10 passes for 233 yards.
Clemson’s 1955 team program referred to the fullback as a “flashy performer,” a characterization that seemed apt, though perhaps insufficient in retrospect.
“I did a number on ’em when I went to Clemson,” Pagliei said. “I just ran everybody the hell out. They had me as number five. I said, ‘I’m number uno.’ They said, ‘You’re five.’ I became the best one.”
After going undrafted in 1956, Pagliei received free-agent invitations from the Green Bay Packers and Washington, but said neither came “with any form of guarantee.”
He ended up getting a better contract outside the NFL, with the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL, where he played the 1956 season. Pagliei was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1957.
He joined the football team on the base while serving at Fort Knox in Kentucky, and the Eagles offered him a contract for the 1958 season. Because of his military commitment, he was unable to suit up until May 1959, when he was discharged from the Army.
The Eagles had a deep backfield, and as Pagliei noted, he didn’t get much playing time (only two carries for minus-5 yards and two catches for 9 yards). He didn’t get much time as a punter, either, because he was the backup for Hall of Fame quarterback Norm Van Brocklin.
But Pagliei did emerge with one stat to be proud of. According to The Roast Master, on Dec. 6, 1959, in the middle of a rainy game against Washington, Van Brocklin suggested that Pagliei take the kick.
Joe Pagliei was not officially a part of Buck Shaw’s 1960 title team, but he was considered an honorary part of it by his former Eagles teammates.
He did, for 45 yards. It was the NFL rookie’s only punt of the 1959 season, giving him a yearly average of 45 yards (for his one attempt) while Van Brocklin had only 40.8 (for his 53).
“I always rubbed that in with Van Brocklin,” Pagliei wrote. “And he’d say to me, ‘You son of a [expletive]. One punt and you lead the team.’”
Pagliei again faced stiff competition in training camp the following year. He was cut on the day the Eagles took their team photo, Sept. 19, 1960, thereby capturing his final moment on the future championship-winning squad.
After he signed with the Titans of the AFL, the Eagles contacted Pagliei again. Fullback Theron Sapp had broken his leg in a preseason game and would be out longer than the team had expected.
They asked Pagliei if he’d like to return to Philadelphia, but he’d already signed his Titans contract. While missing out on history was bittersweet, the 91-year-old always felt like he was a part of the 1960 Eagles group.
Joe Pagliei (left) with Tommy McDonald (center) and Chuck Bednarik at an event honoring the 1960 team.
It included some of his closest friends. Defensive tackle Jesse Richardson was the best man at Pagliei’s wedding. Wide receiver Tommy McDonald was like a family member. McDonald’s wife, Patty, was the godmother to Pagliei’s daughter Lizanne and the confirmation sponsor for Vicki.
Pagliei left professional football in 1961 but continued to stay a part of that fraternity. His kids would play with McDonald’s kids, and linebacker Bob Pellegrini’s kids. The team always invited Pagliei to reunions and celebrations of the 1960 championship.
In 2018, after the Eagles won their first Super Bowl, former players and their families were invited to the NovaCare Complex to see the Lombardi Trophy up close.
McDonald had been diagnosed with dementia. He attended the event in a wheelchair, donning his gold Hall of Fame jacket. The former receiver’s recall was shaky, but when he saw Pagliei, his face lit up.
“He knew who my dad was,” Vicki said. “He didn’t know too many people, but he knew who my dad was. He used to call him his brother.”
The mayor of Azalea, senior living
The staffers at Azalea of Cinnaminson say that Pagliei is something akin to a mayor. He knows everyone in the building. He also knows everythinggoing on in the building, for better or for worse.
The 91-year-old goes to the gym once a day, where he rides a bike, and does “40 reps of each weight.” On Tuesday and Thursday nights, he plays poker, a game that he might take more seriously than any other.
Members of the 1960 Eagles NFL championship team pose for a team photo at Franklin Field, the site of their 17-13 win over Green Bay in the title game.
“I make a lot of money,” Pagliei said, pointing to a stack of bills totaling $21 on a nearby counter. “Big time. Big time.”
The former Eagle is 66 years removed from his last NFL season, but he has not lost his competitive spark. The Azalea staff learned this the hard way.
Gracie Pouliot, a guest services manager, has had to intervene in a few contentious games of bingo.
“He’s not a very good loser,” she said. “Everyone is cheating if he loses. He’s like, ‘This is [expletive]! They cheated!’
“And we’re like, ‘No!’ He’ll throw the cards. He just cracks us up. He’s so funny.”
Linda Bryant, a life enrichment assistant, said that Pagliei used to make fun of how she’d play pool.
“He was joking around,” she said. “‘You guys don’t know how to do it.’”
Bryant and Pouliot wouldn’t have it any other way. Pagliei might not be able to punt the ball, or run the length of a field, but he still has the spirit of a teenager.
Amid the cacophony of whirling toddlers at a local YMCA in Oxford, Chester County, about 14 years ago, Jermaine Palmer caught a glimpse in the corner of his eye of what was to come. He had gotten his daughter, Jordyn, into basketball, taking her to his practices, letting her crawl around the court in diapers, and involving her in youth coed rec leagues with a tiny ball and hoop.
One afternoon, as a game was going on, he noticed, Jordyn and a little boy collided going after a rebound. They both fell. The boy went crying to his mother. Jordyn stood up, grabbed the ball, and scored a layup as if nothing happened, smiling back down the court. Jermaine just shook his head, he recalled.
Jordyn Palmer, the gifted 6-foot-2 junior guard at Westtown School, tends to make a lot of people shake their heads in disbelief each time they see her play, especially the nation’s top college coaches. She is ranked as the No. 6 player in the country in the class of 2027 by ESPN’s SportsCenter NEXT — Super 60. She is averaging a humble 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Moose, who will be playing for their sixth straight Friends Schools League championship this Friday at 6:30 p.m. against archrival Friends’ Central at La Salle University.
As a junior, Palmer is on the threshold of 2,000 career points and is the leader of a star-studded team that has a/ 23-1 overall record this season and is ranked No. 7 in the country by ESPN.
What is so interesting about Palmer is that her best is yet to come. She’s always been tall for her age, and her parents, Jermaine and Kim, had to carry her birth certificate as proof of her age because of that. She has been playing varsity basketball since she was in eighth grade.
A dominant rebounder, ballhandler, and shooter, she can finish left- or right-handed and has added a more consistent perimeter game. She’s also a team player, making a point to get her teammates involved. She plays with poise, despite the constant attention she has had on her since she was 14.
She was 5-9 at age 12 playing for the Chester County Storm under-16 AAU team when Westtown coach Fran Burbidge first saw her in a summer tournament at the Spooky Nook complex in Manheim, Lancaster County. Burbidge, who coached women’s stars Elena Delle Donne and Breanna Stewart, quickly saw how much more advanced Palmer was than the teenage girls she was playing against.
“A friend of mine asked me if I ever saw her play. I remember going to one of the back courts and thinking, ‘There is no way that kid is in seventh grade,’” Burbidge said. “So, yeah, I had to convince myself she was that much better than everyone around her. If I didn’t know, I would have thought she was a high school junior.”
Palmer has evolved since then. The second-oldest of four, she’s 17 and may grow another inch.
She’s also a victim of her own success. Burbidge pulls her early in blowouts — and the Moose have many. She easily could score 40 points a game, but she plays with a pass-first, team-first mentality.
Last summer, she was playing in a league against a talented Imhotep Charter team when she dominated both ends of the court for 10 minutes. Then she turned back to being a facilitator again. She is by no means lazy, according to her coaches and her father, but she is so smooth that she can play at different levels.
Jordyn Palmer is averaging 23 points and 12 rebounds this season.
“I was raised around the game. I grew up with a basketball in my hands, my dad being a coach taking me to practice,” said Jordyn, who carries a 3.5 grade-point average. “I was pretty much crawling around a basketball court before I was walking. I was always the tallest kid, that was me. I grew up playing soccer, too, but basketball was definitively my first love. I would say I was around seventh, eighth grade, when I started to think I was pretty good at this. It really changed when I went to Westtown.”
And it really changed in 2023 when she was cut from the U.S. under-16 national team in Colorado Springs, Colo., when she was 14. It was the first and only time she was cut from something. She reached the second cuts. She sat in a conference room and was told that she did very well, but she would not make the team.
When Jordyn called her parents, tears were shed — fueling aheightened determination.
“A year later, I got invited back, and I made the team,” she said. “That was the first time I faced rejection, and I thought I dealt with it well. It made me work harder. Being cut didn’t make me angry because I was not too sure I would make it anyway, but it shocked me. I began working out in the morning, and I’m not a morning person. I hate waking up early. I began taking basketball more seriously than I ever did.”
A month after she was cut that summer, she led Philly Rise to an AAU national title.
Jermaine and Burbidge want her to play more intensely for sustained periods of time. Jordyn knows she will need to maintain those levels once she gets to college.
“Jordyn has not even scratched her full potential,” said Jermaine, the girls’ basketball coach at Oxford High School. “I’m proud of her. Jordyn is a great kid. Her upbringing keeps her humble. But she does not play with the urgency that I know she has. You see it in spurts, but when you see her playing national-level players, that comes out. I get on her all the time about dominating.
“The stuff people don’t see in the gym is someone who can outplay anyone. You can’t really guard her. When she tightens her shot off the dribble and her ballhandling, she is going to be terrifying. I’m her father and a coach — you see the way games are called. She’s so strong and so solid, refs look at her a different way than they do other players. She has gotten used to it. Refs don’t understand the body difference between Jordyn and everyone else.
“No one likes Goliath. It’s part of the game.”
Jordyn Palmer plans to make her college commitment next spring. She’s interested in South Carolina, LSU, Kentucky, Rutgers, Maryland, Notre Dame, and UCLA.
South Carolina, LSU, Kentucky, Rutgers, Maryland, Notre Dame, and UCLA are the schools in which she’s interested. She says she is looking to make her official visits over the summer and make a decision next spring. Jordyn and Jermaine said they want to take their time with the recruiting process.
She would get around 30 calls a day this time last year. That has been reduced to around five a day.
“It’s been a little bit of a pain,” she said. “There have been those times when I have cried by myself because it can sometimes be overwhelming. I spoke to my parents about it, and they have done a great job taking the pressure off me, telling these coaches I’m taking a break. I’m still a kid, and I’m grateful to my parents for allowing me to be a kid. They let me fish.”
Then, Jordyn went into her own “fish tale.” She got into fishing as a way to relax through her maternal grandfather. During summer vacations, she fishes with her family in northeast Maryland and the Outer Banks in North Carolina. She once hooked a baby shark when she was 7.
Today, we’re offering you a chance to test your basketball acumen through the eyes of Sixers All-Star Tyrese Maxey. As Maxey steps into more of a leadership role on the team, every decision he makes on the court dictates the Sixers’ chances of contention for the postseason.
Those aren’t my words but those of Inquirer interactive designer Jasen Lo, who created a game in which you can predict Maxey’s next move, and see if you’re right.
The game not only predicts what he might do but showcases career stats, which offer insight into the propensity of his movements and why over the last few seasons, they’ve been so effective.
Played it yesterday. Anticipated all of Maxey’s moves correctly.
Speaking of the Sixers, the New York Knicks were able to figure out Maxey and Co., who suffered their second straight loss following a 138-89 final at Xfinity Mobile Arena last night. Here’s what we saw.
Not going to get much snow melt today, as highs are expected to barely sneak past freezing. Let’s all continue to think warm thoughts.
Justin Crawford walks on to the field during the first day of spring training for pitchers and catchers on Wednesday in Clearwater, Fla.
Kyle Schwarber did a double take almost as soon as he walked through the door Wednesday in Clearwater, Fla., even before J.T. Realmuto pointed it out. Left fielder Brandon Marsh stopped infield prospect Aidan Miller in the hallway and said, “Man, you got a good little locker spot there.”
“They’ve all kind of made little comments here and there about it,” said Miller, who now occupies the space once reserved for Nick Castellanos, the disgruntled $20 million right fielder who no longer has a locker because he will be traded or released by the weekend.
“I was surprised seeing it myself.”
He shouldn’t be. Nobody should.
Miller is in the Phillies’ plans — and sooner than later. So, it isn’t a coincidence, according to manager Rob Thomson, that he and fellow top prospect Justin Crawford (No. 80 in your spring-training program) are taking up residence on Millionaires’ Row.
Zack Wheeler has a rib as a memento from his surgery for a blood clot. He vows that he won’t skip a step in his return to the mound.
Reliever Orion Kerkering’s spring training will start slowly due to an injury suffered right before camp opened.
What we’re …
🏒 Wondering: What’s going through the mind of Penn State star hockey player and Flyers prospect Gavin McKenna, who now has to wait until mid-March for his preliminary hearing on an assault charge.
🙏🏽 Remembering: The life of James van der Beek, the actor who many know for his role on Dawson’s Creek, but who we’ll remember as Jon Moxon, in the film Varsity Blues, who defied an egotistical coach, conquered temptation, and led the Coyotes to a winning season. Mr. Van Der Beek died on Wednesday at age 48.
Team USA takes to the ice today in men’s ice hockey against Latvia.
For hockey fans, the last 24 hours have been pretty awesome. The puck dropped on a men’s hockey doubleheader at the Winter Games in Italy yesterday, but today is the real treat with eight nations facing off, including the United States and Latvia (3:10 p.m., USA Network). Here’s our roundup of reasons to get excited about the men’s edition of the tournament.
A Villanova free throw misses the mark during the win against Marquette on Tuesday.
In back-to-back games, Villanova has made a pair of wins look really hard to come by. The latest came Tuesday in a three-point victory over Marquette at home. What ails the most? A complete lack of consistent free-throw shooting.
It is worth mentioning that the struggles are abnormal for a program that has consistently resided at the top of the Big East in that statistic for much of the last decade. It should also be noted that the team is 19-5 this season and on pace to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance in four years.
Still, what gives?
It’s what Inquirer writer Jeff Neiburg dives into, along with what’s next as March Madness looms.
Agustín Anello (left) celebrates with Jovan Lukić after his assist powered a goal in the Union’s preseason game against CF Montréal on Wednesday.
The Union wrapped up their preseason competition with a loss on Tuesday against Eastern Conference foe CF Montréal, which saw a pair of red cards dished out, including one to Montréal’s manager.
But that’s not the story. The story is that for the first time, the Union’s latest arrivals got game action and displayed a promising performance. With the signings of multiple million-dollar transfer fee players, the next step is getting them all to jell before the Union’s first official game in Concacaf Champions Cup action against Defence Force in Port of Spain, Trinidad, next Wednesday.
Inquirer writer Jonathan Tannenwald is in Clearwater, the site of Union training camp, for more on the game, but perhaps, more importantly at this juncture — how the new kids played in it.
On this date
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts watches the Kansas City Chiefs celebrate a win in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12, 2023.
Feb. 12, 2023: Eagles fans were forced to watch red and yellow confetti fall after the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII, 38-35, in Glendale, Ariz. Since halftime shows seem to be the topic of the moment, do you remember who the performer was in that game? Take a guess and then scroll down for the answer.
Villanova guard Tyler Perkins is leading by example as the longest-tenured Wildcat on the roster this season.
“The whole idea of a player recognizing and appreciating a particular program’s history and culture seems quaint in this era of college basketball. It certainly doesn’t have the pull and power that it once did.“ — Sielski offers insight into the state of college basketball and how Villanova guard Tyler Perkins seems to be an exception to the norm.
What you’re saying about the Eagles
We asked: Who is your favorite Eagles player of all time?
Wes Hopkins. Wes left everything on the field. Sadly, his career was cut short by injuries, but he and Andre Waters lowered the boom on any and all that came across the middle or the sidelines. — Craig K.
My favorite Eagle was Brian Westbrook. When he came into the league, the thought was that he was too small to be an everyday running back, but that he would be a good return man. He turned out to be so much more than that, a very successful multipurpose back who could run or catch a pass equally well. He was able to have a successful career because of quickness and speed, but, just as important, guts and determination. The fact that he played college ball locally at Villanova was an added bonus. — Tom E.
When I was young, I wanted to be just like Jesse Richardson #72. He was a defensive tackle who clogged up the middle of the field so that the linebackers could do their thing. Not very glamorous work, but I was always amazed watching him work. No face masks in those days, so the expressions were fairly easy to read. Every pickup game, I wanted to be our team’s Jesse. — Bill B.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jasen Lo, Scott Lauber, Lochlahn March, Gustav Elvin, Olivia Reiner, Matt Mullin, Colin Schofield, Keith Pompey, Mike Sielski, Jonathan Tannenwald, and Jeff Neiburg.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
That’s all for today. Thanks for allowing me to get your day started. Jim is back tomorrow to get you ready for the weekend. Oh, and if you guessed Rihanna in our On This Date question, you know your halftime shows. — Kerith
The loss dropped the Sixers to 30-24. The Eastern Conference’s sixth-place team takes a two-game losing streak into the NBA All-Star break. Meanwhile, the third-place Knicks improved to 35-20 after posting their largest victory in franchise history and evened the season series with the Sixers at two games apiece.
No Embiid, no victory
Remember when Embiid couldn’t move well at the beginning of the season?
Back then, the Sixers played at a noticeably slower pace on nights when the 7-foot-2, 280-pound center was in the lineup. As a result, there was a growing belief that the team was better when Adem Bona or Andre Drummond started in his place.
No one thinks that anymore.
Embiid missed his second consecutive game on Wednesday with right knee soreness. And he was sorely missed.
The Sixers have now lost six of the last seven games that Embiid has not played. Their lone victory during that stretch was a 113-94 decision over the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 3 at Chase Center. The Sixers are 11-12 without him and 19-12 when he plays.
The Sixers trailed by as many as 52 points against the Knicks. This came after they trailed by as many as 31 points against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.
New York scored 32 points off 18 Sixers turnovers. The Knicks also had a commanding 51-38 rebounding advantage in Philly’s most-lopsided loss of the season.
The Sixers must find a way to play well in games without Embiid, considering he’s going to miss more time due to not playing in back-to-backs.
“There’s been some, probably not as good of nights [without Embiid],” coach Nick Nurse said. “And I think most of it has been offensively. When I thought we were operating really well early in the year with some of the stuff we kind of put in in training camp, and just kind of maybe get back and readjust [to playing without him] we go over it a little bit and look at some of that stuff, because we’re obviously capable of playing pretty decently offensively as well.”
Tyrese Maxey finished with a game-high 32 points to go with two assists. His backcourt mate, VJ Edgecombe, added 14 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Dominick Barlow had 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
However, Bona got into early foul trouble and finished with six points, five rebounds, two steals, two turnovers, and four fouls, while being minus-24 in 22 minutes, 42 seconds. Drummond had two points and four rebounds and was minus-10 in 10:38 off the bench. He was replaced by Charles Bassey in the rotation during the second half.
Bassey, whose second 10-day contract expires on Saturday, had two points and one block in 4:38. Following the game, he was assigned to the Delaware Blue Coats.
“It’s weird, man,” Maxey said of readjusting to play without Embiid. “It’s weird because you got to play multiple different ways. A lot of times when he sits out, it’s on back-to-backs, so it’s hard. You go from playing one way with him or without him early in the season. He comes back and then you got to play that way and then a different way when he’s there, which is OK. It’s fine, you know what I mean?
“It’s the reality of it, and I think we’ll be all right. He’ll be here more than he isn’t here when we get back, and we just got to maintain. Those games that he’s not there and [suspended forward] Paul [George] probably won’t be there till the end, so we just got to maintain.”
The Sixers also struggled to contain Jose Alvarado. The reserve guard, acquired last week in a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans, finished with 26 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the three-point line. He also finished with a game-high five steals.
The Brooklyn native’s play drew loud “Jose … Jose … Jose!” chants from the Knicks fans who made up at least half of the 19,746 in attendance.
“Obviously, we had zero readiness and energy physically or mentally,” said Nurse, whose squad trailed 72-42 at intermission. “We kind of got to the half, the game was pretty much settled by then, and just going over all the things that we already gone over that we couldn’t get done.”
This past summer, the Sixers were excited about their deep, versatile backcourt rotation featuring Maxey, Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes, and Jared McCain.
Daryl Morey, the team’s president of basketball operations, likened it to the guard-heavy style used by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers to reach last season’s NBA Finals.
But the Sixers traded McCain on Feb. 4 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a first-round pick and three second-rounders. Meanwhile, Grimes has missed the past two games with an illness.
The Sixers also traded Eric Gordon to the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 5 for a pick swap. As a result, Kyle Lowry, MarJon Beauchamp, and Dalen Terry joined Maxey and Edgecombe as the available guards against the Knicks.
And that wasn’t good.
Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey (right) scored a game-high 32 points against the Knicks on Wednesday.
Lowry is a six-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer. But in his 20th NBA season, the 39-year-old has taken on more of a player-coach and mentor role. Meanwhile, Beauchamp and Terry are both on two-way contracts.
Beauchamp made his first appearance in Monday’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. He finished with eight points, three rebounds, one assist, one block, and three turnovers against the Knicks. And Terry had a rebound, an assist, and one turnover one day after signing his two-way contract with the team.
The Sixers need to strongly consider adding a guard in the buyout market. That will help Maxey and Edgecombe, especially on nights Grimes is unavailable.
Meanwhile, McCain appears to be finding his groove in Oklahoma City.
The second-year guard had 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting — including making 2 of 3 three-pointers — in the Thunder’s 136-109 victory over the Suns. McCain scored eight of his points in 75 seconds.
The Sixers had more problems than being without Embiid and a lack of guard depth. Against the Knicks, they shot 18.8% (6 of 32) from three-point range.
Kelly Oubre Jr. (0-for-5), Edgecombe (0-for-5), Justin Edwards (0-for-3), Trendon Watford (0-for-2), Terry (0-for-1), and Johni Broome (0-for-1) were a combined 0-for-17.
A lot of the Sixers’ three-pointers were short or off target. The squad appeared noticeably fatigued in their first home after following a five-game West Coast road.
“Maybe,” Maxey said when asked if being tired impacted their three-point shooting. “I think, in general, guys are a little tired, but that’s what the break is for, though. That’s what the [All-Star] break is for. Rejuvenate, get your legs back under you. Get mentally prepared for this stretch because after the break, it’s go time. It’s go time for every team in the NBA that’s trying to make a push, for sure. They want to play their best basketball down the stretch to get ready for the playoffs.”
The Sixers are 16th in the league in three-point shooting at 35.6%. However, they’re 21st in made threes (12.7 per game). And the squad hit less than half that amount against the Knicks.
As bad as things were, this wasn’t the fewest amount of made three-pointers for the Sixers this season. They made 4 of 28 in a road victory over the Orlando Magic on Jan. 9.
The Sixers were fortunate that night. They know they must shoot the ball better to stay in games, especially when Embiid doesn’t play.
Jose Alvarado scored a season-high 26 points and Mikal Bridges added 22 points as the New York Knicks beat the 76ers 138-89 Wednesday night.
The Knicks bounced back from an overtime home lost to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night for their 10th win in 12 games. Two of those victories have come against the Sixers. The teams split their four-game season series.
Alvarado, acquired last week from New Orleans, shot 8-for-13 from three-point range and finished with five steals.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Mohamed Diawara scored 14 points. Jalen Brunson, who scored 40 points against the Pacers, scored eight on Tuesday.
Tyrese Maxey led the way with 32 points in three quarters for the Sixers, who played without center Joel Embiid. The Sixers’ center sat out due to right knee soreness. VJ Edgecombe added 14 points, and Dominick Barlow scored 13.
The Sixers, who lost their second straight and for the third time in four games, were held to a season-low point total, just their third game under 100 points this season.
The Knicks jumped out to a 16-4 lead thanks to nine points from Bridges. They led by 30 at the half. The Knicks shot 58% from the field in the first half, paced by 19 points from Bridges and 16 from Towns. They finished with a season-high 41 assists.
Embiid missed his second straight game. He hadn’t missed consecutive games since Dec. 19-20. Quentin Grimes missed a second straight game due to illness.
OG Anunoby missed this fourth straight game for the Knicks with a right toenail avulsion.
The Sixers head into the All-Star break with a 30-24 record and will host the Atlanta Hawks next on Feb. 19 (7 p.m., NBCSP).
Joel Embiid and Quentin Grimes will miss their second consecutive game when the 76ers host the New York Knicks on Wednesday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Embiid reported right knee soreness following Saturday’s 109-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center. The center will be reevaluated following the seven-day NBA All-Star break, which begins Thursday.
Sixers guard Quentin Grimes (left) will miss his second consecutive game with an illness.
Embiid’s knee “is bothering him enough that he’s not playing,” coach Nick Nurse said. “I think it is improving a little bit. But it’s not quite there to get out there tonight.”
The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder finished with 33 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and one block against the Suns. The 2023 MVP and seven-time All-Star is averaging 29.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in his last 17 appearances.
The Sixers (30-23) have lost five of the last six games that Embiid has not played. Their lone victory during that stretch was a 113-94 win over the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 3 at the Chase Center. Overall, the Sixers are 11-11 without Embiid and 19-12 when he plays.
“Anybody that’s a little bit sore and signed up has a chance here to get some treatment for a week, and off their feet for a week,” Nurse said. “He would certainly be included in that for sure.”
Nurse added that there’s not a lot of concern that Embiid’s right knee soreness has reemerged. Embiid missed several games earlier this season because of it. He was also sidelined with left knee soreness.
“This is probably what we’ve expected to have happened, that there would be some soreness at times,” Nurse said.
Grimes is averaging 12.7 points and 3.6 assists in 48 games this season.
