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  • Muthoni Nduthu, killed in Bristol nursing home blast, remembered as a dutiful nurse and faithful mother

    Muthoni Nduthu, killed in Bristol nursing home blast, remembered as a dutiful nurse and faithful mother

    A chorus of nurses called Muthoni Nduthu to service one last time Saturday at her funeral.

    “Nurse Muthoni, please report to duty,” the nurses repeatedly cried out, each time punctuated by a chime from a triangle. “You faithfully served your profession with dignity, compassion, and integrity. … Your fellow nurses will take over from here.”

    Nduthu — who was killed when an explosion just before Christmas razed the Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Lower Bucks County — was laid to rest Saturday, memorialized by family, friends from the tight-knit Kenyan community in the area, and a 50-person nurse honor guard as an exemplary healthcare professional, a doting and spirited mother, and a pillar of her community.

    “She was our anchor, our prayer warrior, and our safe place,” the oldest of her three sons, Clinton Ndegwa, wrote in a tribute read by a relative. “Though her absence leaves a space that cannot be filled, her love remains rooted in us. We carry her faith, her strength and her lessons forward.”

    Two brothers and their nephew nearly died in the Bristol nursing home blast. From the hospital on Christmas, they share how they survived.

    During the funeral service at St. Ephrem Catholic Church in Bensalem, where Nduthu, 52, was a longtime member, she was remembered for her warmth and natural humor; her perseverance as an immigrant who went back to school for nursing while working full-time; her quiet, but constant, sacrifices for her family; and her cooking.

    The night before her Dec. 23 shift at the Bristol facility, formerly known as Silver Lake Healthcare Center, Nduthu prepared spiced chicken for her husband and sons to share on Christmas. The next day, she was working when a blast flattened a section of the nursing home just after 2 p.m., trapping dozens, hurling debris, and rocking nearby homes. Resident Ann Reddy was also killed, and about 20 others were injured. Earlier this month, another resident, identified as Patricia Mero, succumbed to injuries.

    Investigators work the scene at Bristol Health & Rehab Center on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Bristol Township, Pa.

    Peco crews had responded to reports of gas odor hours before the explosion, and residents of the 174-bed nursing home told The Inquirer they had smelled gas in the days leading up to the disaster.

    The nursing home; its operator, Saber Healthcare Group; Peco; and others are facing lawsuits from survivors and their loved ones who say the explosion was the result of negligence. NBC10 reported that Nduthu’s husband, David Ndegwa, has also filed a lawsuit.

    Survivors recount persistent gas smell, lack of concern by staff and a smoke break before explosion rocked Bristol nursing home

    The National Transportation Safety Board and a spokesperson for Saber said Friday that the investigation into what caused the explosion is ongoing.

    Nduthu and her family emigrated from Kenya to the Philadelphia area more than two decades ago, David Ndegwa wrote in a tribute. Once stateside, Nduthu pursued a nursing degree, “guided by her compassion and desire to serve others,” her eulogy read. She believed deeply in the power of education and hard work, her sons said.

    She “touched many lives through her kindness, generosity, and genuine care for others,” David Ndegwa wrote. “Her legacy lives on in our sons, in the friendships she nurtured, and in the strong foundation of family she built.”

  • Sixers guard Jared McCain assigned to the Delaware Blue Coats

    Sixers guard Jared McCain assigned to the Delaware Blue Coats

    Jared McCain has been assigned to the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats, the 76ers announced Saturday.

    McCain did not play in the Sixers’ Friday loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and his rotation minutes have diminished in recent games as the roster has returned to full strength. The Blue Coats play at the Noblesville Boom on Sunday and Monday.

    It has been a challenging second NBA season for McCain, who is about 13 months removed from meniscus surgery and also underwent thumb surgery in September. The second-year guard is averaging 6.3 points on 35.4% shooting from the floor in 30 games, but has been surpassed on the depth chart by dynamic rookie VJ Edgecombe and sixth man Quentin Grimes.

    Sixers are letting close games slip away, and it is costing them in the East standings: ‘Those hurt’

    McCain also had two-game stint with the Blue Coats in November to help him regain conditioning and his shooting stroke shortly after returning from injury. Sixers coach Nick Nurse said throughout McCain’s reacclimation that game experience is expected to help him return to form.

    Before his surgeries, McCain was a Rookie of the Year frontrunner after averaging 15.3 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 23 games. He shot 38.3% on 5.8 three-pointers per game, after connecting on 41.4% of his long-range attempts during his one college season at Duke.

  • Asked about anti-ICE protests, McCormick says ‘dehumanizing language’ is leading to violence

    Asked about anti-ICE protests, McCormick says ‘dehumanizing language’ is leading to violence

    In an interview with Pennsylvania’s two U.S. senators, CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil asked about “extreme rhetoric” in Minneapolis.

    “Where is the line,” Dokoupil asked, “between protected demonstrations, civil disobedience … and impeding ICE, which is breaking the law?”

    He did not specifically mention the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

    “The moment you start dehumanizing people, the moment you start calling people Hitler, the moment you start doing that, it’s a slippery slope to violence,” Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick said during the exchange, which was telecast Friday. “So there’s a direct connection between the violent language, the dehumanizing language, and the actual violence.”

    The Trump administration has defended Good’s killing as an act of self-defense by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, who shot Good four times as she drove away from him, video of the incident showed.

    The Department of Justice has since signaled it will not investigate the shooting; rather, it has launched a probe into Democratic elected officials in Minneapolis.

    Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

    McCormick said that ICE agents have a responsibility to enforce the law.

    “The moment the protesters get in the way of the ICE officials actually enforcing the law … the moment that it starts to become physical, I think the risk of violence goes up,” he said.

    The exchange was part of a wide-ranging interview, billed as a “lesson in bipartisanship,” that found McCormick and Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman often agreeing on divisive topics.

    “I reject the extreme on both sides right now,” Fetterman said. “It was a tragedy. We all wish that woman was alive. But also, ICE has a job to do as well,” and everyone doesn’t need to agree on its tactics.

    Here are other moments that stood out from the 16-minute conversation held at U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works in West Mifflin, about 10 miles south of Pittsburgh.

    Acquiring Greenland

    Fetterman and McCormick both rejected the idea, proposed by President Donald Trump, that the U.S. may use military force to acquire Greenland. But both senators agreed that it makes sense for the U.S. to increase its presence there.

    “It’s also undeniable, that, one, this is not a brand-new conversation,” Fetterman said, adding that President Harry Truman and others had tried to buy Greenland. “So it’s not an absurd idea.”

    McCormick said he recently met the prime minister of Denmark, “and they are welcoming the United States playing a more active role.” He doesn’t believe the U.S. should use military force, he added, but “we ought to have a strategic foothold.”

    Fed Chair Jerome Powell

    The Justice Department, led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, recently subpoenaed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, head of the independent body that determines U.S. monetary policy. The inquiry is looking into Powell’s comments related to renovations of Federal Reserve buildings. Powell has said the probe was opened because Trump was angry that Powell would not cut interest rates when the president wanted him to.

    McCormick defended Trump’s right to criticize Powell, and said Powell should have raised rates faster and lowered them sooner. However, he emphasized Powell’s “mandate” to control federal interest rates.

    “The Fed has to be independent,” McCormick said. “It’s absolutely critical for our financial system.” He added that he does not believe Powell is “involved in any criminal activity.”

    Regulating social media

    Both of Pennsylvania’s U.S. senators support legislation to rein in social media companies, which have faced broad criticism for negatively impacting children and teens.

    “If there’s a friend who’s spending four or five hours a day with your kid, you really want to know who that friend is,” Fetterman said, “and that is social media right now, and it can be incredibly poisonous.”

    Pennsylvania Sens. Dave McCormick, left, and John Fetterman play with Fetterman’s three-legged dog, Artie, at Fetterman’s home in Braddock, Pa., on Feb. 2. (MUST CREDIT: Justin Merriman for The Washington Post)

    Fetterman won his 2022 Senate race against Republican Mehmet Oz after relentlessly trolling his opponent on social media, but he said he has seen the negative effect social media has had on his own family.

    Fetterman said Congress is not doing enough — and he would like to see a social media ban for children similar to what Australia recently implemented.

    Fetterman said he and Republican U.S. Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama are pushing the “Stop The Scroll Act,” which would create a mental health warning label for social media platforms.

    McCormick’s wife, Dina Powell McCormick, recently became president and CEO of Meta, Facebook’s parent company. But McCormick said he agrees that Congress needs to do more. He wants to eliminate social media for children under 14, make social media platform data available to researchers, and ban phones in schools that are funded by the federal government.

    Data centers

    Despite public skepticism over artificial intelligence data centers and their potential impact on energy prices, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has been a vocal supporter of companies building the centers in the state.

    McCormick said Pennsylvania is the country’s second-largest energy exporter, making the state “uniquely positioned to be the AI energy leader.”

    “But, yes, as we develop this huge infrastructure, we need to make sure that consumers aren’t stuck with raising energy increases,” McCormick added.

    The two senators also spoke about energy and healthcare costs, the steel industry, and other topics. The full interview can be viewed here:

  • More than 2 inches of snow fell outside Philly Saturday — and more may be coming

    More than 2 inches of snow fell outside Philly Saturday — and more may be coming

    The wet, hefty snowflakes that fell across the Philadelphia region Saturday blanketed buildings and streets with slushy snow — and more is predicted Sunday.

    While Saturday’s snowfall — recorded at about half an inch in the city, and topping two inches in the immediate suburbs — was melting by the afternoon, a new storm Sunday could bring another round.

    Forecasts for the city and surrounding suburbs project 1 to 3 inches.

    “Expect more snow tomorrow than what you saw today,” said Mike Lee, lead meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.

    Here’s what to know about the snow, and the chances for more this weekend.

    Traffic on the eastbound Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) is moving slowly as snow falls in the region midday, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. Temperatures in the afternoon were expected to approach 40 degrees, so any precipitation that lingered was likely to turn to rain. Sunday will be colder, the source being a coastal storm.

    ‘Wet and slushy’

    With temperatures right around freezing, the snow that fell Saturday morning and early afternoon was “definitely wet and slushy,” Lee said.

    By midafternoon, the snow had stopped. Half an inch was recorded in Center City, while in the nearby parts of the collar counties, totals hovered around 1 to 2 inches, reaching 3 and 4 inches closer to the Lehigh Valley.

    While some of that snow was melting throughout the day Saturday, Lee noted that the melt could turn into black ice on roadways as temperatures fell at night.

    And Sunday offers another chance for snow to accumulate around the region, Lee said.

    Daniel Burton, of Wynnefield, is with his kids Apollo, 9, and Finley, 13, enjoying the snow at Belmont Plateau as the sunset lights up the Philadelphia skyline Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.

    Will Philly get more snow Sunday?

    A coastal storm system that meteorologists have been tracking may bring more snow Sunday.

    “There’s a little bit better chance for the Philadelphia area” to get snow from that system, Lee said.

    Philadelphia and the Main Line could get 1 to 3 inches of snow Sunday, with snow predicted to start at daybreak and last through the evening, said Melissa Constanzer, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather.

    South Jersey could see the greatest totals, Constanzer said, given the coastal nature of the storm.

    “If you’re planning on going anywhere Sunday, expect travel to be impacted,” Constanzer said. Even if snow is not accumulating, she said, visibility could be a challenge.

    Crews should have time to clear roads by Monday morning, Constanzer said.

    That’s likely it for snow in the near future, with dry weather predicted to start next week, Lee said. Monday night is forecast to see the lowest temperatures of the season so far, reaching 13 degrees in Philadelphia, according to the weather service. The high Tuesday is forecast to top out at 23, with a low Tuesday night of 11.

    “It is going to be pretty cold,” he said.

  • Springfield Hospital has a new buyer, for $1 million, after an auction winner didn’t close a deal

    Springfield Hospital has a new buyer, for $1 million, after an auction winner didn’t close a deal

    Springfield Hospital has a new buyer, with the same local investor group that bought Taylor Hospital in September agreeing to purchase it for $1 million.

    Bankrupt owner Prospect Medical Holdings said in a court filing Friday that it now plans to sell Springfield Hospital and an associated parking garage to KQT Aikens Partners 2. The group paid $1 million for Taylor.

    Todd Strine, one of the investors involved in KQT Aikens, declined to comment Saturday on the Springfield development. The company has been trying to find healthcare tenants for Taylor, which is in Ridley Park. Among the goals is reestablishing emergency services there, according to local officials.

    At Springfield, KQT Aikens is replacing a partnership of Restorative Health Foundation and Syan Investments LLC, which won an October auction for the hospital property with a $3 million bid but was not making progress toward closing the deal, Prospect’s filing said.

    Prospect sent a letter on Dec. 11 giving the partners a Dec. 15 deadline to complete the purchase. When that did not happen, Prospect terminated the agreement, the filing said. Restorative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    A challenge for any buyer of Springfield Hospital is a deed restriction that requires 24-7 emergency services at the site. The KQT Aikens deal is contingent on township officials removing that restriction. The KQT Aikens agreement also calls for local taxing authorities to set the assessment of the Springfield Township property at the sale price, as happened at Taylor.

    Jeff Rudolph, president of the Springfield Township Board of Commissioners, said in an email that local officials look forward to restoring the property to a productive use.

    “Prospect will determine the ultimate buyer of the property and, while the township plays no role in that process, we look forward to discussions with the new owner about any proposed future use of the site,” he said.

    Taylor and Springfield Hospitals were part of Crozer Health, which was Delaware County’s largest healthcare provider. That was before Prospect’s bankruptcy a year ago led to the closures last spring of Taylor and Crozer-Chester Medical Center, which was an important safety-net provider for low-income Chester residents.

    Prospect had closed Springfield in early 2022, and Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Drexel Hill in the fall of 2022. In both cases, Prospect blamed the closures on staffing shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Bears receiver DJ Moore is having his winningest season since playing at Imhotep

    Bears receiver DJ Moore is having his winningest season since playing at Imhotep

    Albie Crosby has come across several talented athletes over his two decades as a high school football coach. But DJ Moore was “always one of the elites in that group.”

    It makes sense, considering the success the 28-year-old is having in his eighth NFL season.

    The Chicago Bears receiver, who graduated from Imhotep Charter in 2015, has been a critical part of the passing game since his arrival in 2023, while etching his name into franchise history.

    The Bears won the NFC North for the first time since 2018, and Moore caught a 25-yard game-winning touchdown to seal a thrilling 31-27 comeback victory over the Packers in the wild-card round. St. Joseph’s Prep graduates D’Andre Swift and Olamide Zaccheaus also scored as the Bears (12-6) advanced to the divisional round for the first time since 2011 and will face the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday (6:30 p.m., NBC10).

    The wild-card matchup was Moore’s first NFL playoff game, and he’s experiencing his first winning season since his senior year at Imhotep.

    Philly’s DJ Moore catches game-winning touchdown to propel Bears into NFC’s No. 2 seed

    “When you look at it, no winning seasons since high school. It’s crazy,” Moore told Marquee Sports Network ahead of the Bears-Packers game. “This is my first time in this thing, too, so I’m just going with the flow and working hard.”

    That aspect of Moore has never changed.

    He always wanted to be the best, Crosby said, who took over at Simon Gratz in late December after spending nine season at Neumann Goretti. Moore was the talk of the area. His skills caught the attention of coaches while he was in grade school, Crosby among them.

    When Crosby became the head coach at Imhotep in 2012, Moore was in his sophomore season and played receiver, running back, and was the team’s kicker. He still holds the Philadelphia Public League record for most kicked points.

    As a junior, he helped ignite Imhotep’s run to its first-ever state championship appearance. However, the Panthers got trounced, 41-0, in the PIAA Class 2A championship game by South Fayette of Allegheny County. That didn’t matter to Crosby, because his players had the experience of a lifetime at Hersheypark.

    Imhotep finished 12-2 during Moore’s senior campaign. While it lost to Archbishop Wood in the first round of Class 3A playoffs, moments from that year have stuck with Crosby.

    Former Imhotep star DJ Moore, who now plays for the Chicago Bears, caught a game-winning touchdown in his first NFL playoff game.

    “We played Trinity High School, and into the third quarter, our kids started cramping up,” Crosby said. “Injuries started happening. We lost our quarterback. So the next week, we played Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia, and I had to put DJ in at quarterback.

    “Then, we had another national game where we played against Friendship Collegiate Academy outside of D.C., they thought they got the team with DJ at quarterback. … First play, quarterback’s back, and DJ’s at wide receiver. We throw a little screen to DJ, and he takes it 80 yards.”

    Moore finished with 35 receptions for 1,012 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2014 and was the No. 12 player in Pennsylvania, according to 247Sports.com’s recruiting rankings.

    Despite the accolades, he’s a “private young person” off the field. He also had a strong support system, and his mother, Cookie Ridley, used to attend every game, Crosby recalled.

    “He had an advantage when he turned to the sideline, he knew that there was loved ones looking out for him,” Crosby said. “His mom was one of the team moms, and she made sure that all the kids felt loved. He was a special kid because he embraced that. There was never no jealousy. He loved that his mom loved everybody. It speaks volumes of a young person that can share their parents.”

    Crosby often brings up Moore’s journey when he’s coaching his high school or seven-on-seven team. But when he thinks about the impact he may have had on Moore, Crosby hopes he offered more lessons about life than football.

    “I’m super proud of him,” Crosby said. “To be the father that he is, be the husband that he is, to be the son and brother that he is. All that is what makes me extremely proud.”

    During his three seasons at Maryland and five with the Carolina Panthers — who drafted Moore in the first round with the 24th overall pick in 2018 — his teams compiled 13-24 and 29-53 records, respectively. With the Bears, he’s having career highlights.

    In his first season, Moore finished with a career-high 1,364 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Last year, he had a career-best in receptions with 98. He hauled in six touchdowns and had 682 receiving yards in 2025.

    Moore will have the crowd behind him on Sunday, and his former coach also will be cheering for him and the Bears back in his hometown.

    “I’ll be rooting for him like crazy,” Crosby said. “Rooting for him, rooting for Olamide, and Swift.”

  • Flyers injury update: Bobby Brink nearing return; Dan Vladař remains day-to-day

    Flyers injury update: Bobby Brink nearing return; Dan Vladař remains day-to-day

    The Flyers face the New York Rangers on Saturday before embarking on a three-game road trip through what some are calling the new Death Valley.

    Whether they will have reinforcements as the team heads west to face the Vegas Golden Knights, Utah Mammoth, and Colorado Avalanche is the big question.

    According to Flyers coach Rick Tocchet, who spoke Saturday morning at Xfinity Mobile Arena, Bobby Brink is a “possibility against Vegas.” Brink was placed on injured reserve on Thursday, retroactive to Jan. 6, when he was injured on a blindsided hit by Anaheim Ducks forward Jansen Harkins just 2 minutes, 38 seconds into the first period.

    It had seemed earlier in the week that the winger would return, but he was not on the trip for the losses to the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins, and he has now missed six games. Brink skated Saturday morning and, if he is good to go, they’ll appreciate having back his production — 11 goals and 20 points in 41 games — and chemistry with Noah Cates.

    Flyers goaltender Dan Vladař is considered day-to-day. It’s uncertain if he’ll travel with the team on their road trip.

    Goalie Dan Vladař‘s status for the road trip is a little more up in the air.

    “At this point, I’d say day to day,” Tocchet said. “It depends [on] how he feels after therapy. So it’s like, one of those things every 24 hours, you kind of, you get better or not? What percentage? So it’s hard to really pinpoint things exactly.”

    Vladař suffered what looked to be a lower-body injury in the first period against the Buffalo Sabres, when he wasn’t sure where a missed shot by Josh Doan went before Rasmus Dahlin scored a power-play goal. The netminder, who is one of Czechia’s three goalies for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, allowed two goals on five shots in one period of action during the Flyers’ 5-2 loss on Wednesday.

    According to a team source on Thursday afternoon, the Flyers may have avoided the worst-case scenario on his injury. While the early findings are positive, they won’t know more for a few days. Whether or not he goes on the trip is to be determined.

    The Flyers have lost five straight. Here are five things they need to do to snap out of it

    “Yes, I think,” Tocchet said before adding, “still got to talk to the doctors on that, because if he’s not going to play in the games [maybe not]. Is there a possibility for the third game? Maybe. That’s what we’ll decide.”

    Although the team source also stated that Rasmus Ristolainen’s early findings were also positive and that they may have avoided the worst-case scenario, the defenseman will not make the trip west.

    “I don’t think it’s a long-term. Is it a week thing? Maybe,” Tocchet said. “If I say a week and it’s not seven days, you guys (the media) are going to kill me. But it’s definitely a week. It could be eight days, nine days, I don’t know.”

    Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen will not travel with the team on their three-game road trip.

    Ristolainen is out with an upper-body injury. When and how the injury was sustained is unknown. He was a full participant at morning skate and took power-play reps with the top unit in Buffalo on Wednesday, but then did not skate in the game that night.

    It’s another unfortunate setback for the 31-year-old blueliner. He made his season debut on Dec. 16 in Montreal after undergoing surgery on a right triceps tendon rupture in late March. It followed a pair of procedures in 2024, which also repaired a ruptured triceps tendon. Flyers general manager Danny Brière said last April that the injury was similar, although he wouldn’t confirm whether he suffered a torn tendon again.

  • Sixers takeaways: Rotation changes, Tyrese Maxey’s recent struggles and more from Sixers’ loss to Cavaliers

    Sixers takeaways: Rotation changes, Tyrese Maxey’s recent struggles and more from Sixers’ loss to Cavaliers

    The 76ers nearly pulled off their first win over the Cavaliers this year, after Wednesday’s blowout loss. But in the final moments, the Sixers just couldn’t close it out.

    Here’s what stood out from the 117-115 loss to Cleveland.

    Rotation changes

    After Wednesday’s loss, Nick Nurse changed his strategy entering Friday’s game, electing to match Cleveland’s two-big lineup of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen with his smaller lineup instead of trying to equal their size.

    “The choices are, go big and try to match their size or make them match yours,” Nurse said. “For the most part, I think the guys we had in there were the guys we wanted in there.”

    Quentin Grimes and Kelly Oubre Jr. both got a lot of run off the bench, while Jabari Walker got just four minutes, and Andre Drummond and Jared McCain didn’t play at all. Grimes scored 14 points with seven rebounds and four assists, and Oubre scored 12 points and grabbed two offensive rebounds.

    Sixers are letting close games slip away, and it is costing them in the East standings: ‘Those hurt’

    Nurse also turned to Trendon Watford for two key stretches in the second and third quarters. Watford scored just four points on two shots, but grabbed two offensive rebounds, and the Sixers were plus-five with him on the floor.

    “We had just a little bit of a rough patch in the second with execution and ball handling, and decided to go with him for that,” Nurse said. “I liked them having to play our smaller lineup [more] than I did our bigger lineup.”

    McCain, the Sixers’ 2024 first-round pick, has mostly played limited minutes since returning from a meniscus tear and a torn UCL in his thumb. But Friday, McCain had his first DNP since November. Before his season-ending injury last year, McCain was named Rookie of the Month and showed promise, but even with Nurse open to a smaller, guard-heavy lineup, he didn’t factor into the game.

    Maxey struggles

    After putting up just 14 points on 5-for-16 shooting in Wednesday’s blowout loss to Cleveland, Tyrese Maxey didn’t fare much better on Friday. Maxey shot 9-for-23 from the field and 2 of 8 from three-point range, ultimately scoring 22 points in the loss.

    Maxey said that the back-to-back set’s two games felt a bit like a playoff series, with both teams making adjustments after Wednesday’s “Game 1,” turning Friday into something like a Game 2.

    Most of the Sixers’ defensive adjustments worked, especially on Cavs star Donovan Mitchell, who shot 4-for-13 from the field after a 35-point game on Wednesday. But Maxey couldn’t find a way to break free offensively.

    “They do a good job on all my ball screens, they put a lot of attention on me,” Maxey said. “A lot of times, even when I come off a ball screen with Joel and Jarrett Allen’s guarding him, I’m just stringing them out, he stays on me, and I’m throwing it back to Joel. And then, I missed some good looks tonight.”

    The Cavaliers threw a lot of bodies at Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey to confuse him on offense.

    Nurse agreed that Maxey wasn’t as accurate as usual, especially from three-point range.

    “They got some great size,” Nurse said. “They did a pretty good job of putting two on him a lot. He didn’t get a whole lot, I thought, at the basket.”

    But despite Maxey’s struggles, the Sixers were able to keep the game competitive until the final moments, getting the ball to the weak side and giving more opportunity to the Sixers’ other stars, like Joel Embiid, who had a team-high 33 points.

    Defense

    The Sixers focused their game plan heavily around Mitchell on Friday, especially with Cavs guard Darius Garland out with a foot injury he suffered on Wednesday.

    Unlike in the previous matchup, they kept Mitchell in check. Jaylon Tyson ended up doing the most damage, scoring 39 points on 13-for-17 shooting, including making 7-of-9 three-point attempts. But despite the ultimate result, the Sixers made progress defensively, Sixers forward Paul George said.

    “We held Donovan to a rougher night, Mobley to a rougher night,” George said. “We didn’t predict Tyson would go for 40, but that’s basketball. It was his night tonight …But when you go into a game and we follow the game plan to make it as tough as possible for Donovan, I thought we executed that.”

    Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell was held to only 13 points in Friday’s Sixers loss.

    That defense also led to more offense. The Sixers had 11 steals, and scored 32 points off of 18 Cavaliers turnovers, with 21 of those points coming in the first half.

    But the final, game-losing possession, with Evan Mobley getting the ball from Tyson for an easy dunk in the paint, was an example of where the Sixers still need to grow defensively.

    “There’s still steps,” George said. “There’s a long way. I still think we’ve got to get to where we’re not giving up so many layups and baskets at the rim. I thought we did fairly good.”

  • Three arrested in Bucks County after stealing GLP-1 weight-loss drugs near pharmacy, police say

    Three arrested in Bucks County after stealing GLP-1 weight-loss drugs near pharmacy, police say

    Two men and a 17-year-old boy are in custody after they allegedly assaulted a delivery driver and stole $16,000 worth of weight-loss drugs outside a pharmacy in Bucks County, Bensalem Township police said.

    On Wednesday, a delivery driver was dropping off two boxes containing the GLP-1 weight-loss medications Mounjaro, Ozempic, and Trulicity at the Smart Choice Pharmacy at 1941 Street Rd., Bensalem, when the “strong-arm robbery” occurred, police said in a news release.

    The trio drove away in a gold Toyota, nearly striking a bystander recording the robbery on video, police said.

    After 911 dispatchers were notified of the car’s location, Bensalem Township police stopped the vehicle a few blocks away, police said.

    Police said they found the boxes of stolen drugs in the car and arrested Joshua Dupree, 41, of Tamaqua, Schuylkill County; Jahnoi Dawkins, 21, of Albany, N.Y.; and a 17-year-old male from New York City.

    “Further investigation revealed that the suspects, Dupree, Dawkins, and the juvenile male, had traveled from New York to commit the crime,” police said. “Pharmacy staff reported that they had received suspicious phone calls and emails in the days leading up to the incident requesting information about the delivery order.”

    The three were charged with robbery, theft, receiving stolen property, simple assault, and related offenses, police said.

    District Judge Michael Gallagher set bail at 10% of $150,000 for Dupree and of $250,000 for Dawkins; the men were taken to the Bucks County Correctional Facility. The juvenile was taken to the Bucks County Youth Detention Center.

  • Sixers are letting close games slip away, and it is costing them in the East standings: ‘Those hurt’

    Sixers are letting close games slip away, and it is costing them in the East standings: ‘Those hurt’

    Tyrese Maxey could easily begin rattling off several games that the 76ers had already let slip away this season.

    Both visits to the Chicago Bulls. Both contests against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons, including a Nov. 14 trip in which they led in the fourth quarter. Two games against the Toronto Raptors, a potential first-round playoff opponent.

    That barely scratched the past 12 days. The Sixers on Jan. 5 lost in overtime to a Denver Nuggets team that intentionally rested the bulk of its rotation. Then, last Sunday, they surrendered a four-point lead with 20 seconds remaining in regulation in Toronto before falling in overtime. Then came Friday night, when the Sixers blew an 11-point fourth-quarter lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 117-115 defeat at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

    And in the bunched-up Eastern Conference standings — where three games separated second place from seventh entering Saturday — Maxey acknowledged that “those hurt.”

    “We’ve had plenty of them,” the star point guard added. “ … But it’s OK. You’ve got to keep going. We’ve got 42 more games, so can’t dwell on it.”

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    The consequence of such late collapses was immediately clear late Friday, when the 22-18 Sixers dropped from fifth place to seventh in the East. They also are quite acquainted with down-to-the-wire scenarios, entering Saturday tied for third in the NBA with 25 “clutch” games played, which is classified as a game with the scoring margin at five points or less with five minutes remaining in regulation.

    Recent results, though, have shifted from the early season, when part of this team’s resurgent charm was its knack for flipping poor third quarters into valiant comebacks. Their three consecutive clutch defeats have dropped their record to 13-12 in such games, which partially mirrors a perplexingly average 10-11 home record.

    “It kind of evens out a lot over the year,” coach Nick Nurse said after Friday’s game. “I thought we were really great early, and I think we’ve got to get a little bit better right now at it.”

    The Sixers entered Saturday ranked sixth in the NBA in defensive rating in those clutch minutes (101.2 points allowed per 100 possessions), but 17th in offensive rating (109.7 points per 100 possessions). Standout veterans Joel Embiid and Paul George both attribute those offensive sputters to execution woes, particularly while still gaining rhythm with a finally healthy roster.

    Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points in his team’s first win over the Sixers this week.

    “We’ve just need to be organized,” Embiid said after Friday’s game, “and, I guess, keep running the same plays that are working.”

    Added George: “We’ve got to probably drill it a little bit more. We’re out there together. We kind of know where we’re at. What we’re doing. What we’re running. What sets can we get into? Because the fact of the matter is they’re not going to make it easy for us.”

    That starts with Maxey, the NBA’s third-leading scorer who will have the ball in his hands in crunch time.

    He was self-critical after missing potential game-winners at the end of regulation and overtime against Denver, noting that he should have been more demonstrative in directing teammates and where he wanted the ball. He believed he and the Sixers had improved in that regard in their first matchup in Toronto, when he ripped off seven consecutive points — including what could have been a game-clinching deep shot — before the Sixers botched an inbounds pass. On Friday, Maxey shook loose for a game-tying floater with 8.1 seconds remaining before Evan Mobley’s winning dunk, but had been physically guarded throughout a 9-for-23 shooting night.

    “Just not good enough down the stretch,” Nurse said of Maxey and the offense, “with either making a shot or getting a good enough one.”

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    During the final 3 minutes, 53 seconds — when Cleveland staged a 13-4 run to close the gap and seize the lead — the Sixers missed four out of their five shot attempts that came from Maxey, George, Embiid, and Kelly Oubre Jr. That put the Sixers “in scramble mode” on defense, Nurse said, whenever the Cavaliers turned missed shots or turnovers into transition opportunities. Maxey also emphasized an uptick in “broken plays,” such as loose balls and rebounds that the Sixers have not secured frequently enough in those crucial late minutes.

    “Those come back to bite you,” Maxey said.

    This was a rare week for the Sixers to play two consecutive games apiece against the Cleveland and Toronto, who also are in the thick of those muddled East standings. The Sixers are now 0-3 against the Cavaliers, officially losing the tiebreaker before a final meeting in March in Cleveland. They have finished the regular-season series against the Raptors at 2-2.

    The positives? The Sixers have clinched a 2-1 tiebreaker against the Orlando Magic, whom they play only three times in the regular season. And they hold a 2-1 lead over the Celtics before their final matchup in March in Boston, and 2-0 lead over the New York Knicks ahead of two home games next weekend and just before the All-Star break.

    Sixers forward Dominick Barlow was back in the rotation after suffering a back contusion earlier this week.

    Maxey enthusiastically clapped when asked earlier this season about his team’s abundance of close games, believing they would hold long-term benefits. Nurse added that, whenever he is asked about this topic at coaching conventions, he stresses that defensive execution is “equally important — maybe more” than offensive execution.

    “And then, like anything else,” Nurse said, “it takes some work. It takes some repetition. It takes some focus. And then it takes belief.”

    The past 12 days have demonstrated that the Sixers still have room to grow in those areas. Because they let three consecutive clutch games slip away, which caused them to slip down the crowded East standings.

    “We’ve got to close games,” Embiid said, “and we’ve had a lot of games that [we] probably wish we could take it back.”