In northern Massachusetts, just below the Vermont border, the Berkshires have been a four-season destination for as long as tourism has existed in America. Over the last couple of decades, greasy spoons, summer camps, and old motor lodges have given way to trendier offerings across North Adams, Lenox, and Williamstown.
The region’s recent renaissance coincides with its rise as a cultural hub — and, more recently, an escape hatch for New Yorkers and Bostonians during the pandemic. Why should they have all the fun? At roughly four hours from Philly, the Berkshires make an easy late-fall weekend trip. You may still catch a few lingering leaves, and with any luck, an early dusting of snow. Dress warm — you’ll want plenty of time outdoors.
With its low-slung, mid-century silhouette, TOURISTS Welcome almost blends into the forested landscape behind Route 2. That’s intentional, since this property (reborn in 2018 from a 1960s motor lodge) is all about the outdoors, offering guided Appalachian Trail hikes, waterfall meditations, and a cinematic suspension bridge strung across the Hoosic River. Inside, Scandi-meets-rustic comfort reigns: fireplaces, worn-in leather, raw wood, and window nooks perfect for reading. It works just as well for families (skip the amaro cocktails) as it does for weekending stylists.
While the picturesque landscapes bring many to the Berkshires, MASS MoCA has functioned as the area’s other magnet since its debut in 1999. Located in a former industrial mill complex, it’s one of the most lauded contemporary visual art museums in the country, filled with (and sometimes seemingly constructed from) colossal installations you can literally get lost in. Don’t miss the immersive light works by James Turrell.
Just a short walk from MASS MoCA, Steeple City Social lures visitors with the scent of cinnamon and coffee — and a menu that runs from thick biscuit sandwiches and sticky buns to savory cheddar-and-pickle scones. The pies by the slice are excellent, and a rotating selection of vintage housewares lines one wall. At night, the café shifts to spritzy cocktails and potatoes with caviar dip.
📍 5 Eagle St., North Adams, Mass. 01247
Walk: The Clark Institute Sculpture Park
Not to be outdone by MASS MoCA, the Clark Institute is the other destination museum of the Berkshires, with a collection of American and English art that includes a striking bronze cast of Degas’ Little Dancer. But the real magic — especially for families — lies outside. Its 140-acre sculpture park is free, filled with meadows, storybook woods, and walking trails that are especially enchanting with a little snow on the ground. The museum provides snowshoes.
Pop a bottle of sour quince, crabapple-and-McIntosh pét-nat, sparkling rosé, or one of the other exciting ciders at Berkshire Cider Project. The young cidery’s tasting room is open on Saturdays and Sundays at Greylock WORKS, a former textile mill-turned-artisan hive.
📍 508 State Rd., North Adams, Mass. 01247
Splurge: Miraval Berkshires
A Relax & Renew day pass at Miraval Berkshires — a nationally respected spa retreat in Lenox — isn’t cheap ($509 Sundays–Fridays; $539 Saturdays). But it includes $230 in credits for treatments (mineral body peels, birch-and-juniper foot massages), fee-based activities (falconry, golf), scheduled classes (yoga, rock climbing), full access to spa amenities, lunch, and gratuities. You can easily spend the entire day here. Consider it an early holiday gift to yourself.
If you love a cozy pub, you’ll love Water Street Grill. Historic building? Check. Friendly hospitality that makes you feel like a regular? Check. Creamy clam chowder you’d be happy to drown in? Check. At WSG, which lives in a wood-clad, century-old building, the 21 taps spout craft beers from here and away, the wings wear eight different sauces, and the meatloaf comes smothered in bourbon-kissed mushroom gravy.
It would be unfair to pin the Eagles’ 24-15 loss to the Chicago Bears on Jalen Hurts, even if his two turnovers and ineffectiveness as a passer were contributing factors.
Nick Sirianni and Kevin Patullo’s inability to scheme to the quarterback’s strengths, while also covering for his weaknesses, again was the primary reason for another inept showing from the offense. The same could be said for their game plan in the run game.
The rest of the offense, meanwhile, underperformed — from the offensive line to skill position players. And, for the first time in some time, the defense can’t be absolved. Vic Fangio’s group couldn’t stop a pig in an alley. The Bears’ 281 rushing yards were the most the Eagles have allowed in 10 years.
The Eagles were collectively bad on Black Friday. “They had that thousand-yard stare in their eyes,” said one team source about players and coaches on the sidelines at Lincoln Financial Field.
Sirianni has a mini-bye to turn another two-game losing streak around. He’s done it before. He’s earned the benefit of doubt. But he may have to cut his offensive coordinator loose, alter the play-calling command, or bring in a consultant to save a unit that currently has no chance in the playoffs …
Assuming the 8-4 Eagles don’t collapse and fail to reach the postseason.
“We’re not changing the play caller,” Sirianni said.
Sirianni probably can’t change the quarterback, nor should he. The Eagles have won a lot of games with Hurts, including the Super Bowl just 9½ months ago. But his limitations as a dropback passer have been a season-long problem and are central to what’s plaguing the offense.
If you want to know why the Eagles can’t run the ball, look at the play-calling, the O-line, and running back Saquon Barkley. But don’t forget the quarterback. Defenses have concentrated their efforts on stopping Barkley, and Hurts has failed to consistently make them pay through the air despite lighter secondaries.
If you want to know why the passing route design sometimes looks rudimentary, look at Sirianni, Patullo and their nondescript scheme. But don’t forget the quarterback. There are swaths of the playbook that aren’t touched because Hurts isn’t comfortable with certain concepts.
And if you want to know why a group that returned 10 of 11 starters and costs more than any other offense in the NFL is among the worst in the league, look at the men in charge. But if Sirianni and Patullo are to be called out for failing to coach to their talent, Hurts has to face that same scrutiny.
On Friday, there was plenty beyond the big-picture problems to be critical of.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts jogs off the field after the loss to the Bears.
“A combination of a lot of things,” Hurts said when asked about the offensive struggles. “Ultimately, you look inward first, and I see it as how the flow of things has gone for us this year and being practical about that. I can’t turn the ball over, so the ultimate goal is to go out there and find a way to win.
“That’s been a direct correlation with success for us being able to protect the ball and so that really, really killed us.”
No quarterback had been as efficient in protecting the ball this season. Hurts had just one interception and two lost fumbles in the first 11 games. But the Bears force turnovers at a higher rate than any defense.
And Hurts was careless when he was flushed from the pocket early in the third quarter and was picked off by former Eagle Kevin Byard for the safety’s NFL-leading sixth interception.
“I saw Kevin coming over and I knew there was a chance he was going to be able to make a play on the ball,” Hurts said. “Just was trying to give him a chance and throw it to the sideline where A.J. [Brown] could try and make a play on it, and I wasn’t able to connect with him.”
The defense held and Hurts bounced back on the ensuing drive. He drove the offense 92 yards and hooked up with Brown for a 33-yard touchdown. Jake Elliott missed the extra point, but the Eagles only trailed, 10-9, despite having just four first downs on their first seven possessions.
Saquon Barkley found some running lanes on Friday, but it wasn’t enough.
Then Eagles outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt intercepted Caleb Williams. Off the turnover, Barkley ran three times for 24 yards down to the Chicago 12 and the Eagles appeared primed to take an inconceivable lead. But Hurts was stripped by cornerback Nahshon Wright when he was stood up on a Tush Push.
“I have to hold onto the ball,” Hurts said when asked if he felt there should have been an earlier whistle to blow the play dead. “It definitely presents itself as an issue and it always has. It’s just never gotten us and so today it got us, and it’s something that we and I need to tighten up.”
As for the Eagles’ patented quarterback sneak, Hurts admitted that “it’s becoming tougher and tougher” to execute.
It was a tough day to execute the passing game with winds blowing at 18 miles per hour at kickoff. Hurts’ passing inefficiency should be viewed through that lens. Williams completed just 47.2% of his throws. Hurts finished 19 of 34 (55.9%) and threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns.
But he was 9 of 18 through 3½ quarters. Hurts converted just one of seven third downs as a passer over that span. He threw behind receiver DeVonta Smith on an early third down and the Eagles settled for a field goal.
“It was two guys on two different pages,” Hurts said, “and that’s a bit of the issues that we’ve kind of been having.”
Smith, who caught five of eight targets for 48 yards, declined an interview request after the game because he said he had to see the team doctor. He’s been dealing with various injuries. Brown had more success, pulling in 10 of 12 attempts for 132 yards and two scores.
But the outspoken receiver didn’t seem any more pleased even though he’s been more involved in the last three games. Brown understands the run game is paramount to the Eagles offense functioning at a high level.
“They’re making it extremely tough to run the ball,” Brown said of opposing defenses. “And we have to run the ball. We have to. That’s how you get the game going, you know?”
Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown have seemed more on the same page in recent weeks, a good sign for a team that needs one.
It’s a shame because the Eagles got some push and there were some lanes for Barkley to run through against one of the league’s worst run defenses. But the offense was hardly on the field in the first half partly because the defense couldn’t contain Bears running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai.
Hurts also had some moments on the ground. He picked up 23 yards off a draw that set up the first touchdown. It’s long been one of the Eagles’ more effective plays, but only recently has it been featured.
There were more run-pass option plays this week, and Hurts kept once as a runner. But including him more in the run game might be like trying to stuff toothpaste back into a tube. There are so many issues with the offense, and yet, it wasn’t just Sirianni who defended Patullo.
“That’s a crazy question,” Brown said when asked about making coaching changes.
He said receivers were getting schemed open. So why has the passing game been listless?
Hurts supported Patullo — seemingly with a caveat.
“I have confidence in him,” he said. “I have confidence in this team. I have confidence in us when we’re collaborative. I have a lot of confidence when we have an identity.”
The offense had an identity built around Hurts, which was to establish the run — with his involvement — and open the downfield passing game. And when the Eagles secured a lead in the fourth quarter, they could salt the game away behind their four-minute offense.
But they haven’t been able to run at will anymore and Hurts hasn’t been able to shoulder the offense as a dropback passer — at least on a game-to-game basis.
“I thought he made some good plays, had some good scrambles, had some good things that he did,” Sirianni said of his quarterback. “Just like all of us, he had some plays that he’ll want back, and he had some really good plays, but, again, we just weren’t consistent enough as a whole.”
Hurts can win, obviously. Some inside the NovaCare Complex seem to have forgotten that, based on frustrations with how he’s performing seeping into the public. He isn’t perfect. Far from it.
But he’s been good enough. And he’ll have to be — for now. It’s on Sirianni to figure it out.
My newest global cheesesteak crush is the Vietnamese banh mi version at Saigon Grace, a sweet fusion cafe on South Street blending Asian and Mexican flavors where I’d already fallen for the intense salt foam Vietnamese coffee. The food has been very good, too, and this recent sandwich special is pretty much exactly the multicultural mashup it sounds like: a griddled hash of flat-iron beef, onions, and melty mozzarella tucked into a delicately crusty Vietnamese roll from South Philly’s Ba Le Bakery along with the classic banh mi fixings of pickled daikon and carrot laces, jalapeño rounds, and crunchy cilantro stems. What ultimately brought this sandwich to the next level, though, was the unexpected flow of golden sauce ladled over top. Was it Whiz? Absolutely not! It was an aromatic Vietnamese curry sauce — a hint sweet and fragrant with star anise — enriched with a creamy kiss of coconut milk that kept the sandwich moist and added an extra layer of nuanced spice to every bite. Saigon Grace Cafe, 1514 South St., 267-423-0081, saigongracecafe.com
— Craig LaBan
Hirame usuzukuri as served at Uchi, 1620 Sansom St.
Hirame usuzukuri at Uchi
This sleek, sumptuous Japanese spot out of Austin planted its flag in Rittenhouse this month. Its dim lighting makes it a date-night must (sushi bar, drinking bar, dining room options) for high-level fish. This hirame usuzukuri off the cool tastings menu was a crudo surprise — so simple, but so complex: its candied quinoa base gives it a quiet crunch and nutty depth that sharpen the pristine flounder’s silkiness. Uchi, 1620 Sansom St.,215-647-7611, uchi.uchirestaurants.com
— Michael Klein
Murasaki sweet potato with yuzu kosho Buffalo sauce, sour cashew cream, and chives at Pietramala.
The Buffalo sauce-covered sweet potato at Pietramala
Lucky me to have a band of friends who were up for sharing the entire menu at Pietramala, Philly’s brightest vegan star, now Michelin-endorsed. On the night I had dinner there, chef-owner Ian Graye was off at the awards ceremony, picking up a Green Star and a Recommended. The meal was no less applause-worthy, starting with the tomato XO sauce-laden focaccia (which Craig LaBan considers one of Philly’s best renditions of tomato pie) and finishing on the chocolate-enrobed peanut mousse bar (which I deeply regret not ordering an individual serving of).
The menu was full of hits, but a predilection for wings perhaps inspired a deep appreciation of the Buffalo sauce-smothered Murasaki sweet potato. The silken, white-fleshed spuds come from Robin Hill Organics in Newtown Square. Pietramala roasts them, smashes them flat, then deep-fries them to order to yield a crispy-creamy slab of potato. It arrives on the plate positively drenched in a velvety Buffalo sauce made with yuzu kosho (a citrusy fermented chili paste), topped with a generous dollop of sour cashew cream and a shower of fresh chives. When our server put the plate down, they let us know it’s not often Pietramala repeats menu items, but this one’s too good to let go. Pietramala, 215-970-9541, pietramalaphl.com
The buyers: Cameron LaFreniere, 29, software engineer
The house: a 1,260-square-foot rowhouse in Point Breeze with three bedrooms and 2½ baths, built in 1925.
The price: originally listed for 350,000; sold for $340,000
The agent: Rachel Shaw, Philly Home Girls
The ask: Cameron LaFreniere was looking for a new city to call home and wanted to escape the stress of renting. Originally from Rhode Island, he considered settling down in Providence, but decided on Philadelphia because “the prices are significantly lower,” he said. It’s also easier to get around without a car, which was important to him.
The primary bedroom at Cameron LaFreniere’s home in Point Breeze.
He wanted a house that could be big enough for a family one day. “Basically something that could be a forever home if I wanted it to be,” he said. His budget was between $275,000 and $400,000, and he was only interested in historic rowhouses.
“I would much rather have an old build that’s well taken care of,” said LaFreniere, “because they’re often much more cost-effective in terms of maintenance.” He wanted something recently updated with multiple bathrooms, space for a home office, and within biking distance of Center City.
The search: LaFreniere began his search in December 2024 and spent months scouring South Philly for the perfect place. “I probably walked at least a third of South Philly,” he said. “I just really wanted to get a feel for the area. It’s one thing to look at something online; it’s another to experience it for yourself.”
LaFreniere outfitted the living room with all new furniture.
Across multiple weekend trips, LaFreniere looked at 25 properties, including eight on the final day of his search. He looked at a few places in Wharton Square and one in Graduate Hospital. He also saw one that was one street over from the house he ultimately bought — it cost $20,000 more. “It had nicer floors and was staged,” he said. As for the house he wanted, “there wasn’t much competition,” LaFreniere said.
Or it may have something to do with its location. “Point Breeze is a balanced market,” said LaFreniere. “There is a good amount of supply and places being fixed up. It’s a first-time buyer’s ideal situation.”
One of LaFreniere’s favorite rooms in the house is the kitchen, which was updated in 2017.
The appeal: LaFreniere liked that the house had been updated in 2017. It has central air and heat and the “quality of the kitchen is fantastic,” he said. At the same time, it still has several of its original features, like the staircase. “It’s the best of both worlds,” said LaFreniere.
The deal: On the afternoon LaFreniere visited, the seller had just dropped the price by $10,000. He decided he wanted it a few hours later and offered the new asking price of $340,000. There weren’t any competing offers, and the seller accepted.
LaFreniere was concerned about the floors, which he described as “a little beat up,” and asked for money to replace them. The seller said no but agreed to cover $3,000 of whatever issues the inspection turned up.
LaFreniere’s house features original details like the wooden staircase in the living room.
The money: LaFreniere had $30,000 to spend on the purchase of his home. “I saved this from working in a tech career for the past six years,” he said. It wasn’t always easy. He had significant student loans to pay off as well. To help keep costs down, he lived with roommates.
Of that $30,000, LaFreniere used $10,200 for a 3% down payment. Because he lived in an eligible census tract, he qualified for community reinvestment financing through OceanFirst’s HelpingHome loan, which allowed him to skip private mortgage insurance and lowered his interest rate from 7% to 6%. It also covered $6,000 of his closing costs.
The move: LaFreniere didn’t want to lug a bunch of stuff to Philadelphia from Providence, so he donated most of his furniture and half his belongings to local charities and thrift stores. He didn’t hire movers or rent a car. He took the train instead. Come moving day, all he had was a suitcase full of clothes and his bicycle, which he brought with him on the Amtrak. He moved in on June 25.
The basement, also known as the “man cave” at Cameron LaFreniere’s home in Point Breeze.
Any reservations? LaFreniere says he doesn’t have any regrets. “I knew what I was getting into,” he said. Certain parts of homeownership, like “how to do the trash,” were new to him but didn’t take long to figure out. The only thing he has had to contend with since moving in is cockroaches. But that was just once. “No recurrent pest problems,” he said.
Life after move: LaFreniere spent the last of his savings, about $10,000, on furniture. “I basically moved with nothing,” he said, “and then bought everything at Ikea.” He thought about redoing the floors but decided against it. The rugs and furniture cover the imperfections.
DEAR ABBY: Our 20-year-old son works full time and lives with us. He doesn’t do any household chores or pay us anything, not even his car insurance (which he agreed to pay). He then moved his girlfriend in, and after that a dog, without permission. He has anxiety and depression issues, which he thinks he’s treating with marijuana.
When we try to approach him about his plans for the future, helping out at home or paying ANYthing, it becomes a screaming match with him punching the walls. How do we handle this without a fight? I mean, we could kick them out, but we’re afraid he’ll then move to a bad neighborhood. He’s angry because his friends got to go to college, yet he showed ZERO interest and didn’t have the grades. Your thoughts would be appreciated.
— EXASPERATED MOM IN TEXAS
DEAR MOM: Do you want your son to continue to live with you in perpetuity and not assume any responsibility for the privilege? If the answer is yes, continue doing nothing. If the answer is no, then it’s time you and your husband finally assert yourselves.
Tell your son that by now he should have saved enough money from his job for a down payment on an apartment for him, his girlfriend and his dog. Give him a deadline to move. If he has to live in a less desirable neighborhood, so be it. When he starts punching the walls, tell him to stop immediately and, if he doesn’t, call the police. You will be doing all of you a favor.
P.S. Unless your son has been using marijuana with a doctor’s prescription, he is breaking the law in Texas by using it to self-medicate.
** ** **
DEAR ABBY: I’m in my early 30s and have decided to lead a child-free life. I think having a kid in the current state of affairs (rising costs, social injustices, crime, global warming, etc.) is unkind and irresponsible. But I’m worried that I won’t have anyone to look after me if (or when) I am immobilized due to age. What are your thoughts?
— WORRIED MILLENNIAL
DEAR MILLENNIAL: Oh, I am SO glad you asked me that! Having a child hoping it will guarantee that you will have someone to care for you in your old age is not old age insurance. There are no guarantees, as anyone who has read my column for any length of time can attest. As you grow older, it will be up to YOU to provide for your old age by consulting an attorney or a financial planner to ensure you have enough assets in place to assure you will receive the help you think you will need.
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DEAR ABBY: My husband and I file taxes together every year. I work, and he does as well. But when we get the tax refund, he never gives me a dime. How should I feel or what should I do about this?
— STILL WAITING IN PENNSYLVANIA
DEAR STILL WAITING: If you are working and contributing financially, then you should be entitled to some of that refund. That your husband would refuse to share with you is selfish and controlling. How should you feel? The words frustrated and angry come to mind. What is he doing with the refund money? Could he be applying it to next year’s taxes? What you should “do about” it depends upon how assertive you are willing to be.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Sometimes connection lingers like sound after a concert. You wonder if the other person hears it, too. Maybe they do; maybe they don’t. What matters is that you’re learning the frequency of your own peace. Stay tuned there.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Your indecision will have a mesmerizing effect. As you try to make up your mind, you swing back and forth between options, and someone is getting hypnotized trying to follow you. Uncertainty creates suspense, curiosity and emotional movement.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’ll fantasize about how it would be liberating to live with less because you’re lighter, freer, unburdened. But it does take courage because you must face your fear of emptiness — and discover that emptiness is not nothing; it’s space.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Some drift through the social landscape. You map it like a surveyor. Experience teaches you to see people’s motives, learn their pacing, predict their patterns. Because of this, you’ll pull off a deal today.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You know it’s true — when people grow apart, it doesn’t always mean forever. One version of you and one version of them came into misalignment. But life keeps editing us. Someday, new versions might meet again, ready to work.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The established order is a well-worn path that few have a reason stray from… until they do. Such a reason will soon arise. The balance of power will be upset. You’ll have your opportunity.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You notice a lot. If you pointed out every small flaw, life would feel tense for everyone, including you. Instead, you choose your moments wisely, focusing on what helps relationships grow smoother and more harmonious.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You’re doing so well that maybe you’ve started to wonder how to handle it. Can you sustain this pace? Should you push harder or ease up? These aren’t problems; rather they’re signs you’ve entered a new, higher level of success.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). There’s something mesmerizing about you today. Maybe it’s the way you linger in possibility. Your indecision isn’t confusion; it’s depth. As you weigh your options, others lean in, sensing they’re watching a mind alive with wonder.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). There’s more than one way to get unstuck, and for the current situation, you have the time to analyze the situation a bit. Often direct force isn’t the smart answer. Probably what you really need is a lever.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Your active imagination will fill in every blank if you let it, but it’s important to leave some of those blanks quite open. That’s how you see what is instead of seeing what you want, wish or need there to be.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). When your goal is too complex, big or expensive to reach with your own resources, this is the blessing that will bring you together with like minds, angels and people whose gifts are very different from your own.
TODAY’SBIRTHDAY (Nov. 29). Welcome to your Year of Banding and Bonding for the Cause. Your warmth and discipline attract the perfect allies. You’re brimming with creative potential, and you’ll get both the platform and the stamina to fulfill it. New destinations and uncharted intellectual territory will be sources of exhilaration, discovery and change. Romance surprises you with its depth. A financial risk pays. Aquarius and Libra adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 9, 39, 27, 6 and 8.
It appears the Nets (3-15, 1-3 East Group B) bring out the best in the Sixers (10-8, 1-3), who needed a pick-me-up following Tuesday’s 144-103 home loss to the Orlando Magic.
The victory also helped them avoid a season-long three-game losing streak.
This isn’t the first time the Sixers have recorded a blowout victory over Brooklyn after a loss. They defeated the Nets 129-105 in Brooklyn on Nov. 2, after losing 109-108 at home to the Boston Celtics on Oct. 31.
The Nets ranked last in the league in scoring (109.2 points per game), rebounding (39.4), and defensive rating (122.7), 29th in defensive three-point percentage (.389), and 28th in field-goal percentage (.440), and defensive field-goal percentage (.502) entering Friday’s game.
In addition, the Nets are winless at home and faced the Sixers without leading scorers Michael Porter Jr. (24.2 points) and Cam Thomas (21.4).
The Sixers took advantage and had one of their most balanced attacks of the season.
Sixers guard Quentin Grimes (right) had 19 points against the Nets on Friday.
Tyrese Maxey flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 22 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. Jared McCain had his best game of the season, posting 20 points and a career-high five steals. Quentin Grimes added 19 points and nine assists. Paul George finished with 14 points and two steals in 21 minutes, 21 seconds after missing Tuesday’s game with a sprained right ankle.
Adem Bona had 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting, which was highlighted by his first career three-pointer, after missing the previous five games with a sprained right ankle. The reserve center also had six rebounds and a game-high three blocks. And Dominick Barlow (10 points, 10 rebounds) was the other double-digit scorer.
Kyle Lowry, in his 20th season, even made his second appearance of the season. Both ironically came against the Nets. This time, the reserve point guard entered the game at the start of the second quarter and played 11:10.
The Nets have the league’s fourth-worst record. It’s hard to put a lot of stock into this victory, other than it serving as a confidence boost for individual players like McCain (right thumb surgery/left knee surgery) and Bona returning from injuries.
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey defends Brooklyn’s Egor Demin during the third quarter of Friday’s game.
Another injury
Yet, all wasn’t good for the Sixers, who earlier in the day felt good about Bona and George returning from injuries.
Bona’s return was supposed help take pressure off Drummond. The 32-year-old had been the lone legitimate center in the past five games with Joel Embiid (right knee soreness) and Bona both sidelined.
However, Drummond sprained his knee while landing underneath the Nets’ basket with 6:52 left in the half. HoopsHype is reporting that Drummond hyperextended his knee on the play.
Drummond ended up sitting on the court in pain. He had to be helped off the floor and needed a wheelchair to get into the locker room.
His injury forced the Sixers to insert seldom-used rookie Johni Broome in the second quarter after Bona picked up his third foul. Drummond’s injury is a tough break for him and the Sixers.
76ers center Andre Drummond (1) leaves court after getting injured during the first half of Friday’s game.
He left the game with seven points, four rebounds, and one assist to go with one block in 10:31. Drummond is also averaging 8.2 points and 10.3 rebounds in his 14th NBA season. He is averaging the most rebounds in a season since his 24-game stint with the Nets (10.3 rebounds) in 2022 after the Sixers traded him in Feb. 2022.
Meanwhile, Embiid missed his ninth consecutive game on Friday because of knee injuries. He missed the last eight as the team manages the soreness in his right knee. He also missed the Sixers’ 111-108 home loss to the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 9 because he doesn’t play on back-to-back nights to rest his left knee.
Two other starters, Kelly Oubre Jr. (sprained left knee) and VJ Edgecombe (left calf strain), and reserve forward Trendon Watford (left adductor strain) are also sidelined.
Friday was the sixth straight game that Oubre has missed, and the third for Edgecombe. Watford suffered his injury in Tuesday’s loss to the Magic.
Brooklyn Nets’ Drake Powell (center) is defended by Sixers center Adem Bona, left, and Jared McCain during Friday night’s game.
Elite shot blocking
The Sixers blocked seven shots after coming into Friday’s game with the league-leading 6.4 blocks per game. They are third in total blocks (116) behind Detroit Pistons (117) and the Dallas Mavericks (120). And it didn’t take long for them to showcase their rim protection against the Nets.
Drummond blocked Egor Dёmin’s seven-foot jumper 52 seconds into the game. He also altered several shots before being subbed out by Bona with 2:37 left in the quarter.
Not to be outdone, Bona blocked two shots in the second quarter. He recorded his third block early in the third quarter. Jabari Walker, Barlow, and Maxey had the other blocks.
“I think obviously we wanted to keep building on the performances we had last camp, and the emphasis on coming out strong and sticking to our principles, and I think that’s what we did,” said U.S. veteran Rose Lavelle, who earned her 116th cap. “Overall, I think a really good team performance.”
The United States wasted no time in attacking Italy’s goalie Laura Giuliani, scoring inside the first two minutes.
Fresh off their NWSL title with Gotham, Lilly Reale found teammate Lavelle to start the sequence. Lavelle then went wide to Alyssa Thompson, who quickly returned the ball. Lavelle found Moultrie, who went far side for her second goal in as many appearances with the team.
“We talked about starting fast and starting strong, and I think the momentum carried out,” Moultrie said. “We had a really good week of training, so I feel like it flowed into the first minutes of the game.”
An offside call on Lavelle at the 48-minute mark denied Moultrie her second goal.
In the 64th minute, Sam Coffey dribbled down the middle and found Macario breaking on her left. Macario took the pass and fired a shot far side to give the United States a two-goal lead.
Macario added her second in the 76th minute when she snared a pass from the team’s youngest player, 18-year-old Lily Yohannes, and fired a shot from the top of the right side of the box to the far side of the goal.
It was Macario’s 15th goal in 28 international appearances. Macario has now been involved in 18 goals in her last 14 U.S. appearances.
“It was a great win, it’s always a pleasure being with this team,” said Macario, who has 12 goals and six assists since February of 2022. “I feel so happy to be in this environment, and I feel like it really just helps you be the best version of yourself.
“Lucky enough that (U.S. coach) Emma (Hayes) knows me very well, and she knows what I can bring to the team. This was a good year … in which I have just been trying to find some consistency … just trying to find my rhythm.”
NEW YORK — Tyrese Maxey scored 22 points, Jared McCain had 20 off the bench and the 76ers beat the Brooklyn Nets 115-103 on Friday night in an NBA Cup game.
Quentin Grimes added 19 points, and Paul George had 14 to help the short-handed Sixers snap a two-game losing streak.
The Sixers (10-8) played without starting center Joel Embiid (right knee management) and VJ Edgecombe (left calf tightness), and then lost backup center Andre Drummond (sprained right knee) midway through the second quarter.
Drummond attempted to block Tyrese Martin’s floater and then tried to grab the rebound with his left hand, but fell on the court and immediately reached for his knee.
Egor Demin scored a career-high 23 points, and Martin had 16 for Brooklyn. The Nets (3-15) have lost three consecutive games and fell to 0-9 at home this season. They are the only team without a home win this season, with their last one at Barclays Center on April 8 against New Orleans.
The Sixers led by as many as 21 points in the first half and saw their lead cut to nine after Brooklyn went on an 11-2 run, capped by Denim’s 3-pointer that made it 74-65 with 4 minutes, 7 seconds left in the third quarter.
Brooklyn Nets’ Drake Powell (center) is defended by Sixers center Adem Bona, left, and Jared McCain during Friday night’s game.
Denim cut it to nine again with a three-pointer with 4:35 to play. Demin’s layup made it 112-103 with 1:13 left in regulation before Grimes found an open Adem Bona, whose three-pointer extended the lead for good.
Both teams were 1-3 in NBA Cup play.
The Sixers will host the Atlanta Hawks at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Sunday (6 p.m., NBCSP).
The interior linemen of the Chicago Bears were quick on their feet, Jordan Davis said. They are “savvy players” who attacked the Eagles, who are supposed to have a bruising defensive front, early and often Friday afternoon.
The Bears brought one of the better rushing attacks in the NFL to Lincoln Financial Field. One cut after another, D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai used the space created by Chicago’s front and made the Eagles pay. Swift, a Philly native and former Eagle, had nearly seven yards per carry on his way to 125 yards. Monangai, a rookie seventh-round pick, carried 22 times for 130 yards in the 24-15 win.
The Bears controlled the game and the clock with their two backs. As a team, they racked up 281 yards on 47 rushes, good for 6.1 yards per carry. It was the most rushing yards the Eagles have given up since 2015, and it was the first time since 1960 that two opposing rushers topped 100 yards during an Eagles home game.
“We knew we had to stop the run and then have fun and we just weren’t able to stop the run today,” linebacker Nakobe Dean said.
There was little fun for the Eagles’ defense, which was forced to defend 85 plays partially because of its inability to stop the run and because the Eagles’ offense struggled once again to sustain drives. The margin for error that offense has provided the defense in recent weeks is slim. And when it cracks the way it did Friday, the Eagles never really had a chance.
Jalen Carter likened the Bears’ rushing plan to what the Eagles faced in Week 2 last season vs. Atlanta, when they allowed 152 yards on 28 carries. Bears center Drew Dalman was on the Falcons last season. The Bears showed a lot of “sideways action,” Davis said.
The Eagles took too long to adjust, if they ever did at all. To Dean, they didn’t do a good enough job striking blocks, making reads, or playing off each other. Not being able to stop the run took some of the Eagles’ energy away, Dean said.
“By the time you know it, end of the first quarter, they already had damn near 100 yards rushing,” Davis said.
“We can’t take that long to figure out a remedy for that.”
Philly native and former Eagle D’Andre Swift had 125 rushing yards in his return to Philly.
It mostly was an uncharacteristic performance from the Eagles’ defense. Sure, Dallas roared back in its win Sunday, but that mostly was the Cowboys attacking a banged-up secondary. The Eagles have had occasional problems against the run this season, but not particularly lately. The Bears, however, rarely needed to throw. They won the battle at every level almost every time. They drove the Eagles off the line of scrimmage, got to the second level, and made the Eagles pay for taking poor angles.
Carter took ownership for some of the struggles.
“I blame myself on that,” he said. “There was some runs out there I got drove back or I wasn’t making an effect on the play. We kind of made an adjustment if you started seeing who was playing the first and second downs and then third down.”
What he meant by that was he found himself on the sidelines. The Eagles’ top interior lineman had to come off the field at times on obvious running downs.
“It’s my problems to deal with,” he said. “I ain’t fitting to tell y’all what I’m going through.”
What the defense is going through as a whole is a look-in-the-mirror moment.
Against Dallas, the Eagles allowed 473 total yards, the most in the Fangio era. On Friday, they surrendered 425 total yards and got destroyed trying to stop the run. They had just two tackles for loss.
“Things are going to happen,” cornerback Adoree’ Jackson said. “I always say the sky is not falling. Obviously you want to go out there and be perfect, make every tackle, shed every block, make every PBU, get the picks. Sometimes the game goes this way.”
Davis said he knows the negativity is going to come “from all angles at this point.”
“The reason why this s— stings, it hurts so much for us, is because we know that’s not our standard,” Davis said. “We have to be better. I was saying on the field that comes from all 11 of us. We have to do something different. If you want different results, you have to do something different. Whether that’s a little extra time in the meeting room, extra time in practice, playing blocks better, seeing blocks, we have to do better as individuals to become a better collective.
“We can’t do s— about what we put on the field now. We have to get back in the lab. We have a little bit longer week going into the Chargers game, and we just have to make sure that we get those problems fixed because it’s a copycat league. Everybody sees it; everybody knows that this could be a potential way to attack it. We just can’t let that happen.”
“This game is just going to be a launch pad for us to either get better or we can just stay the same and nothing changes,” Davis said. “I expect the guys on the defense to understand and answer that call.”
