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  • The Sixers tip off a pivotal road trip against the Chicago Bulls

    The Sixers tip off a pivotal road trip against the Chicago Bulls

    CHICAGO — The 76ers are an enigma.

    There’s no other way to describe the franchise as it has yet to answer several critical questions nine weeks into the season.

    It’s easy to point out that the Big Three of Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Paul George have only played three games together. And that they’re winless in those games after Tuesday’s 114-106 loss to the Brooklyn Nets at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

    Sixers takeaways: Winless with their Big Three, Joel Embiid injury scare, and more from loss to Nets

    Bombarded with injuries and illness, the Sixers have yet to play with a full roster. But they’re 16-12 and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers are 1½ games behind the third-place Boston Celtics, whom they defeated twice this season. And their signature win was Dec. 19’s 116-107 road victory over the second-place — and NBA Cup champion — New York Knicks.

    But with offseason uncertainty surrounding Embiid and George following left knee surgeries, the safe preseason projection for the Sixers was the NBA Play-In Tournament.

    The uncertainty surrounding Sixers center Joel Embiid at the beginning of the season has worn off as the longtime center settles in following offseason knee surgery.

    We may get a better idea of how good they are during the upcoming post-Christmas, five-game road trip. The Sixers open the road trip on Friday against the Chicago Bulls, who are riding the conference’s longest winning streak at four games despite having a 14-15 record.

    Then, on Sunday, they face the defending NBA champions and the best team this season, the Oklahoma City Thunder. After facing the Thunder (26-5), the Sixers will play the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday and the Dallas Mavericks on New Year’s Day. They’ll conclude the five-game trip with a rematch against the Knicks (21-9) on Jan. 3.

    Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey had 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists in a 113-111 victory over the Sixers on Nov. 4.

    Like the Bulls, the Grizzlies (14-16) and Mavericks have shown recent improvement. Dallas (12-20) is 7-5 after opening the season 5-15. The Mavs also won their last five home games.

    “It will be a good test to play some really good teams,” George said of the road trip. “It will for sure be a test for us. But we’ve been playing great basketball, despite this loss [Tuesday night to the struggling Nets],”

    Before that loss, the Sixers had won six of eight games, with their two losses coming to the Los Angeles Lakers (Dec. 7) and Atlanta Hawks (Dec. 14).

    “So we’re playing pretty good basketball,” George said. “[Tuesday] was one of those nights we were a little bit flat. And we’ll pick up the pieces and keep it moving.”

    Sixers waive rookie two-way guard Hunter Sallis to sign MarJon Beauchamp

    But George doesn’t see this as a defining road trip because the Sixers still don’t have their full complement of players.

    Embiid is not expected to play in every game of this road trip because of management of injuries to both knees and soreness. Kelly Oubre Jr. (LCL sprain in his left knee) and Trendon Watford (adductor strain in his left thigh) remain sidelined. And VJ Edgecombe, Dominick Barlow, and Quentin Grimes were sidelined against the Nets (9-19) with illnesses.

    Embiid, Edgecombe, Barlow, and Grimes are listed as questionable for Friday’s game

    “As far as defining us, it’s still early,” George said. “We’re playing good basketball. Our record doesn’t indicate how well and challenging it’s been. We haven’t had a full roster at any point this season. Whether I’ve been down to start the season, myself and [Watford]. I come back, Kelly goes down. You know, Joel has been injured. Tyrese has been sick.

    “So we really haven’t had a full roster. So it’s hard to tell what we are, who we can be.”

    Sixers standout rookie VJ Edgecombe missed Tuesday’s game with an illness.

    But the Sixers are eager to avenge their 113-111 loss to the Bulls on Nov. 4 at the United Center, when they blew a 24-point lead.

    The Sixers relied heavily on Maxey and Embiid, either in the two-man game or in one-on-one situations, that night. The problem was that neither player could get anything going down the stretch, as the Sixers missed their final 11 shots from the floor.

    Maxey finished with a game-high 39 points. However, he had eight points on 2-for-8 shooting in the fourth quarter. Embiid was worse. He was held scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting in the frame. That came after he scored two points on 1-for-5 shooting in the third period, and he finished with 20 points on 7-for-21 shooting.

    The Bulls went ahead 113-111 on Nikola Vučević’s game-winning three-pointer with 3.2 seconds left. It was their only lead of the game.

    The Sixers must maximize everyone’s talent and move the ball if they expect to be competitive. They must also find a way to contain Josh Giddey, who had 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists in that meeting. The guard is averaging 16.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 7.8 assists in the last five games against the Sixers, along with that triple-double.

    Chicago Bulls and former Sixers center Nikola Vučević has consistently been a strong contributor against his former team.

    Meanwhile, Vučević has tallied five double-doubles and one triple-double across his last 10 games against his former team. In addition to containing the duo, the Sixers will look to snap a three-game series losing streak.

    They also believe this 10-day road trip will benefit team growth.

    The trip will “get us out of our home market and be with each other on the plane, on the team bus, at the hotel, like, actually get a chance to do a few things together, too,” Andre Drummond said. “We have a couple of days in between games, too. So I know we’ll set up some team activities and really continue that bonding experience that we’re feeling right now.”

    And we may get a better idea of how competitive the Sixers are, even while being undermanned.

    ‘This is who he is’: High-flying rookie VJ Edgecombe has exceeded Sixers’ expectations
  • Sixers takeaways: Winless with their Big Three, Joel Embiid injury scare, and more from loss to Nets

    Sixers takeaways: Winless with their Big Three, Joel Embiid injury scare, and more from loss to Nets

    The 76ers are winless when Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey play together.

    It’s always a scary moment when Embiid falls on the court.

    Eric Gordon can still shoot.

    And the Sixers must get healthier for their upcoming five-game road trip.

    Michael Porter’s 28 points leads Nets to a 114-106 win over the Sixers

    Those things stood out in Tuesday’s 114-106 setback to the Brooklyn Nets at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

    Winless with star trio

    The Sixers (16-12) know much of their success ultimately will depend on how they play when Embiid, George, and Maxey are available.

    Well, let’s say they have a lot of work to do.

    Tuesday’s loss dropped the Sixers to 0-3 this season in games in which all three play. They suffered a 142-134 double-overtime home loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 30. And the Sixers lost, 112-108, at home to the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 7.

    The team was missing several rotation players because of illness and injury. The Nets (9-19) also have won two straight and six of nine games. However, with their best three players, the Sixers were expected to beat Brooklyn.

    Sixers forward Paul George scores two of his 19 points on Tuesday night.

    So what’s the next step to a victory?

    “We all just got to figure out how to find rhythm, playing off one another,” George said.

    But early Tuesday, the Sixers lacked ball movement. It was a game in which Embiid and George tried to get themselves going. Meanwhile, Maxey was a bystander, despite entering the game as the league’s third-leading scorer at 31.7 points.

    He was scoreless on 0-for-1 shooting in the first quarter and finished with 13 points. He missed 11 of 14 shots — including all five of his three-pointers. Maxey also finished with three rebounds, two assists, four steals, and four turnovers.

    Afterward, Maxey said he didn’t get into rhythm.

    But was only getting one shot attempt in the first quarter a result of that? Or was that a matter of trying to get others involved?

    “I feel like I was trying to make the right play,” he said. “But I got to stay aggressive.”

    ‘This is who he is’: High-flying rookie VJ Edgecombe has exceeded Sixers’ expectations

    Embiid had 27 points on 8-for-13 shooting along with six rebounds, four assists, three turnovers, and two blocks. George had 19 points on 5-for-14 shooting to go with four rebounds, two assists, four steals, three turnovers, and two blocks.

    As a team, the Sixers shot 40.7% — including making just 7 of 27 three-pointers. They also committed 17 turnovers.

    “Just being stagnant,” George said of what led to the Sixers’ struggles. “We got stagnant, loss of rhythm, team-wise. And we just played slow. I think our pace was a little slow, which, give them credit. They were making shots, which made it tough to get out, and play, and run fast.”

    Embiid scare

    Embiid went back to the locker room after falling to the court 25 seconds into the second half after being fouled by Terance Mann. It initially appeared that Embiid turned his ankle. However, he reached down and grabbed his right knee.

    The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder returned with 6 minutes, 49 seconds remaining in the quarter. Embiid has already missed 16 games this season because of injuries to both knees. The Sixers had to be elated that this wasn’t serious.

    Embiid returned to the bench midway through the quarter with both of his knees wrapped.

    “Just hyperextended it,” Embiid said. “Went to the locker room, checked it out, and we’ll see how I feel.”

    Before the injury, he was off to a solid start, with 19 first-half points on 7-for-10 shooting.

    Embiid had missed the previous two games because of an illness and right knee injury management.

    “It’s all right,” he said of his hyperextension. “We’ll see how it feels. Obviously, when you’re hurt, it’s kinda hard to judge, so we’ll see how it feels tomorrow.”

    Sixers center Joel Embiid (left) attempts a layup against the Nets. He scored 27 points.

    Gordon is still a sharpshooter

    Gordon, who turns 37 on Christmas Day, has had a solid NBA career. But now in his 18th season, the shooting guard rarely plays because the Sixers have younger, more athletic guards in Maxey (25), VJ Edgecombe (20), Quentin Grimes (25), and Jared McCain (21).

    While he’s not as mobile as before, Father Time has not impacted Gordon’s shooting. He shot 61.5% from the field and 62.5% on three-pointers in his first five appearances of the season.

    He made his sixth appearance on Tuesday with Edgecombe and Grimes sidelined by an illness.

    And Gordon again had a solid shooting night.

    He finished with a season-high 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting. He made his first three shots.

    The Indianapolis native entered the game with 3:56 left in the first quarter. He made a layup at the 3:00 mark. Then he drained a three-pointer to tie the score at 27 with 16 seconds left in the frame. He hit his third shot attempt, a three-pointer that gave the Sixers a five-point cushion, 1:28 into the second quarter.

    He added a three-pointer in the final second of the third quarter.

    “I’m going to be ready for whatever opportunity comes,” Gordon said. “I played in this league for a long time. I can still move. I can still shoot. I can still create my own shot. I don’t know, maybe we will see when the times get harder, play against tougher teams, or whatnot.

    “But I know we got a lot of young guys that we need to continue to play and whatnot. I’ll just be ready when it’s my time because I know I can fit in and gel with these guys and keep the floor open for these guys. As you can see, whether I play, miss 10 games and don’t play, come in, you know, I’m still going to be ready to go.”

    A need to get healthy

    Before the game, the Sixers were excited to have Embiid, Maxey, and George together on the floor.

    But they didn’t like the fact that several of their key rotation players were sidelined.

    Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee LCL sprain) and Trendon Watford (left adductor strain) have been out for several weeks. Dominick Barlow also missed Tuesday’s game because of illness.

    With Edgecombe and Barlow sidelined, the Sixers started McCain and Jabari Walker alongside Embiid, George, and Maxey.

    Grimes and Barlow initially were listed as questionable on Monday evening’s initial injury report. The team announced Tuesday morning that Edgecombe also was questionable. Moments later, they canceled the morning shootaround.

    But the team has been dealing with illness for a couple of weeks.

    Paul George (left) and Tyrese Maxey celebrate after George made a shot against the Nets on Tuesday night.

    Maxey missed the Sixers’ games against the Indiana Pacers (Dec. 12) and Hawks (Dec. 14) with an illness. Embiid sat out both games of Friday and Saturday’s back-to-back against the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks with an illness and right knee injury management.

    “It has kind of gone for a bit,” coach Nick Nurse said. “It probably started with Tyrese, but that would seem to be an isolated case, and now it’s kind of making its way a little bit, obviously. The guys that weren’t feeling great yesterday didn’t report to practice. This morning, when we didn’t see much improvement and added another to the list, we postponed shootaround, as you guys well know. You probably would have been here this morning. Just keeping the guys away until we can bring them to the game.”

    Michael Porter Jr. (center) is defended by Paul George during Tuesday night’s game.

    The Sixers can only hope Edgecombe, Grimes, and Barlow are back when they embark on their five-game road trip against the Chicago Bulls (Friday), Oklahoma City Thunder (Sunday), Memphis Grizzlies (Dec. 30), Dallas Mavericks (Jan. 1), and New York Knicks (Jan. 3).

    With the trio out, Justin Edwards was the sixth man. Gordon was the seventh man, and Kyle Lowry was the ninth. This was the fifth game for the 39-year-old Lowry, who’s in his 20th NBA season.

    “You know what we missed? We missed three athletes,” Nurse said. “Other than Tyrese, that’s our speed, right there. We got Q, explosive. Barlow, athlete. VJ, athlete that we [depend on]. We missed all three of them. And it kind of made it hard for Tyrese to not … have other guy [Edgecombe] out there to crack into the paint a little bit and do some of the things that VJ does for sure.”

    This was a bad loss to a team over which the Sixers had averaged 18-point victories in their first two meetings.

    “They were definitely missed,” George said. “Their energy, their extra plays. Those guys have a great feel for the game and just understanding where to be the defensive mindset. So they were for sure missed.

    “But, you know, this is a very winnable game with [the Nets also being] down [players.] So you can’t make excuses that they weren’t there.”

  • ‘This is who he is’: High-flying rookie VJ Edgecombe has exceeded Sixers’ expectations

    ‘This is who he is’: High-flying rookie VJ Edgecombe has exceeded Sixers’ expectations

    NEW YORK — Exactly six months before Christmas Day, the 76ers received an early holiday gift in VJ Edgecombe.

    On June 25, they selected the combo guard from Baylor over the polarizing, perceived-to-be-more-NBA-ready Ace Bailey with the third pick of the NBA draft.

    “He’s a dynamic athlete, potential All-Star, two-way player,” Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said of Edgecombe the night of the draft. “Really helped his team. He’s got all these winning qualities that we think fit. Great teammate. His story and what he has done to get to this point is really unbelievable.

    “We think he’s on a great trajectory to take where he’s come from and continue to improve … all the way through a very long and very promising NBA career. And we’re excited it’s here with the 76ers.”

    Jabari Walker shuts down Cooper Flagg, Tyrese Maxey gets hot when it counts, and other takeaways from a Sixers win over Dallas

    The 6-foot-5 , 195-pounder made Morey look like a genius by scoring 34 points on 13-for-26 shooting to go with six rebounds in the Sixers’ 117-116 season-opening victory over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. It was the third-highest scoring debut in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 43 points on Oct. 24, 1959, and Frank Selvy’s 35 on Nov. 30, 1954.

    And nothing has changed since then to make the Sixers rethink the selection.

    Edgecombe outperformed No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg while finishing with 26 points, six rebounds, and four assists in Saturday’s 121-114 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

    It was his fourth straight game with at least 22 points, tying Charlotte Hornets forward Kon Knueppel for the longest 22-plus-point streak by a rookie this season.

    Edgecombe is averaging 16 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.3 steals in 24 games. He is also shooting 38.3% from three-point range.

    Meanwhile, Bailey averaged 10.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists through 26 games with the Jazz. His highest-scoring games were 21 points twice, whereas Edgecombe has scored at least 21 points seven times while playing alongside Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Paul George.

    Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe scored 23 points and made clutch plays in a win over the Knicks.

    And even though he shone in Saturday’s game against the struggling Mavs (11-18), folks were still marveling over Friday’s performance against the NBA Cup champion New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

    Following his stellar performance in the 116-107 victory over the Knicks, several Sixers were asked if his play has surprised them this season.

    “Sadly, no,” Maxey said. “I want to say yes, but, sadly, no. Like, this is who he is, you know what I mean? We realized that Game 1. Yeah, you can do what you want to do in the preseason, and all that and practice in training camp, but when the lights come on, you just never know, and the lights came on, and he came on with it.”

    Against the Eastern Conference second-place Knicks (19-8), Edgecombe finished with 23 points, 18 of which came after halftime. He also finished with four assists, two steals, and one block while being a plus-13 and logging a game-high 38 minutes, 4 seconds.

    VJ Edgecombe and Snipes gift local kids with $500 shopping sprees: ‘Philly is home now and I always try to give back’

    His most notable achievement was his stellar defensive performance against Knicks guard Jalen Brunson. The two-time All-Star point guard finished with 22 points on 7-for-22 shooting and missed 6 of 7 three-pointers. With Edgecombe guarding him, Brunson was held to six points on 1-for-10 shooting in the second half.

    He kept hounding Brunson with his ability to get over screens.

    “To be honest, it’s kind of like a skill and wanting to do it,” Edgecombe said of battling through screens. “You know, everyone, when you see a teammate come in, you say, ‘Oh, switch.’ But that’s like wanting to [stay on your man]. You got to put in the effort, and knowing who I’m guarding also, an elite player, someone that thrives off coming off ball screens … so I’m just trying to make it difficult.”

    Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe held Knicks All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson to six points on 1-for-10 shooting in the second half on Friday.

    Andre Drummond has been most impressed by the Bahamian’s poise.

    “Despite whatever comes in the game, he still plays the game,” Drummond said. “He doesn’t get too sped up, and the way that he defended Brunson [Friday night] was textbook.”

    But isn’t it rare for a 20-year-old rookie to have that kind of poise?

    “I think I told you guys at the beginning of the season that he doesn’t count,” Drummond said. “He’s been a professional for God knows how long with the Bahamian national team. So he knows what it takes to play against tough competition. He’s been doing it since he was very young.

    “So no surprise there. We are just going to expect more from him. That’s all.”

    But coach Nick Nurse admitted that Edgecombe surprised him against the Knicks. The coach mentioned his tough buckets down the lane when the Sixers needed them and raved about Edgecombe’s huge two offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter to keep possessions alive when they desperately needed to match the Knicks’ scoring.

    “So that was, I don’t know, surprising,” Nurse said. “He’s really good. He’s getting better, too.”

    ‘That’s the PG we all know and love’: Paul George is finding a rhythm and changing the narrative of his Sixers tenure

    Edgecombe averaged 19.6 points on 48.6% shooting — including making 14 of 28 three-pointers — in the five games entering Saturday.

    But his role has shifted game to game, with his responsibilities affected by Embiid and George missing time because of injuries and Maxey being sidelined for the two games before Friday with the flu.

    “To be honest, when one of them is out or not, the three of them tell me all the time, ‘Stay aggressive,’” Edgecombe said. “So regardless of the game, they are going to tell me to stay aggressive all the time. In Atlanta [on Sunday], Joel was telling me, ‘Stay aggressive.’ ’Rese tells me, ‘Stay aggressive every night.’ P always tells me, ‘Be aggressive; be aggressive.’

    “So I say my role is just to be myself, and the adjustment to the pro game has been going well, to be honest with you. It’s the pros, the best players in the world. Just to be in the league, I know I have a lot of work to do because one day I want to be the best player.”

    Sixers guard Vj Edgecombe (77) scored 17 of his 26 points in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.

    With Maxey out against the Hawks, Edgecombe scored 17 of his 26 points in the third quarter to keep the Sixers in the game. He did that while making 5 of 7 shots, including all three of his three-pointers. He was 4-for-4 from the foul line while playing the entire quarter.

    Sixers mailbag: Does Tyrese Maxey have a legitimate case to be a top-10 NBA player?

    Edgecombe has been solid for most of the season. It’s just been a matter of keeping him involved. He gave the crowd in Atlanta a glimpse of what he can do when the offense runs through him. Then he showed folks at MSG why he’s an early Christmas gift for the Sixers.

    “Do I surprise myself? No, I don’t, to be honest,” he said. “I don’t want to sound cocky or nothing, but I don’t surprise myself at all. I know what I’m capable of doing.”

  • Sixers takeaways: A statement win, VJ Edgecombe’s third-quarter dominance and more from win over Knicks

    Sixers takeaways: A statement win, VJ Edgecombe’s third-quarter dominance and more from win over Knicks

    NEW YORK — The 76ers showed that they can still beat teams with winning records.

    VJ Edgecombe continues to take over in the third quarter.

    And Jared McCain is back to feeling healthy.

    Those things stood out in Friday’s 116-107 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

    Statement victory

    The Sixers (15-11) have played hard in most of their games, with several of those contests having exciting finishes. But the fact remained that they were 4-10 against teams with winning records.

    So this matchup against the Eastern Conference’s second-place Knicks (19-8) was a chance for the Sixers to make a statement.

    Mission accomplished.

    Maxey, Edgecombe help the 76ers hand the Knicks their second home loss of the season

    Before Friday, their only victories against teams with winning records came against the Boston Celtics (on Oct. 22 and Nov. 11), the Orlando Magic (Oct. 27), and the Toronto Raptors (Nov. 8). And this victory snapped their five-game losing streak against winning teams.

    The Sixers tried to downplay this victory, saying it wasn’t a statement win.

    “No, I think it’s just another one, to be honest,” Tyrese Maxey said. “Obviously, it’s a really good team, but it’s just another win. We have a long way to go. We have to keep getting better and get onto the next game, which is tomorrow.”

    But beating the Knicks has to be a confidence boost, considering their recent results against winning teams, right?

    “It’s definitely good to get the win, especially a team in the East,” Maxey said. “We got a game tomorrow. You know, it’s the NBA, so we got to try to win against them tomorrow.”

    The Sixers will entertain the Dallas Mavericks at 7 p.m. Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

    Against the Knicks, the Sixers played hard and kept things competitive throughout, as expected. But down the stretch, they made the clutch plays that winning teams have usually completed against them.

    “Yeah, this is something we talked about, you know, finishing games and not allowing it to slip down the stretch of the game, coming out slow in those third quarters,” Andre Drummond said. “So, I think for us, we’re starting to turn it around a little bit, little by little. So, we’ll take the small victories and progress that we’re making and continue to build on it.”

    They took an 88-87 lead into the fourth quarter after Adem Bona split a pair of foul shots. Then Maxey’s three-pointer gave them a 97-92 advantage with 8 minutes, 4 seconds remaining. Then, Edgecombe’s three-pointer with 2:44 left made it a 108-102 game. And Maxey hit another three-pointer with 47.9 seconds left to extend the Sixers’ lead to nine points.

    The standout point guard showed why he’s worthy of being voted an Eastern Conference All-Star starter by outplaying the Knicks’ All-Star point guard, Jalen Brunson.

    The Sixers picked up a rare victory over a winning team in Friday’s defeat of the New York Knicks.

    Maxey finished with a game-high 30 points while making 6 of 12 three-pointers to go with nine assists. Brunson finished with 22 points on 7-for-22 shooting – including missing 6 of 7 three-pointers – along with six rebounds and nine assists.

    With Edgecombe guarding him, Brunson was held to six points on 1-for-10 shooting in the second half.

    “He’s a tough player,” Edgecombe said. “Everyone knows he’s super good. I just try to make it difficult. You’re not going to hold him scoreless, but just try to make it difficult. I was just trying my hardest to make sure he didn’t get off any clean looks or anything like that.”

    In addition to shutting down Brunson, Edgecombe had 23 points, four assists, two steals, and a block.

    Drummond showed his shooting range while starting at center in place of Joel Embiid, who had the night off. Drummond made a career-high three three-pointers while finishing with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. It was his 10th double-double of the season.

    Third quarter Edgecombe

    This was the second consecutive game where Edgecombe dominated in the third quarter. The shooting guard scored 11 of Friday’s points on 5-for-6 shooting, including hitting a three-pointer, in the quarter.

    This comes after Edgecombe scored 17 of his 26 points in the third quarter of Sunday’s 120-117 loss. On that night, he made 5 of 7 shots, including all three of his three-pointers, in the quarter. Like on Sunday, Edgecombe played the entire third quarter.

    His ability to take over enabled the Sixers to snap out of their third-quarter blues.

    Joel Embiid will miss Sixers’ matchup vs. Knicks with illness and knee management

    “I have to be more aggressive in that quarter,” Edgecombe said. “It’s not just that whole quarter, it’s the whole game. I know myself. I tend to be slow in the third quarter. We are trying to get over that hump where we start to slow in the third. If that takes me scoring, I’ll do that.”

    He added seven points on 3-for-4 shooting in the fourth quarter. But the third quarter got him going and kept the Sixers in the game.

    “We talk about the third quarters a lot,” McCain said. “It’s something that we’re trying to obviously get better at, and when he’s aggressive like that, especially in the third, that’s what we need. So, he was perfect, and he’s been doing great with the thirds.”

    Karl-Anthony Towns, left, was one of the few bright spots for the Knicks on Friday.

    Mr. Healthy

    McCain can just focus on hoops.

    Friday marked his second game playing without a brace on his right thumb since returning from September’s surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament.

    “Thank God for that,” McCain said. “So now, I guess that’s pretty much the last thing, now. Just being able to get back in rhythm without a brace and without the tape around it. So last game was the first time we just tried it, and now it’s just getting used to it.”

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    The second-year combo guard went scoreless on 0-for-5 in Sunday’s 120-117 road loss to the Atlanta Hawks. However, he tied season highs with five assists and two steals. On Friday, McCain finished with 12 points, three rebounds, and one assist. He hit several big shots and closed out the game for the Sixers.

    McCain was also still working his way back from last season’s left-knee injury.

    The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder missed the final 4½ months of last season with a torn meniscus. McCain suffered the injury on Dec. 13 during a home loss to the Indiana Pacers. He said Friday morning that he’s confident in the knee.

    “I think I’m back,” he said. “I mean, I think I’m fully to where I need to be. I think most of it now is just being able to know when I’m coming in and being warm and being ready to come in, because the knee will get stiff if I don’t keep it warm.

    “So, kind of just when I go back to warm up, I try and get ready, but sometimes it goes longer, and so I have to keep staying warm, keep doing jumping, or whatever I’m doing to get warm.”

  • How the Sixers’ ‘kids’ bonded, then injected energy into the locker room

    How the Sixers’ ‘kids’ bonded, then injected energy into the locker room

    Adem Bona got Johni Broome’s attention from across the 76ers’ locker room, subtly interrupting a conversation ahead of their Nov. 30 game against the Atlanta Hawks.

    “I’m coming, Bona!” Broome hollered in response.

    It was time for the young Sixers to head to chapel, which has become a pregame ritual. Jared McCain, VJ Edgecombe, Justin Edwards, and Hunter Sallis joined them, too.

    Those teammates have swiftly forged a bond through serious activities, such as tapping into their faith, and sillier ones, such as intense NBA 2K video game matchups. And everyday ones, such as bus rides and shared meals.

    Outside belief that the Sixers are old and washed up is primarily used as a dig at the oft-injured (and max-salaried) Joel Embiid and Paul George. But these youngsters are debunking that notion and injecting energy — and promise — into their team’s 14-11 start.

    “We’re all just kids,” Edgecombe recently told The Inquirer. “Just enjoying the moment. Knowing that we’re in the NBA, what we worked for our whole life. …

    “It’s just a natural bond, for real. It’s no forced relationship.”

    ‘That’s the PG we all know and love’: Paul George is finding a rhythm and changing the narrative of his Sixers tenure

    This contingent of the roster is made up of rookies Edgecombe, Broome, and Sallis; second-year players Bona, McCain, and Edwards; and two-way newcomers Jabari Walker and Dominick Barlow. There is also a trio of 25-year-old “tweeners” in star point guard Tyrese Maxey — who noted before the season that he has tried to pick up video games in an effort to connect with his younger teammates — along with Trendon Watford and Quentin Grimes.

    The Sixers’ front office more deliberately course-corrected to this roster-building direction in the middle of last season’s 24-58 flop, citing a need for more players who were athletic and consistently available. Bona, McCain, and Edwards received legitimate minutes as first-year players. Edgecombe, the third overall pick in last summer’s draft, is averaging 15.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4 assists as an instant-impact rookie. Barlow is a starter and arguably the Sixers’ biggest surprise so far this season, and Walker is part of the rotation.

    The bulk of this 2025-26 group initially linked at the Sixers’ facility for summer league practices. Conversations while sticking around for cold-tub and treatment sessions spilled over to their newly created group chat, a player’s home, or a local restaurant. They went through the two-week summer league odyssey from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas. Then to workouts in Los Angeles, which included a Disneyland trip organized by Maxey. Then back to Philly for informal pickup games.

    Sixers guards VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey talk strategy during an NBA game.

    By the time training camp began in late September, those Sixers had already spent nearly three months together. And while the rookies had nothing to compare this early NBA chemistry-building to, Walker, now in his fourth season, called it “a different type of bonding” while likening it to a college-team environment.

    “Sometimes, in other situations, you want to hurry up and get off the court and just go home,” Walker said. “I’ve been wanting to lag behind, because there’s so many different personalities. … For things to happen like that so quick, you don’t feel like you’re just coming to a job every day.

    “I actually wake up like, ‘Dang, I’ve got to tell Johni this when I get there’ [or] ‘I’ve got to tell Justin this.’”

    Coach Nick Nurse grinned when this topic was broached following an early-season practice. He said he first noticed the “entertaining” connection among those players while on the bus heading to gyms in the summer. He added that they embody this staff’s 12-months-a-year philosophy, and helped set the tone for the Sixers’ commitment to “dig ourselves out of a hole” following that disastrous 2024-25 season.

    These days, Nurse said, there is a row of chairs along the practice court where those players frequently sit after their work is done.

    “I go up there once in a while,” Nurse said, “and I say, ‘What are you guys doing over here?’ And they’re like, ‘We’re just hanging out, Coach.’ And I’m like, ‘All right, keep hanging out.’”

    Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey and forward Trendon Watford have a close friendship on and off the court.

    Once those players finally leave the Sixers’ facility for the day, they regularly hop on their video-game headset.

    Unsurprisingly, NBA 2K is their top choice. In “My Player” mode, Broome has an “elite” 7-foot-4 big man who can shoot. Sallis plays with a point guard “trying to run the show.” Edgecombe has a variety of players, allowing for maximum versatility.

    “[We’ll] be on the game 24/7,” Edwards said. “We’ll be on FaceTime, in the group chat, trying to see who wants to play. That’s a big thing that I feel like we didn’t have last year.”

    When asked who is the best gamer of the bunch, most provided the politically correct answer. Yet when told that Edwards brushed it off, Walker quipped that “Justin should ‘no comment’ that question.” And while bringing his voice down to a whisper inside a mostly empty postgame locker room, Edgecombe eventually revealed, “I think I’m the best, though, to be honest with you. You can say [it].”

    TGI Fridays on City Avenue was a longtime Sixers hangout. Then Allen Iverson made it one of Philly’s hottest ‘clubs.’

    Gaming is how those youngsters also roped Sixers veterans — aka “Uncs” — George and Andre Drummond into their group. The 32-year-old Drummond said being around those players’ lingo — Edwards recently started calling him “Muddy,” an apparent reference from his New York City relatives — music tastes, and overall energy is “why I call myself a young man.” George, 35, added that being immersed in a virtual environment away from the facility or Xfinity Mobile Arena has encouraged them all to open up and bridge age gaps.

    “That’s where kind of the trust and the relationship has grown,” George said. “ … We shoot the [expletive] on the game, but then it carries over the next day and we’re looking forward to seeing each other. We laugh about what happened the night prior, and who [stunk], and who was trash.

    “It’s a fun way and I think, for us, [it’s] just kind of expressing ourselves outside of the grind of the season.”

    Now, such connections fuel aspects of those players’ game-day routines.

    Bona is the unofficial leader of the chapel “safe space,” which last season quickly added McCain. The invites then extended to Broome, Edwards, Edgecombe, and Sallis, who now file out of the locker room about an hour before any game’s tipoff.

    “Everyone checks on each of us,” Bona said, “Like, ‘Yo, we’ve got five minutes!’ It’s amazing. It’s a really good bonding activity together.”

    Added Broome: “Obviously, I’m a rookie, so things kind of get a little tough and frustrating sometimes. So it just kind of keeps me grounded, keeps me on the right path, in the right direction. Keeps me encouraged.”

    Those relationships also are noticeable inside the postgame locker room. Following a Nov. 25 blowout loss to the Orlando Magic, for instance, Barlow, Walker, and Broome sat huddled in a corner, immediately dissecting how the game got so out of hand. And after Embiid’s 39-point outburst against the Indiana Pacers on Friday, he was enthusiastically chatting with McCain and Edgecombe before heading to treatment.

    “I’m happier coming in here,” Embiid said later that night. “… You look at the guy next to you, you want to always joke around, talk to them, and hang out. Being on the road and just chill, that goes a long way.

    “I love all these guys in this locker room.”

    A fair amount of credit for such vibes can go to the “kids,” who quickly bonded with one another and then injected energy into the start of the Sixers’ season.

    “I can go [down] the list of young guys,” Drummond said. “It really just keeps our whole team spirit high.”

  • VJ Edgecombe and Snipes gift local kids with $500 shopping sprees: ‘Philly is home now and I always try to give back’

    VJ Edgecombe and Snipes gift local kids with $500 shopping sprees: ‘Philly is home now and I always try to give back’

    Children searched the aisles of SNIPES for clothing and picked out their favorite sneakers as 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe provided tips, bagged items behind the cash register, and helped in any way he could.

    “If I’m being honest, I told them to grab whatever,” Edgecombe said. “If you have siblings at home who didn’t have the opportunity to do this then think of your siblings. That’s what I told them, just grab whatever.”

    On Wednesday evening, the Sixers partnered with SNIPES to provide 10 local kids from the Youth Mentoring Partnership with $500 holiday shopping sprees. Before the festivities started, they were surprised with a special appearance from Edgecombe.

    ‘That’s the PG we all know and love’: Paul George is finding a rhythm and changing the narrative of his Sixers tenure

    When he walked into the store, he was welcomed with cheers as kids waited to greet him.

    “I’m seeing the kids happy and smiling and it means the world to me regardless if they’re my little siblings or not,” Edgecombe said. “Philly is home now and I always try to give back. Give back to the community. Give back to kids, especially, in any way I can. So, it means a lot to me.”

    Although Edgecombe struggled to find kids through racks of clothing, the 20-year-old guard eventually spotted them and helped each child fill up their shopping bags with the latest gear and sneakers — from full Von Dutch outfits and fitted hats to new pairs of New Balances.

    Growing up in poverty in the Bahamas and relying on a generator for electricity fueled Edgecombe to make a name for himself and provide for his family. Although the Sixers picked him third overall in the 2025 NBA draft, the rookie will never forget his Bahamian roots.

    “Me as a kid, I would have been in here grabbing as much things as I can to be honest,” Edgecombe said. “I wouldn’t have cared if it could fit me or not. I guess I’m really blessed just to be in this position just to give back. It means the world to me seeing kids happy.”

    VJ Edgecombe with members of the Youth Mentoring Partnership at SNIPES.

    Wednesday’s event is just one way Edgecombe is using his platform to provide for others. Being surrounded by teammates who want to continue to help the Philadelphia community — including Tyrese Maxey, who hosted his annual turkey drive in November — has been a big inspiration to the young guard.

    “We’re really fortunate to be in certain situations, financially,” Edgecombe said. “It’s important to give back to the community just because you never know what people are going through, daily struggles, you know. Our struggles are different from theirs. And sometimes people wonder about where their next meal is going to come from.”

  • Sixers takeaways: Paul George’s best game, Joel Embiid’s availability, and more from loss to the Hawks

    Sixers takeaways: Paul George’s best game, Joel Embiid’s availability, and more from loss to the Hawks

    ATLANTA — Paul George is moving well.

    Joel Embiid is making progress in his recovery.

    VJ Edgecombe showed why he needs to be more involved.

    The 76ers also had a tough time making key defensive stops. And when they finally did, they struggled to score late.

    These things stood out in their 120-117 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday at State Farm Arena.

    George’s star shining bright

    This matchup might have been George’s best performance of the season, even after the versatility he displayed in Friday’s victory over the Indiana Pacers.

    Paul George shows signs of being the versatile difference-maker the Sixers expected last season

    Against the Hawks, George took his ballhandling, scoring, and defense to another level. He didn’t look like someone dealing with left knee injury management and appeared closer to the player the Sixers (14-11) gave a four-year, $211.5 million deal on July 6, 2024, to form a Big Three with Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

    George finished with 35 points while making 7 of 10 three-pointers. The 6-foot-8 forward also had four rebounds, three assists, and one block. He scored nine of his points on 3-for-6 shooting, including both of his three-pointers, in the second quarter.

    “I’m getting more and more comfortable within the system, within the offense,” George said. “At that point, now, I can kind of just be myself. Just allow the game to come to me, find my moment. And be aggressive in those.”

    George scored 14 of his points in the fourth quarter. Now healthier, the 35-year-old, who missed 56 games since the start of last season, is once again able to get by defenders.

    “Last year was a lot going on,” he said. “I was just trying to patch up stuff. This year, I’m a lot healthier. I’m able. I feel like I can play my game. I feel like I can be myself.

    “There’s still some things that got to come back. I’m not all the way [100%]. But I’m more myself than I was last year. So that’s the positive that I can take. And everything else is, with time, I’m just going to continue to get better.”

    Joel Embiid (left) had his first double-double of the season for the Sixers.

    Embiid ramping up

    At the start of the season, Embiid needed at least two full days in between games to play. For instance, if the Sixers center played on a Monday, he wouldn’t play again until Thursday of that week.

    But that changed on Sunday.

    Embiid was back on the court after scoring a season-high 39 points on Friday. After that game, the 2023 MVP, who is dealing with knee issues, said he would petition to play against the Hawks. And his presence was needed with Maxey, the team’s leading scorer, missing his second straight game with an illness.

    “The main thing is he was feeling pretty good after the last game,” coach Nick Nurse said of playing Embiid. “Probably the schedule has helped a little bit, too, both pre and post these two games.

    “Listen, I thought he had some pretty good opportunities tonight. I thought he had a lot of unfortunate ones, especially some in close to the basket that rolled off here and there. And I kind of wish he would have gotten to the free throw line more tonight.”

    Embiid was rerouted on several drives to the basket, where the officials didn’t call a foul. When he did attempt free throws, he made 5 of 6.

    Embiid didn’t shoot the ball well from the field, making just 8 of 20 shots. However, he finished with 22 points, a season-high 14 rebounds, and two blocks for his first double-double of the season.

    TGI Fridays on City Avenue was a longtime Sixers hangout. Then Allen Iverson made it one of Philly’s hottest ‘clubs.’

    “I feel OK,” he said of playing on one day’s rest. “I was a little tired out there. But I feel good. I’ll take it. I came out pretty good either way. So I’ll take it. Obviously, I would have felt better if we got the win. But that didn’t happen. … We’ll see how it feels tomorrow. But it was good things.”

    Edgecombe’s dominant quarter

    The night started poorly for Edgecombe, who was summoned to the bench early in the first quarter after picking up two fouls. But he settled down upon his return and was in video game mode in the third quarter.

    That’s when the rookie shooting guard scored 17 of his 26 points. He did that while making 5 of 7 shots, including all three of his three-pointers. He was 4-for-4 from the foul line while playing the entire quarter.

    Edgecombe has been solid for most of the season. It’s just been a matter of keeping him involved. He gave the crowd in Atlanta a glimpse of what he can do when the offense runs through him.

    Sixers’ VJ Edgecombe (left) scored 17 of his 26 points in the third quarter.

    Defense improvement equals poor offensive possession

    The Sixers made clutch shots and kept mounting comeback attempts. They also had some solid defense, highlighted by Andre Drummond’s two blocked shots in the third quarter.

    But it just seemed like whenever the Hawks really needed to make a basket, they did. A prime example was Onyeka Okongwu’s three-pointer to give the Hawks a 114-109 lead with 3 minutes, 31 seconds remaining. That shot squashed a 13-5 run by the Sixers.

    Then, after Quentin Grimes’ three-pointer closed the gap to one point with 1:03 left, the Sixers made a defensive stop. However, they couldn’t score on their final two possessions.

    Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey sits out game in Atlanta with an illness

    Their ensuing possession, which concluded with George and Grimes missing three-pointers, appeared to be a few seconds of chaos.

    The Sixers got the ball after Embiid’s defensive rebound with 41.3 seconds left. They passed up several good looks in addition to their two misses before Nickeil Alexander-Walker grabbed a rebound for the Hawks (15-12) with 6.8 seconds remaining.

    Sixers guard Quentin Grimes (right) finished with 14 points against Atlanta.

    “Listen, it’s always one of those, I think, when we [get] a stop, we want to get up the floor and hit them before the defense is set, for sure,” Nurse said. “That settles down a little bit. There’s some chances to take a timeout. When you don’t and don’t score, you always want to go back and do it, maybe.

    “But I was pretty happy with — they were moving the ball. They had some looks. They had two cracks at it. Two guys who had just made shots, a bunch of shots down the stretch. I have to look at it again. I’m sitting here right now, [the possession] was probably OK.”

    Then, after Alexander-Walker made a pair of foul shots to give Atlanta a three-point cushion, Grimes missed a potential game-tying three at the buzzer.

  • Paul George shows signs of being the versatile difference-maker the Sixers expected last season

    Paul George shows signs of being the versatile difference-maker the Sixers expected last season

    ATLANTA — Paul George has been a bigger asset for the 76ers than folks envisioned at the beginning of the season.

    His defense and ability to assert himself when needed have made up for subpar shooting. He’s also been a great leader. At the same time, the 6-foot-8 forward is fully aware that the Sixers are Tyrese Maxey’s team, and he’s OK with it.

    The 35-year-old, who’s in his 16th NBA season, is determined to do whatever he can to support Maxey, who’s 10 years his junior, along with all of his teammates.

    George’s No. 1 priority is helping his fourth-place squad ascend the Eastern Conference standings.

    He’s sure to play a significant role in Sunday’s 6 p.m. game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena. A victory would give the Sixers (14-10) five wins in six games since suffering a 142-134 double-overtime loss to the Hawks (14-12) on Nov. 30 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

    Sixers takeaways: Paul George’s point-forward tilt, Joel Embiid’s big night, and more from win over Pacers

    Yet, George comes with a lofty price tag, making $51.6 million this season. He’s scheduled to make $54.1 million next season. And at the age of 37, he’ll have a player option for $56.5 million for the 2027-28 campaign.

    This type of contract is often reserved for foundational franchise players who are expected to dominate the league. It’s typically viewed as a bad investment for an aging and often-injured player who’s no longer the focal point.

    That’s why the Sixers may have a decision to make ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline.

    Do they try to part ways with the nine-time All-Star as a way to free up cap space?

    Or do they keep the older star, hoping that his leadership and ability to adapt will help them contend for a title?

    Sixers forward Paul George dribbles the basketball against the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 12.

    Here’s the dilemma: Even though George’s contract is a cap-space killer, the Sixers need his adaptability, selflessness, and leadership more than people want to admit.

    “He’s showing he’s a guy who can score and create his own shot — both from two and three,” coach Nick Nurse said. “Again, if he’s going to sneak in a few drives, which he had late [vs. the Indiana Pacers on Friday], it’s just going to make it all the tougher, if he can score on all three levels.”

    With Maxey sidelined by illness, George assumed the role of point forward in the 115-105 home victory. He finished with season highs of 23 points and five assists, while logging a season-long 33 minutes, 7 seconds. This was just his ninth game after missing 14 with left knee injury management and another with a sprained right ankle.

    “I thought he did a good job of just, again, settling things down,” Nurse said. “You know, he’s an experienced player. He’s got the ball in his hands, and, again, it comes down to making the right read. If there’s nothing there, you’ve got to go to work and score a big bucket.

    “He looked pretty good.”

    Without Tyrese Maxey, vintage Joel Embiid appears in Sixers’ win over Pacers: ‘I will if I have to’

    George has looked pretty good more often than not when available this season.

    But critics will point out that his field-goal percentage (41.8%) and three-point percentage (34.9%) were the second lowest of his career before Friday’s game. They’ll also mention that George’s updated scoring average of 15.1 is the fourth-lowest of his career.

    But his performance against the Pacers (6-19) marked the third time he’s scored at least 20 points this season. He shot 8 of 17, including 4 of 7 three-pointers, which could be something to build on.

    And if we’re sincere, George doesn’t need to carry that scoring load with Maxey being third in the league in scoring at 31.5 points per game.

    George’s job is to make things easier for the explosive point guard, who’s an early-season MVP candidate. He knows that assignment changes game to game depending on what the team needs.

    But he’s been most impactful running the Sixers’ offense in the half-court and providing solid defense.

    Sixers forward Paul George drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers guard Ethan Thompson on Dec. 12.

    Yet, George has proved that, when needed, he’s capable of providing a scoring spark.

    He finished with 21 points, five rebounds, and two steals while playing 24:42 in the Sixers’ 123-114 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Nov. 20 at Fiserv Forum. His performance came one day after sitting out his team’s 121-112 home loss to the Toronto Raptors due to not playing on back-to-back nights.

    Against the Bucks, he scored the Sixers’ first 11 points while making his first four shots. George scored the game’s first basket by driving through the lane and muscling his way to score. Then he added three-pointers on the Sixers’ next three possessions.

    “That was kind of the mindset,” George said following that game. “I know these guys played last night. So I’m fresh. I tried to come in, get the boost, just morale on both ends. I tried to impose my will on the defense, and then come out with a burst offensively.”

    Jabari Walker is soaking up knowledge from his veteran Sixers teammates

    Maxey took over from there, finishing with a career-high 54 points and nine assists.

    But the point guard had a quiet game in the Sixers’ second meeting against Milwaukee.

    Maxey had a season-low 12 points on 5-for-14 shooting in his team’s 116-101 road victory over the Bucks on Dec. 5.

    Stepping up, George hit several clutch shots en route to finishing with 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists.

    With Milwaukee mounting a comeback, he hit two straight jumpers to give the Sixers a 101-87 cushion with 5:51 remaining. Then he grabbed a huge defensive rebound to ward off another comeback attempt with 2:52 left.

    The California native took a lot of the pressure off Maxey by bringing the ball up the court and initiating the offense.

    Sixers forward Paul George passes the basketball against the Indiana Pacers on Friday, December 12, 2025 in Philadelphia.

    On Friday, George did one better while making sure things ran smoothly amid Maxey’s absence. That involved much more than his season-best individual performance. He was in constant communication with rookie guard VJ Edgecombe throughout the game.

    “P helps me a lot,” Edgecombe said on Thursday. “That’s someone I have a good relationship with. So, he helps me a lot. Just telling me the little things. Just telling me the things he experienced as a rookie, but overall, we have a personal relationship outside of basketball. So, yeah, it’s good.”

    The Sixers still see reason to be optimistic about their East chances.

    When it comes to basketball, George wants Edgecombe to be himself regardless of the situation.

    “That’s the main thing he’s been telling me,” Edgecombe said. “It doesn’t matter if he’s on the floor or [Joel Embiid’s] on the floor, Tyrese is on the floor, whoever’s on the floor, just be myself. He helps me with defensive tips. Just little things like that, anyway, I can get better.”

    Critics have viewed George’s acquisition negatively because he has missed 56 games since the start of last season due to injuries. But he’s starting to make positive contributions.

    And it is becoming evident that what he provides has been an asset to his mentees and to the team as a whole.

    Will the Sixers be eager to replace that at the trade deadline if they’re still competitive?

  • Sixers takeaways: Paul George’s point-forward tilt, Joel Embiid’s big night, and more from win over Pacers

    Sixers takeaways: Paul George’s point-forward tilt, Joel Embiid’s big night, and more from win over Pacers

    Paul George is starting to live up to the hype.

    Joel Embiid can still have lethal scoring nights.

    VJ Edgecombe is back to playing at a high level. And he could do more if the 76ers keep him involved throughout.

    Those three things stood out in the Sixers’ 115-105 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

    George shows his worth

    George had to deal with the attention, scrutiny, and spotlight that came with signing a four-year, $211.5 million contract with the Sixers on July 6, 2024. He’s been mostly criticized over the past year while dealing with injuries and underperformances.

    Tyrese Maxey misses Sixers’ game against Indiana Pacers with illness

    But the 6-foot-8 forward’s team-first mentality and ability to adapt to various roles have been on full display in the nine games he’s played this season. And with Tyrese Maxey sidelined with an illness, George excelled in the point-forward role against the Pacers (6-19).

    He put his imprint on the game from the start, scoring the first two points of the night before assisting on the Sixers’ next two baskets.

    The nine-time All-Star ended the quarter with eight points and two assists before finishing the game with 23 and five, respectively. George also had six rebounds and a steal and served as a solid two-way player.

    “I’m comfortable with the ball,” George said. “I think more than anything, it’s just continue to prove to myself and remain confident as I continue to trust my body and gain confidence on the floor that my body can still produce. So it’s just adding to the confidence, and just chipping away at the work put into this season so far to get ready for this season.”

    He missed 14 games this season with left knee injury management and sat out another game with a sprained right ankle.

    https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/tgi-fridays-city-line-avenue-allen-iverson-charles-barkley-club-fridays-20251212.html

    On offense, the 35-year-old ran the team well, creating shots for himself and teammates against the Pacers. Defensively, George was active and made Indiana work hard for shots. He remained in constant communication with teammates on both sides of the ball.

    These are the things the Sixers (14-10) envisioned when signing him to the maximum-salary contract to form a Big Three with Embiid and Maxey.

    Embiid shines

    This was Embiid’s best game of the season.

    His 39 points were his highest regular-season total since he finished with a career-high 70 points against the San Antonio Spurs on Jan. 22, 2024. Embiid also finished with nine rebounds and three assists.

    The seven-time All-Star was asked if his performance proves “I still do this.”

    “I don’t know,” said Embiid, who averaged a career-low 18.2 points in his first nine games. “That’s for those people that don’t think I can do it. I can’t change their mind or opinion.

    “It feels good. Obviously, playing like that, I feel like I can do it.”

    He thinks the dynamics are different, at times. Embiid said he wants to play more as a team. He said that includes making sure everybody is involved.

    The Sixers still see reason to be optimistic about their East chances.

    “If somebody has to sacrifice, I will,” he said. “But [on] some occasions, when I got it going, like tonight, it’s going to happen.

    “I don’t expect having to do this when everybody is healthy. But I will, if I have to.”

    Coach Nick Nurse thinks Embiid’s performance was as simple as finding an offensive rhythm.

    “But he worked at it this week, a lot,” Nurse said. “I think the practices helped, his own individual work away from practice certainly helped, which is a great sign that he’s doing that and feeling good or better-ish to do some of that.”

    After scoring just four points in the first quarter, he combined for 29 points over the second and third quarters.

    Sixers center Joel Embiid turned the clock back with 39 points and nine rebounds.

    For the game, he made 12 of 23 shots. His biggest basket came on a putback while being fouled with 2 minutes, 56 seconds remaining. He made the foul shot to give the Sixers a 108-102 lead.

    The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder later grabbed a huge defensive rebound on Pascal Siakam’s missed layup with 1:57 left. That led to George’s layup, which made it 112-105 at the 1:41 mark.

    The 2023 MVP made just 2 of 8 three-pointers, showing that he still needs to improve in that area. Embiid also needs to do a better job from the foul line, where he shot 13-for-18. But he did attack the basket more, which was part of a night where he moved better than in any game this season.

    “Again, I keep saying he’s best when he’s driving,” Nurse said. “And I think he drove it a lot to draw the foul early. That puts them in a tough situation of how to play him. And probably the best thing about it all, I mean, 39 is great, but it came at a lot of different schemes they threw at him.”

    This was an outstanding offensive performance, considering he was shooting career lows from the field (40.7%) and on three-pointers (21.4%) in the first nine games of the season.

    Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was asked if he was surprised by Embiid’s productivity.

    “Great player, perennial All-Star, on the Olympic team,” Carlisle said, “He’s a Hall of Fame guy. Who’s surprised? I’m not surprised.”

    If he and George continue to play this way once Maxey returns, the fifth-place Sixers should ascend in the Eastern Conference standings.

    Edgecombe must remain aggressive

    At the start of the season, Edgecombe was the overwhelming favorite for rookie of the year. But a heavy workload, a tweaked role, and a left calf strain slowed him down a bit … until recently.

    Now well-rested and healthy, Edgecombe is excelling once again. The 6-4 combo guard averaged 12.3 points on 44.8% shooting — making 6 of 12 three-pointers — in the three games heading into Friday’s contest. He followed that up with 22 points on 6-for-10 shooting, to go with four rebounds, five assists, and two steals.

    Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe performed better after nursing his calf injury.

    Edgecombe scored 14 of his points on 5-for-6 shooting in the first quarter. However, he attempted only four shots afterward, making one to score eight points.

    The third overall pick is playing well and showing that he can provide a key role. He just needs to remain in attack mode for four quarters. One can argue that his lack of aggressiveness stemmed from Embiid and George dominating the ball. However, he must stay involved.

  • Sixers vs. Lakers takeaways: Tyrese Maxey’s lack of respect, Joel Embiid’s struggles, and more from loss to Lakers

    Sixers vs. Lakers takeaways: Tyrese Maxey’s lack of respect, Joel Embiid’s struggles, and more from loss to Lakers

    Tyrese Maxey needs to keep his cool, but the 76ers point guard’s frustration is justified.

    The Sixers’ three-guard lineup of VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes, and Jared McCain is showing improvement and could provide a security blanket when Maxey sits on the sideline.

    Yet, the Sixers must get more out of the center position.

    Those things stood out in the Sixers’ 112-108 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

    No respect for Maxey

    Maxey had another dominant performance, finishing with 28 points while making 5 of 8 three-pointers. His last three pulled the Sixers (13-10) within two points at 110-108 with 7.6 seconds left.

    But Luka Dončić responded with a pair of foul shots before LeBron James stole the inbounds pass on the Sixers’ final possession as the Lakers (17-6) escaped with the four-point victory.

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    It was Los Angeles’ first victory in Philadelphia since Dec. 7, 2017.

    Dončić had game highs of 31 points and 11 assists, while James added 29 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. The four-time MVP scored 12 of his points on 5-for-6 shooting in the fourth quarter.

    In addition to scoring at least 28 points for the 14th time, Maxey finished with seven rebounds and nine assists.

    But you wouldn’t know he is having an All-NBA-caliber season based on the lack of calls he receives from officials. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder routinely gets hammered on his way to the basket. But fouls are rarely called.

    Coach Nick Nurse is surprised by the lack of calls Maxey receives at this stage of his career.

    “I think as much as he’s getting held and pushed and grabbed, and all that stuff, you think there’d be some more,” Nurse said. “As much as he drove it down the lane, you think there’d be some more. But the surprising ones are when [the Lakers] were trying to foul on purpose, but then they let those go.”

    There were a couple of others where the Lakers were trying to stop Maxey in transition without committing a take foul.

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    “And [they] whacked him upside the head,” Nurse said, “and he’s got to try to play through it.”

    The frustration that comes with that came to a boiling point on Sunday.

    No foul was called when guard Austin Reaves hacked Maxey on the arm as the Sixer blew by him on the way to the basket. Jaxson Hayes blocked his driving finger roll with 2:53 left in the first quarter.

    A heated Maxey had to be separated from an official after he expressed his disappointment over the no-call. Maxey was called for a technical as a result.

    He downplayed the incident when asked about his frustration following the game.

    “Not frustrated at all,” he said. “I laughed.”

    You got a technical foul for laughing?

    “Nah, I’m just saying, I’m happy, I’m smiling,” Maxey said. “It happens, sometimes.”

    Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey, center, reacts to his three-point shot during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

    Despite trying to downplay it, Maxey’s frustration was visible. And while his actions were out of character for the fun-loving Sixer, they were understandable considering the frequency with which these no-calls happen.

    And the no-calls didn’t stop, as Reaves got away with grabbing Maxey’s arm or hand several times afterward.

    “You know, referees are human,” he said. “Sometimes, they call it. Sometimes, they don’t. But you got to keep playing through all those calls, man.

    “I ain’t tripping off that. I think the referees do a great job.”

    Solid trio

    There was a time earlier in the season that the non-Maxey minutes were tough to watch. But they’ve gotten better as McCain has regained his rhythm and Edgecombe has healed from a calf injury.

    On Sunday, the Sixers had success with their three-guard lineup of McCain, Edgecombe, and Grimes, with the standout on the bench for the first 5:45 of the second quarter.

    With those three guards leading the way, the Sixers outscored the Lakers, 16-8, before Maxey re-entered the game. Edgecombe scored five of those points, while McCain had seven.

    The Sixers went to the same three-guard lineup at the start of the fourth quarter. But it was just for a limited time as Maxey checked back into the game with 8:35 remaining.

    More needed from centers

    On paper, the Sixers had a big advantage at the center position with 2023 MVP and seven-time All-Star Joel Embiid starting and two-time All-Star Andre Drummond as his backup. They faced a Lakers squad that started Deandre Ayton and had Hayes coming off the bench.

    However, Embiid struggled to make shots. Drummond did the same in the first half. Defensively, they both had a tough time guarding Ayton.

    Embiid finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. However, he missed 17 of his 21 shots, including all six of his three-pointers. Most of Embiid’s points came at the foul line, where he went 8-for-8.

    Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, left, talks with Tyrese Maxey, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

    Embiid loved the looks he got.

    “Every shot felt like it was right there,” said Embiid, who has missed 14 of the Sixers’ 23 games. “I think it all comes down to just getting back into rhythm, playing every day, and it’s hard being in and out. But I got to do it, I think every single day.

    “I like what I got tonight. I just happened to miss them. Maybe next time it’s going to go in.”

    Drummond finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds. He made five of 11 baskets, but he scored only two points on 1-for-4 shooting before intermission.

    Meanwhile, Ayton had 14 points on 7-for-7 shooting to go with 12 rebounds. Hayes put up three points and five rebounds in 16 minutes.

    The Sixers’ big men must play better for the Sixers to have any chance of beating a solid team.