In the final game of a three-game homestand, the Philadelphia 76ers played host to a shorthanded Golden State Warriors squad. Without Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler III, the Sixers looked to have an easy night of work ahead of them, especially with Joel Embiid and Quentin Grimes being upgraded to AVAILABLE before the game. For the most part, it was, until a fourth-quarter collapse nearly cost them the win.
Once again led by the efforts of Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, taking the first quarter by 20 points. From there, the Warriors began to slowly battle back before dominating the Sixers for 99 percent of the fourth quarter. Thankfully, that one percent proved to be pretty important to the result of the game.
The Warriors grabbed their first lead of the game with just over two and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter, coming shortly after a scoring drought by the Sixers that lasted nearly half of the entire fourth. The Sixers appeared down and out, the victims of the kind of performance they forced on other teams at the start of the year. Thankfully, in the crux of the game, the team was able to turn everything around thanks to the performance of The Franchise, the rookie, and the team's head coach, who set everything into motion with a well-timed challenge.
After VJ Edgecombe stripped the ball from Warriors' big Quinten Post, the rookie was called for a foul, which Sixers coach Nick Nurse challenged, claiming the strip was clean. The nurse was proven right, but imminent possession was the Warriors', so they would once again inbound the ball from the sideline.
For a moment, it seemed little changed except the clock, which dropped from 11.2 to 10.1 seconds remaining, but the advantage Nurse had created for his team would soon become apparent, thanks to the execution of the players on the court. As the Warriors attempted to inbound the ball, Warriors guard Pat Spencer struggled to find an open man, ultimately forcing the ball toward Buddy Hield, hoping to avoid a five-second violation.
Edgecombe would make the most of this opportunity, stripping and securing the loose ball, and giving the Sixers another shot to win the game with 8.2 seconds remaining.
The ball would find its way to none other than Tyrese Maxey, who would take what was meant to be the final shot, working his way right and taking a difficult midrange fadeaway that would miss everything, but fall right into the hands of the crashing VJ Edgecombe, who was able to knock down the putback, the biggest shot of his young career.
Despite re-taking the lead, the game was not yet over, even with just 0.9 seconds remaining on the clock. Wisely, two former Sixers immediately sprang into action as Buddy Hield threw what looked to be a touchdown pass to the streaking De'Anthony Melton, who wisely allowed the ball to bounce once, ensuring as much time on the clock for him to make a move, and nearly laid in the winning basket, had not Tyrese Maxey sprinted the entire length of the court to block the shot, surely giving Warriors fans flashbacks of LeBron James' infamous block against Andre Iguodala in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals.
Maxey's block was the ultimate cap on another wildly successful evening. The Sixers' electric star also led all scorers with 35 points and added two crucial steals to his tally for the night. While the Sixers' season has been neither a massive success nor a failure, to his point, Tyrese Maxey has become a bona fide superstar in Philadelphia, transforming the team's approach and firmly establishing himself as someone worthy of not only making the All-Star team but also MVP consideration.
With this game, Maxey officially pulled into a tie with Sixers legend Allen Iverson for the second-longest scoring streak of 20 or more points to begin a season in franchise history.
For all the continued drama Sixers fans have endured, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe are among the many bright spots that have already made this season a massive improvement over last year.
As for other standout Sixers, Dominick Barlow continues to be the team's swiss army knife, putting up an impressive stat line of 14 rebounds, six points and three blocks. Joel Embiid was capped at 25 minutes tonight but was fairly efficient inside the arc, and appeared far more mobile compared to his previous outing, though he still has a long way to go until he looks like himself again—if that even remains a possibility.
This matchup marks the first of a home-and-away back-to-back for Philadelphia, who will travel to Milwaukee to face the Bucks tomorrow night. Superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, as is almost certainly the case for Joel Embiid, will miss the matchup after suffering a calf strain—almost certainly unrelated to his recently rumored trade demand that has also, confusingly enough, been walked back by the source.
For whatever drama may or may not be happening in Milwaukee, the team has struggled regardless with a 10-13 record on the season. The Sixers can't sleep on their opponent, especially on the road in the second night of a back-to-back, but at least the team has a chance.
Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. Friday night.
