Instant observations: Sixers finally get third win of season behind Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain

After a disastrous three-game road trip that featured plenty of controversy and three losses, the Sixers returned to their home court Monday night intent on picking up their third win in the first month of the 2024-25 regular season.

Ahead of their matchup against old friend Ben Simmons and the Brooklyn Nets, the Sixers made Joel Embiid questionable with the now infamous “left knee; injury management” designation. With the starting lineups due 30 minutes before the start of the game, the Sixers ruled Embiid out. During the game, the team gave a sobering update on their franchise centerpiece.

In Embiid’s absence, the Sixers got off to an excellent start, building a strong lead that turned into a remarkable deficit in about six minutes of play. The Sixers responded to Brooklyn’s haymaker with one of their own, taking a two-point lead into the fourth quarter. This game very much became basketball’s version of a seesaw in the final 18 minutes, but it was the Sixers who came out on top thanks to the two players who might represent the best in the organization’s future. Here’s what stood out from the team’s much-needed 113-98 win:

Embiid out of order again

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said during his pregame press conference that Embiid would warm up before the game and the team would then continue to decide on his availability for the game — a statement that has been made by someone who coaches Embiid several times , than anyone could count.

The exact back and forth went as follows:

“Does Joel warm up, work out, and then you decide (his status)?” asked a journalist.

“Yes,” said the nurse.

Embiid didn’t warm up before he was ejected. The reason would be revealed later.

Yabusele and Oubre lead an excellent opening act

In Embiid’s place, the Sixers started Guerschon Yabusele at center. Rounding out the starting lineup was Tyrese Maxey — whose minutes limit would be increased slightly, Nurse said — along with Jared McCain, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Caleb Martin. Oubre replaced Paul George in the lineup in what is the first of two games the nine-time All-Star has been sidelined for with his second left knee bruise in as many months.

Believe it or not, the Sixers’ start to this game was about as strong as it could have been. Yabusele played down the tone and knocked down a three for the first basket of the game. Moments later, he knocked down another triple – and this one was a true rainbow:

Oubre was reinstated into the Nurses’ starting five after a three-game bench cameo. He converted an early and one, and after Yabusele missed a heat check three, he threw an emphatic backlash:

Oubre did it all in his first five minutes or so, adding a steal and a pair of assists to his five points. However, he ran into foul trouble, prompting some rotation adjustments made by Nurse.

Nurse goes to Ricky Council IV earlier than ever among other rotation adjustments

Council did some things to impress Wednesday night in Memphis, and is starting to look more comfortable as he looks to establish himself as a rotation-ready player in his second NBA season. But the athletic wing, who checked in under five minutes into the game, came as a real surprise. Council and Eric Gordon were the Sixers’ first two replacements, replacing Jared McCain and Oubre.

McCain returned very quickly along with Reggie Jackson, replacing Caleb Martin – who took a trip to the locker room – and Maxey. McCain, the only Sixers starter who didn’t attempt a shot during their outstanding five-minute burst to start the game, hit two threes almost immediately. The second came after a terrific rush play by Yabusele:

McCain went on to knock down his third three-pointer of the game at the 8:16 mark of the second quarter. The rookie continues to do sensational things:

On top of that, McCain threw this gorgeous alley-oop to Andre Drummond for a rim-rattling slam:

In addition, KJ Martin received his first regular rotation minutes in two weeks. The fifth-year forward had a strong West Coast trip, but since posting good showings in his hometown of Los Angeles, he had been removed from the rotation. Martin’s athleticism, defensive versatility and short-term passing chops could all make him useful for this team.

The Sixers take the lead into halftime – but it could have been bigger

The Sixers led by as many as 13 points in the first half, and a key driver of that was Maxey, who scored 10 points in just 11 minutes on blistering efficiency — 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 shooting from beyond the arc – all within the flow of the offense. Maxey finally looked like himself, a welcome sign for a Sixers team that desperately needed him. After his second triple, he threw down this transition slam:

Maxey’s dunk gave the Sixers a 51-38 lead with 3:27 left in the first half — their largest lead of the game to that point — but he checked out seconds later and the rest of the half was a game for the Sixers, who were on the wrong side of a 12-2 Nets run to close the second quarter.

Suddenly, the Sixers’ lead had been trimmed to three points at halftime as they led 53-50.

A mid-game Embiid update

Just as the second half began, the Sixers said Embiid was dealing with swelling in his left knee and that beyond Friday night’s game against Brooklyn, the former NBA MVP would be out Sunday night.

“Joel Embiid is dealing with swelling in his left knee,” the team said update listed. “In consultation with the team’s medical staff, Embiid missed tonight’s game and will also miss Sunday’s game. He is receiving treatment and further updates on his status will be provided early next week.”

Well, that explains a bit – but also prompts many more questions. Will Embiid never be able to handle even a semi-regular workload without his knee experiencing swelling? Considering Embiid has five years totaling roughly $300 million left on his contract (including the current season), it’s an increasingly ominous situation.

The Brooklyn run continues to start the second half, putting the Sixers in a hole

If the Sixers thought their close first half was bad, they had no idea what was about to begin in the second half: a Nets offense that was completely undeterred by the Sixers. Nurse was forced to call a timeout with exactly three minutes to play in the third quarter, and his team suddenly trailed by nine points.

Between the final moments of the first half and the first few minutes of the second half, Brooklyn went on a 26-4 run to outscore the Sixers in about six minutes total — a 22-point turnaround.

Brooklyn’s surge was fueled by a pair of players named Cameron: Johnson, the three-point shooter, was outstanding all night, and Thomas, the young scorer aficionado, found a groove as a bucket catcher after the break.

The Sixers had built enough of a lead that their disastrous stretch didn’t make them unable to come back. And then…

Maxey leads the Sixers’ push and takes back control of the game

The Sixers came back and regained their lead, and it started with an oddity: Drummond missed a wide open dunk, drawing the ire of Sixers fans. But Oubre scrambled to regain possession and threw a lob to Drummond, who didn’t make the same mistake twice. Maxey then ripped the ball away from Thomas and raced to the other end for a dunk, trimming Brooklyn’s lead to one point and forcing a Nets timeout:

Out of the timeout, Maxey scored the Sixers’ next five points — including an and-one in transition that put the Sixers back in front and really fired up a crowd desperate for something to cheer about. Due to early struggles as the Sixers’ lone consistent offensive options and a hamstring injury, Maxey has only been able to rip off one of his huge heaters a few times this season. But he came up big here and helped the Sixers re-establish control of the game.

After three quarters, the Sixers had a 79-77 lead over the Nets.

Nets run to open fourth, but Sixers’ guards put their feet down

The Sixers’ two-point lead turned into a four-point deficit in the first 90 seconds of play in the final frame, with Gordon at the center of the team’s struggles. Gordon couldn’t buy a bucket — even when one of the most skilled three-point shooters in the NBA was left wide open from beyond the arc. He drew plenty of ire from the Sixers crowd and fumbled several opportunities to help the Sixers regain control.

To the rescue—again—came McCain, who strung together two midrange buckets to cut the lead to one and post his seventh straight 20-point game. Johnson answered with a basket, but Jackson knocked down his third triple of the game to tie things up:

The Sixers received tremendous energy from KJ Martin and Yabusele, both of whom crashed the glass with extreme aggression and helped create extra scoring opportunities for their teams. Ultimately, though, their guard play continued to be what drove them late.

McCain staged another fourth-quarter outburst, finishing a left-handed layup after Simmons blew a running hook shot and then knocked down his fifth three of the game — giving the Sixers a four-point lead and forcing a Brooklyn timeout:

After that timeout, the Sixers forced a turnover that led to an easy transition layup for Maxey. When McCain got an isolation possession stalled, he threw the ball to Maxey, who created a bucket all by himself. Maxey then hit this three as he fell to the ground before McCain scored another mid-range bucket and then put the dagger in Brooklyn’s hearts with another triple.

The two dynamic scoring guards took turns dissecting Brooklyn’s defense and led the Sixers to their third win of the season.

It took 30 days, but the Sixers have finally won a regular season game.

Next: The Sixers will welcome James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers to town Sunday night for their second game of the season against their former point guard. They will then host a young and exciting Houston Rockets team on Wednesday night.

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