The Philadelphia 76ers’ first three games were marked by Tyrese Maxey’s explosive start and VJ Edgecombe’s meteoric rise to the NBA. However, a crucial subplot emerged tonight that could no longer be ignored against the Washington Wizards: Philadelphia’s stunning late-game execution.
The 76ers (4-0) defeated the Wizards (1-3) 139-134 in overtime at Capital One Arena Tuesday night. Philadelphia’s performance at the highest level, Maxey’s early Most Valuable Player candidacy and Joel Embiid’s eventful return were the standout results of its fourth straight win.
Flipping the script
The Wizards had a 19-point lead less than five minutes into the second half, and for good reason. Philadelphia was on the second end of a back-to-back after beating the Orlando Magic 136-124 on Monday. There were three rotation players back: Paul George (knee), Jared McCain (thumb) and Dominick Barlow (elbow).
Short-handed and depleted, it made sense for the 76ers to struggle defensively en route to their first loss of the season, but the unthinkable happened.
Philadelphia held Washington to 16 points in the fourth quarter and a Quentin Grimes three-pointer forced overtime. Grimes scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half as his aggressive scoring gave the 76ers a much-needed spark. Adem Bona also provided defensive stability with five blocks and only one personal foul.
Philadelphia went on a 21-7 run from 3:04 of the fourth quarter to the final 9.5 seconds of overtime. This is the third time this season that the 76ers have erased a deficit of at least 10 points in the second half. The fact that Philadelphia learns to win without George and McCain before November while Embiid is on a minutes restriction is crucial.
Crazy Max
While Maxey may not be the MVP frontrunnerhe should be in the very first conversation.
He led all scorers with 39 points on 60.9% true shooting and 10 assists, nearly giving him his fourth 40-point performance in four games. An underrated aspect of this statistic is his 14-16 accuracy from the foul line. Maxey struggled to make a whistle early in his career, but early this new year he is making contact at a great pace.
Maxey continued to find success off the dribble, especially in semi-transition where Philadelphia was dominant. His versatile scoring earned the Wizards’ respect; defense, allowing him to generate advantages for teammates, namely Kelly Oubre Jr, who scored 10 of his 17 points off Maxey’s assists.
Embiid returned
Embiid didn’t play against Orlando as part of his load management plan, but he returned to mixed results.
He scored 25 points on 63.6% true shooting, seven rebounds and five assists in 23 minutes, three above his minutes limit. Embiid was dominant offensively and thrived on pick-and-pops, a move he has been more involved in this season. He also enjoyed the dribble against Alexandre Sarr – the only problem was that Sarr did too.
He scored 31 points on 64.9% true shooting, scoring 13 of his points in the first quarter, mostly against Embiid. Sarr and Washington jointly emphasized targeting Embiid inside to exploit his lack of mobility. Philadelphia’s rushing defense, or lack thereof, did little for Embiid, which is why Bona’s run defense late in the game was so crucial.
Embiid’s turnaround won’t be gradual, as there will be games like tonight where he looks a step too slow, but there will also be nights where he’s a holdover from the two-way force that won MVP in 2022-2023.
The 76ers return to the Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday, October 31 at 7:00 PM EST to take on the Boston Celtics (1-3).
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