Sixers takeaways: Tyrese Maxey is exceptional, Joel Embiid must play better, and more from Warriors win
Maxey scored 35 points in the win and had the game-saving block, but it was rookie VJ Edgecombe who scored the go-ahead bucket. The Sixers blew a 24-point lead before escaping with the one-point win.
Tyrese Maxey showed, once again, that he’s super talented.
But as good as Maxey is playing, Joel Embiid has to get better to lead the 76ers if they expect to win an NBA championship.
The Sixers need to do a better job of holding leads.
» READ MORE: V.J. Edgecombe’s game-winning shot, Tyrese Maxey’s game-saving block helps Sixers beat Warriors, 99-98
On Thursday, they beat a Golden State Warriors team with a huge Sixers presence.
Those things stood out in the Sixers’ 99-98 victory over the Warriors at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Maxey’s super talented
Displaying elite speed and quickness, Maxey is the type of player league executives are drooling over in today’s NBA.
He puts pressure on the defense and gets in the paint whenever he wants. And on Thursday, the 6-foot-2 point guard blocked De’Anthony Melton’s layup attempt at the buzzer to enable the Sixers to escape with a one-point victory.
That came after VJ Edgecombe grabbed the offensive rebound and scored on a putback with 0.9 seconds left after Melton blocked Maxey’s shot.
Though his shot was blocked, Maxey will be great at making contested shots in the postseason if the Sixers get there.
That’s when opposing teams will have the Sixers thoroughly scouted and know precisely what they’re going to run. But when you desperately need someone to produce in late shot-clock situations, Maxey is capable of stepping up.
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Against the Warriors (11-12), Maxey finished with a game-high 35 points while making 4 of 10 three-pointers. The point guard also finished with three rebounds, two assists, and the block in 39 minutes, 40 seconds. Thursday was the 12th time he’s scored at least 31 points.
Embiid must improve
If Embiid doesn’t get better, this whole thing is going down.
That’s not a knock on Maxey or Paul George. Maxey has established himself as an All-NBA caliber player. He’s excellent and hasn’t yet reached his ceiling. But right now, he’s not the most essential piece to an NBA championship puzzle. It has to be Embiid’s team. If it’s not, they’re in trouble.
Embiid finished with 12 points on 5-for-13 shooting — including missing all six of his three-pointers. He also had six rebounds, three assists, three turnovers, and one block in 25:13 minutes. He looked fatigued during a poor performance.
The Sixers kept saying Embiid would get healthier. But it became apparent at the start of the season that the Sixers would be a team capable of making a deep postseason run with Embiid rolling to the basket. Yet, we’re in December, and Embiid’s still positioned outside the three-point line.
Could that be a sign that his knees aren’t getting better? If his knees don’t improve, it’s hard to imagine the Sixers advancing beyond the first round of the postseason.
A blown lead
The Sixers had a commanding 24-point lead with 8:06 left in the third quarter. At that time, it appeared that coach Nick Nurse would rest his starters in the fourth quarter ahead of Friday’s road game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
But the Warriors chipped away at the Sixers’ lead before taking a 93-92 advantage on Gui Santos’ basket with 2:39 to play. Then, with the Sixers down, 98-97 with 40.9 seconds left, Adem Bona missed a pair of foul shots.
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They were fortunate to have Edgecombe make the putback, followed by Maxey blocking Melton’s shot.
Sixers West
Melton, who scored 14 points Thursday in his season debut, is one of five Warriors who have played for the Sixers during their career.
Melton played in Philly from 2022-24. He initially signed with Golden State on July 8, 2024, following his tenure with the Sixers. The shooting guard suffered a season-ending partially torn ACL in his left knee on Nov. 12, 2024. After having surgery on Dec. 4, 2024, Melton was traded to the Brooklyn Nets on Dec. 15. But he re-signed with the Warriors on Oct. 1.
Jimmy Butler (2018-19), Al Horford (2019-20), Seth Curry (2020-21 and until the trade deadline of 2021-22), and Buddy Hield (after the trade deadline of 2023-24) also played for the Sixers.
Melton appeared in six games — two starts — with the Warriors last season, averaging 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.4 steals in 20.2 minutes before suffering his injury against the Dallas Mavericks.
Butler had the best Sixers stint among the group. The forward averaged 18.2 points, 4.0 assists, and 1.8 steals in 55 games in Philly. The 2018-19 team, which featured Butler, Tobias Harris, Embiid, JJ Redick, and Ben Simmons in the starting lineup, was the best Sixers team since the start of The Process.
Butler, a six-time All-Star, missed Thursday’s game after suffering a left knee soreness against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.