Sixers takeaways: Comeback kids do it again; Joel Embiid has a mixed performance

WASHINGTON — Tyrese Maxey is turning the 76ers into the modern-day version of Comeback Kids.

Joel Embiid might have shown us who he’s going to be for the foreseeable future. Trendon Watford’s playmaking ability is undeniable and something that will help the Sixers. Yet the team must find a way to keep VJ Edgecombe involved in the offense when the roster is at full capacity.

Those four things stood out for the Sixers in Tuesday’s 139-135 OT victory over the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena.

The Sixers battled back from a 19-point, second-half deficit en route to improving to 4-0 for the first time since starting the 2019-20 season at 5-0.

Maxey (14 points) and Quentin Grimes (12) combined for 26 points in the fourth quarter to help the Sixers force overtime.

And despite missing six of their first seven shot attempts in the extra session, the Sixers only trailed 131-128 with 1 minute, 1 second to play.

» READ MORE: As Joel Embiid adapts to his new reality, can he help the Sixers be competitive?

Then Maxey brought them within one point with a dunk. And Adem Bona’s put-back dunk off Maxey’s miss on the ensuing possession put the Sixers up 132-131 with 27.6 seconds remaining.

Maxey added a pair of foul shots to give the Sixers a three-point cushion with 18.7 seconds left. And after Bona blocked CJ McCollum’s layup, Kelly Oubre Jr. grabbed the defensive rebound and dished the ball to Maxey.

The 2024 All-Star was fouled and split a pair of free throws to give the team a 135-131 lead with 9.2 ticks left.

The Wizards closed the gap to one point, but Maxey and Grimes each added a pair of foul shots to close it out for the Sixers, 139-134.

Maxey scored nine of his game-high 39 points in overtime. He also had 10 assists and made 14 of 16 free throws.

He and the Sixers are making a habit of posting come-from-behind victories.

The Sixers battled back from fourth-quarter, double-digit deficits to win their first two games of the season.

“It says that we are tough,” Maxey said of the Sixers’ knack for battling back. “But we don’t want it to become a habit. But it does say that we are tough. We’re resilient, and it says we are in shape, honestly, because to be able to play like that and come back, and do it multiple times, like go into overtime off a back-to-back and still pull out a win.”

Grimes finished with 23 points, and Bona had five blocks to go with his two points. Four of those blocks came in the fourth quarter, with the other coming in overtime.

If he can continue to play that way, it will erase a lot of defensive woes for the Sixers.

Embiid finished with a season-high 25 points one night after sitting out the Sixers’ 136-124 victory over the Orlando Magic. Perhaps becoming more comfortable with his left knee, the 2023 MVP and seven-time All-Star blew past Wizard defenders on a couple of possessions. Embiid also made 3 of 6 three-pointers en route to shooting 9-for-17 in 23 minutes. And he finished with seven rebounds, five assists, and two blocks.

However, Embiid appears to have limitations stemming from April’s left knee surgery, which was his second in 14 months and third in nine seasons. The 31-year-old had a tough time jumping, and that limited him on the defensive end, where Alex Sarr (31 points) kept soaring over him. Marvin Bagley III (14 points on 6-for-7 shooting) also had some success against Embiid.

That’s an area he must try to improve before teams continue to exploit it.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse and Daryl Morey, the team president of basketball operations, raved about Watford’s passing ability at last month’s media day. But Sixers fans were unable to see for themselves because the 6-foot-9 point forward was sidelined with a left hamstring injury.

Then came Tuesday, when the 24-year-old was cleared to make his Sixers debut.

The things that Morey and Nurse spoke of were visible shortly after Watford checked in with 3:14 left in the first quarter.

He showed his versatility by making nice passes in traffic and by running the pick-and-roll as the ball handler with Embiid. Watford was also vocal with teammates, instructing where they should be in particular situations.

Not bad for the former Brooklyn Nets player playing in his first game with new teammates.

“Just helping and being able to do a lot of things on the court,” Watford said of his role, “me being able to play a lot of positions, play ball, set ball screens, play pick-and-roll like you said with Joel. Just being able to do a lot of things on the court.

“Whatever they need me to do, I can do and try to impact winning.”

Watford scored his first basket on a turnaround jumper with 2:07 left in the first quarter. He would go on to post a first-half line of two points, two assists, and one rebound before coming out of the game with 7:43 left in the half.

The fifth-year veteran returned at the 7:30 mark of the third quarter. He brought the ball up on several possessions, getting the Sixers into their offensive sets.

Watford finished with two points, four rebounds, and three assists in 18:20. But his vocal leadership qualities stood out.

“That’s who he is,” Maxey said of his close friend. “Whether he’s playing or not playing, he’s going to be vocal. But we need that. We need somebody who is going to be extremely vocal.

“He’s also somebody who gets mixy. So we need that. It will bring some attitude to our team as well. He’s helped a lot of guys more than y’all know, behind the scenes, a lot of guys in their confidence, and we appreciate that.”

Edgecombe is an aggressive combination guard known for posterizing defenders. But that was hard to tell against the Wizards. On Tuesday, he was a bystander while Embiid, Maxey, and Oubre provided much of the offense early.

The No. 3 overall pick and the Sixers can’t afford for it to happen moving forward. Edgecombe, who came in averaging 25 points, is too good a scorer not to be included in the offense.

His first shot attempt, a missed three-pointer, didn’t come until 4:07 left in the first half. He made his second attempt — a 26-foot corner three — with a minute left in the half. Edgecombe was fouled while draining a three-pointer on his third shot attempt with 0.9 seconds before intermission. The Sixers closed the gap to 72-68 after he made the free throw.

Edgecombe scored four points on 1-for-3 shooting in the third quarter. Then he scored three points on 1-for-5 shooting in the fourth and missed his lone shot in overtime, finishing with 14 points on 4-for-12 shooting, including 4 of 8 threes.

However, the Sixers need to do a better job of making sure he gets involved and develops a rhythm early on.