Inside Sixers: Tyrese Maxey’s vow, another abbreviated Embiid-Wemby clash, and more as the postseason approaches

INDIANAPOLIS — Tyrese Maxey went back to the Gainbridge Fieldhouse visitors’ locker room during Friday’s third quarter, and asked for a spray for his right little finger “or something to get me numb.”

“Re-wrap it, and let’s get it on,” the 76ers All-Star guard said. “If I’m going to play with it, then I ain’t going to be scared.”

Maxey acknowledged that he aggravated his finger, which still needs a splint to protect a strained tendon, in a collision during his team’s 105-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers. And that the injury has made him uncharacteristically “timid” in recent games. And that he needs to get over it.

“I don’t have time to be timid right now,” Maxey said. “My teammates need me. … I did it all year and had a high spirit and kept their spirits high. There’s just no way I’m going to let them down now.”

» READ MORE: Replacing Joel Embiid, tracking playoff scenarios and more of what we learned from the Sixers’ 105-94 win

The Sixers do need Maxey more than ever, following Joel Embiid’s appendectomy on Thursday, which leaves their team shorthanded (again) on the verge of the postseason. Maxey totaled 32 points — his highest scoring output since returning to game action on March 28 — along with eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals to help the Sixers grab a win at the end of what was already going to be a challenging road trip before another out-of-the-blue Embiid health situation.

Friday’s league-wide results mean the Sixers (44-37) cannot finish lower than eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings, and technically could still climb as high as sixth. But they are running out of time to recalibrate.

Rookie guard VJ Edgecombe said the Sixers need to clean up rebounding and defensive rotations, and lean into extra-effort plays. Coach Nick Nurse added that the Sixers must be better at closing out on three-point shooters. And Paul George believes the Sixers must embrace the underdog title that they will hold in virtually any postseason setting without Embiid.

“Teams that make it further than their expectation,” George said, “it’s because they’re playing together. So that’s just the mentality and the mindset that we’ve got to have.”

Before Sunday’s regular-season finals against the Milwaukee Bucks (6 p.m., NBC Sports Philadelphia), here are some nuggets from the Sixers’ last road trip of the 2025-26 season.

Edgecombe has officially learned the toll of an 82-game NBA regular season.

“I’ve never been so tired in my life,” he said — unprompted — after Friday’s win at Indiana. “But I’m ready for the next game.”

The rookie guard feels like he has been playing basketball nonstop since last summer’s pre-draft process, before the Sixers picked him third overall. But that’s life as the player who likely will finish third in voting for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year, behind the Charlotte Hornets’ Kon Knueppel and the Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg.

Edgecombe has been a Day 1 starter for a Sixers team with winning expectations. He has toggled through several roles, including lead ballhandler and top offensive option when four starters were out last month. He entered Saturday ranked 11th in the NBA in minutes played (35 per game) — and still had the visible explosion Friday to track down a loose ball and streak to the opposite end for a finish through a Pacers defender.

That was part of another strong across-the-board outing for Edgecombe, who finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Nurse said after the game that he is pleased with Edgecombe’s recent progress as a one-on-one scorer, which is partially fueled by individual workout sessions with George. Though Edgecombe needs to experience the playoffs, Nurse said Friday that he has no hesitation about the rookie’s readiness.

When asked what is keeping him fresh heading into his first postseason, Edgecombe offered a significant caveat. He said he does not feel mentally fatigued.

“I think I’m built for it,” Edgecombe said. “I just want to continue to grow with my teammates. I just want us to continue growing our chemistry. … Obviously, I’m tired, but there’s always a ‘but.’

“I’m ready to hoop. I’m ready to go out there and leave it on the floor any given night.”

During one wild Monday sequence in San Antonio, Victor Wembanyama hit a fading corner three-pointer, before Embiid answered with a James Harden-esque step-back.

That’s when it looked like an incredible showdown was brewing between two big men who brilliantly blend physical gifts with skill. But then Wembanyama bruised his rib after inadvertently colliding with George, which kept him sidelined for the second half.

This is not the only time the basketball universe has been robbed of an Embiid-Wemby matchup, of course. And not just because of health issues for both players throughout the past three seasons.

» READ MORE: The Sixers must prepare to move forward without Joel Embiid — again. This is how they’ll need to adjust.

In December 2024, they began their first meeting since Embiid scored 70 points against the Spurs during Wembanyama’s rookie season. But then Embiid “got ejected for no reason in the first half,” he quipped on Monday. The actual reason? Embiid was called for two technicals for arguing a charge called when he ran into … Wembanyama.

Since then, Wembanyama has exploded into the possible unanimous pick for NBA Defensive Player of the Year and is likely to be on the majority of MVP ballots — assuming he meets the 65-game requirement following Monday’s injury. He returned to play on Friday and entered Saturday averaging 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and a league-leading 3.1 blocks in 64 games.

Embiid said he has seen the most growth in Wembanyama’s willingness to mix his three-point shot with more inside moves.

“The best way I put it was, does he want to be KD [Kevin Durant] or does he want to do everything and post up?” Embiid said. “A little bit like me, or whatever. But he’s figured it out so far.”

In a secluded hallway following the Sixers’ loss in San Antonio, George and Spurs rookie Carter Bryant linked for a jersey swap.

Bryant, a fantastic athlete who is averaging four points and 2.4 rebounds in his first NBA season, was one of the first players to come through George’s “Elite” youth travel team. George was still suspended the first time the Sixers and Spurs played last month, making Monday their first meeting as NBA colleagues.

“It’s a special moment for me,” George said. “ … It means I’m old, but that means the world to me. Any accomplishment I have, that’s up there. Probably takes the cake.”

Dominick Barlow walked onto the Frost Bank Center court with a fresh haircut. The Sixers forward had just paid a visit to his go-to barber in San Antonio, a reminder that he began his NBA career here.

Barlow credits the Spurs with instilling the “foundational blocks” that have since helped him become one of the Sixers’ success stories. This season, he parlayed a two-way contract into a standard deal and rotation role, in which he is regularly lauded for smart hustle plays such as cutting and offensive rebounding.

Barlow also can rave about Wembanyama, saying his work ethic and character as a teammate are “one of the best you could ever be around.” Additionally, Barlow is thrilled for fellow former teammates such as Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell, who pushed through multiple rough seasons before this year’s ascension into a 62-win team and the West’s No. 2 seed.

» READ MORE: From Bell’s palsy to appendicitis, a history of Joel Embiid’s injuries around the playoffs

“They deserve to celebrate the success that they have now,” Barlow said.

By the end of Monday night, however, Barlow believed he had failed in a crucial moment of this homecoming. As the Sixers staged a comeback attempt at the end of the third quarter, he missed a point-blank dunk.

“I think that killed momentum,” Barlow said. “So I’ll take that. You want to blame [someone], put it on me.”

After the Sixers’ late-night flight from Houston to Indianapolis, Dalen Terry woke up to about five missed calls from his agent.

He thought something bad had happened. It was the opposite. His two-way contract was being converted into a standard deal.

The Sixers subsequently waived veteran guard Cameron Payne, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury sustained last week. Nurse acknowledged the moves were partially because of the uncertainty surrounding Payne’s recovery timeline. But the coach also wanted to reward Terry’s commitment to improvement and professionalism, which the coach described as “A-plus.”

“I hold myself to a higher standard than I think I’m viewed as,” Terry said. “When I came to Philly, I was like, ‘This is finally a chance I get to show everything I can do.’”

An outsider could conclude that Terry, a fourth-year guard who began his career with the Chicago Bulls, is a top-20 draft pick who did not pan out. But since signing the two-way deal with the Sixers in February, the 6-foot-6 Terry has felt belief from the coaching staff while averaging 4.3 points in 13 appearances.

He said he now has more freedom to explore off-the-dribble moves. Assistant coach Rico Hines, who runs the Sixers’ player development program, and player development associate coach Toure’ Murry also have encouraged Terry to work on posting up and shooting over smaller guards. That prompted a, “You guys are going to let me do that?” response from Terry.

Coincidentally, in the Sixers’ March 25 victory over the Bulls, Terry pulled off such a move.

“They were like, ‘That’s exactly what we want you to do,’” Terry said.

Terry’s spot on the full-time roster also means he will be eligible to play in the postseason. He recently shared with Maxey that he has typically been back home by mid-April, and that the chance to play beyond the regular season is “everything to me,” he said.

“I always wanted to be a part of winning basketball,” Terry said. “I always thought I was a winning basketball player, and I always wanted the whole world to see it in the playoffs. … Just want to get in the playoffs. Just want to see what that’s like.”

During the Sixers’ Thursday loss at the Houston Rockets, assistant general manager Jameer Nelson sat in the stands two rows above the team’s bench.

Next to Nelson? Bob Myers, the former Golden State Warriors general manager who was hired in October as president of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.

Myers has been spotted more frequently at Sixers home and road games in recent months. Thursday night, Myers made his way down to the court at halftime to say hello to Durant, the former Warriors star who now plays for the Rockets.

After the game, Myers was with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey in the hallway, then dipped into the visitors’ locker room as players and staff packed up to leave the arena.