January 03, 2026
Wendell Cruz/Imagn Images
Spectators at Madison Square Garden witnessed some outstanding guard play on Saturday night .
NEW YORK – Do not be alarmed, but the Sixers are firing on all cylinders with a team built around Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and VJ Edgecombe.
These Sixers, now 19-14 after a decisive 130-119 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, are looking strikingly similar to the team the most optimistic of fans have hoped to see dating back to the summer of 2024. Maxey and Edgecombe once again stole the show – they both seem to like playing on this stage in particular – while Embiid continued his sudden and substantial improvement.
The Knicks never quite went away, and an outstanding crowd standing firmly behind them tried to will them into making a miraculous last-minute comeback. But the wire-to-wire masterclass from the Sixers' stellar backcourt enabled them to pull away with a win.
After beginning their season-long five-game road trip with back-to-back uninspiring losses, the Sixers put together three encouraging wins in a row. Takeaways from their best win of the bunch:
Much of Saturday's action was centered around brilliant guard play; Jalen Brunson lived up to his superstar status the night after posting a disappointing performance in New York's loss to the Atlanta Hawks and was terrific all night long. Edgecombe, who shut Brunson down in his Madison Square Garden debut two weeks earlier, did all he could to match Brunson's scoring, posting 17 points on 10 shots in the first half alone. His three-point shot was on fire, including a pair of pull-up triples early in the second quarter to spark a major Sixers run without Maxey or Embiid on the floor:
VJ Edgecome's FOUR triples from the first half vs. Knicks at MSG 🤩 pic.twitter.com/6ar24BJetW
— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) January 4, 2026
Edgecombe was electric from the outset, once again stunning Knicks fans and exciting Sixers fans. His defense on Brunson was a far cry from the performance he had the last time around, but it was also better than Brunson's numbers would suggest; some of that damage came against Quentin Grimes.
Maxey was the last Sixers starter to score, but eventually got going – and once he did, the Knicks looked hopeless defending him as they often have over the last few years. Maxey scored at all three levels, including a pair of post-up buckets which served as examples of his improvement scoring at the ends of shot clocks. As always, his combination of end-to-end speed and pull-up shooting accuracy made for a nightmare to guard and he took full advantage, particularly when he had an unconscious shooting stretch in the third quarter.
One of the dagger plays in the fourth quarter for the Sixers – before yet another ridiculous run of Maxey shots firmly put the game away – was a masterful two-way sequence from Edgecombe, blocking a Mikal Bridges three and then beating the entirety of both teams down the floor for a dunk:
VJ WITH THE BLOCK AND DUNK ON THE OTHER END! pic.twitter.com/avKjXsX7Fr
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) January 4, 2026
The entirety of the Sixers' core is clearly becoming more comfortable coexisting offensively, and that includes the incredibly athletic Edgecombe learning how to capitalize on the attention Maxey and Embiid command. His quick-burst drives to the basket are becoming as regular as they are impressive, and he continues to knock down spot-up triples at a much higher rate than anybody anticipated heading into his rookie season. The formula for all of this is starting to become clearer.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse spoke before the game about how, with Maxey, Edgecombe, Embiid and Paul George all healthy for an extended stretch for the first time this season, he is searching for the best ways to stagger his four best players.
"I'm just trying to figure out which ones to have out," Nurse said. "...Is it Tyrese/Joel? Is it Paul/Joel? What combination is it? I think we're learning some stuff and we'll keep learning some stuff."
The Sixers created a healthy lead in the first half of the second quarter, when Edgecombe and George led the way for that Maxey- and Embiid-less lineup. The unit also had Grimes, who figures to be an important component of those groups as someone that can provide healthy doses of on- and off-ball scoring. Jared McCain could continue to factor into those lineups as well.
If the Sixers can continue getting positive minutes from units built around Edgecombe, George and Grimes, they will be able to lean heavily on the lethal two-man game of Maxey and Embiid because those two players will not have to be staggered as rigidly as they have been in years past.
Maxey's two-game slump late last month coinciding with Embiid's return to action sparked plenty of debate about whether or not he is better off without Embiid; the stats still suggest unequivocally that Maxey is a more efficient player when Embiid is out there with him. Plus: the more Maxey and Embiid can lean on each other, the lighter their respective scoring burdens will be. Given Embiid's need to pace himself and the enormity of Maxey's workload this season to date, that should be a welcomed development for both players.
Some additional notes:
• The latest update on the Sixers' ever-changing backup center situation: Nurse opted to play Adem Bona over Andre Drummond, and went to the combination of Bona and Embiid for just a few minutes. Nurse said before the game that he would continue to give that arrangement looks and stressed the importance of having strong three-point shooting around the double-big tandem.
• This was Embiid's first game at Madison Square Garden since Game 5 of the playoff series between these two teams in 2024 – Embiid played one of the worst games of his life and an all-time shot-making performance from Maxey saved the Sixers' season that night – and the Knicks fans in attendance booed just about every time Embiid touched the ball.
Up next: With their five-game Disney On Ice swing finally complete, the Sixers will be back in action on their home floor on Monday night when they host a Denver Nuggets team decimated by injuries. Their long list of injured players will include Nikola Jokić.
