January 25, 2026
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
It was a tale of two halves for Joel Embiid on Saturday afternoon.
PHILADELPHIA – Oftentimes, the Sixers take a while to process a difficult loss on their home floor. Players take their time before speaking to the media and heading home. But when Saturday afternoon's loss to the New York Knicks turned into an evening postgame scene in the locker room, everybody was in a hurry.
Typically, the Sixers would have strongly considered practicing in their Camden facility on Sunday before departing for a flight to Charlotte, where they will take on the Hornets on Monday night. But because of the storm about to arrive, the team elected to fly straight to Charlotte on Saturday, in hopes of getting a practice in despite an ice storm brewing there as well.
Perhaps that is why head coach Nick Nurse and Tyrese Maxey both shrugged off questions about late-game calls going in New York's favor and putting an end to a Sixers comeback effort prompted by their catastrophic third quarter. The Sixers' flight, initially scheduled to take off at 7:00 p.m., was quickly delayed two hours.
The Sixers could have additional difficulty getting back to Philadelphia; Monday's game in Charlotte is the first leg of a road-home back-to-back.
In this week's Sunday stats, exploring more of the good and bad of Saturday's loss before pivoting to the newest member of the 2025-26 Sixers:
Joel Embiid's scoring total in the first half of the Sixers' loss to New York on Saturday.
Was that first half the best groove Joel Embiid has felt during a game all season?
Embiid thought about the question for a few seconds, and then he flashed the smirk that has become very familiar to those who have followed his career.
"Yeah, it felt pretty good," Embiid said. "Just attacking. Just doing whatever I wanted. Yeah, it felt pretty good."
Embiid admitted he was tired early on; this was his shortest turnaround from game to game all season after Thursday night's overtime win against the Houston Rockets. Embiid dominated across a season-high 45 minutes in that game, and he acknowledged he could feel it a day and change later.
But it did not look like it. Embiid, as he said, was doing whatever he wanted. He forced Karl-Anthony Towns into foul trouble – a tradition which feels as old as time – and then had his way with Mitchell Robinson, historically one of the better defenders against Embiid. It was the best half of basketball Embiid has played in more than two full years:
Joel Embiid scored 28 points on 10-12 shooting in the first half of the Sixers' loss to New York on Saturday.
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) January 25, 2026
All 10 of his made baskets before intermission: pic.twitter.com/y1AEP1Fjoc
That means it was the best half of basketball Embiid has played as a teammate of VJ Edgecombe. What did the 20-year-old rookie make of that run?
"He's good," Edgecombe said. "He's good. He requires a lot of gravity. He's good. I've seen in on YouTube and stuff. It's good to see it in person now."
Maxey has seen more of those performances in person than just about anybody, but it had been a while.
"He looked great, man," Maxey said. "Moving well, shot the ball well, a couple dunks, contesting at the rim. It was good to see that from him."
The Sixers' field goal percentage in the third quarter of their loss to New York on Saturday (4-for-17 from the field, 13 points).
Embiid even being capable of a half like that is probably more important than any one win or loss on the Sixers' record. But the team botched a chance to take advantage of his brilliance, because their third quarter was so uniquely horrendous that not even a spirited effort in the fourth quarter could bring them back. While Embiid made a point to call out the Sixers' defense as problematic in the third quarter – and just about everyone could agree that their defensive rebounding was a major issue – the Knicks scored 30 points in the frame. That is a strong output, but not the kind that usually nets a 17-point swing.
The Sixers missed some shots that might have gone in on another day. But they were forced into several bad looks that did not fall. After Embiid led a crisp offensive operation for 24 minutes, the entire thing fell apart out of halftime:
The Sixers lost Saturday's game to the New York Knicks in the third quarter. They were outscored 30-13, creating too big of a hole to dig out of. There were both misses on decent looks and misses on extremely tough ones stemming from bad offense.
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) January 25, 2026
Every Sixers 3Q shot attempt: pic.twitter.com/qwSobmpAeC
"Mainly, they just started really getting into us," Nurse said. "I think the catches were a little further way. They were knifing over some of the handoffs and knocking them out off our own body, and just breaking a lot of the rhythm. And most of it was just them [playing] physical... Obviously, we didn't play very well in the third, and a lot of that was the [offense's] fault, and the defensive rebounding."
The number of NBA appearances logged by Charles Bassey across five seasons and three teams.
Charles Bassey, a second-round pick of the Sixers in 2021, had a decent rookie season in Philadelphia but did not make it to a sophomore campaign with the organization. Bassey was released during his second NBA training camp, but landed on his feet with the San Antonio Spurs, and ultimately spent three seasons there.
Now, he is back, as the Sixers are reportedly inking Bassey to a 10-day contract ahead of Monday's game, which will enable him to be available for six games. More importantly, though, the signing keeps two-way standouts Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker available; the Sixers are no longer allowed to use two-way players this season if their roster is not filled.
In reality, this signing is much more about Barlow and Walker than it is about Bassey. But with Johni Broome effectively a G League player right now and two back-to-backs coming up on the Sixers' schedule, the team opted to pursue a depth piece at center just in case. And unlike some of the players the Sixers signed to hardship 10-day contracts down the stretch of last season, Bassey has considerable NBA experience under his belt. He will not look lost if Nurse throws him out there.
Bassey's 115 NBA games includes a pair of appearances in November with the Memphis Grizzlies. Bassey grabbed 15 rebounds in 30 minutes across those two games, scoring seven points on 3-for-8 shooting:
All of Charles Bassey's shot attempts, offensive rebounds and standout defensive plays from his two games with the Memphis Grizzlies earlier this season: pic.twitter.com/fFHijt32yD
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) January 25, 2026
The Sixers' G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, made a trade to acquire Bassey earlier this season. But when he did not report to the team, they traded his rights to the Santa Cruz Warriors, where Bassey was making a strong impact before agreeing to return to Philadelphia.
