Game 27: Monday, Dec. 23rd, 2024
San Antonio Spurs at Philadelphia 76ers
Final Score: PHI 111 – SAS 106
While Joel Embiid was in the news for this game for all the wrong reasons, the Sixers still pulled out a crucial win. With their dismal start, any game against a team under 500 has to be a win, and this one was minute-to-minute. After trading the lead constantly in the fourth, Tyrese Maxey put the Sixers up for good with a massive left-handed jam before putting the Spurs to bed with a dagger three. Maxey has not been short of confidence, and in this one it paid off in spades.
Maxey had a game-high 32, along with 10 boards and eight assists, which was a spectacular carry job, with Embiid only playing 14 minutes. Paul George chipped in 19/9/4, and although his shooting wasn’t amazing, he played fairly well. Guerschon Yabusele also had an excellent performance, scoring 17 points. He continues to be one of the pickups of the season for any team.
On the other side, Victor Wenbanyama was doing his unicorn thing, rejecting eight shots while also splashing six threes, a stat line that will not be seen again anytime soon unless it’s Wenbanyama doing it again.
Yong Kim/Philadelphia Inquirer
Game 28: Christmas 2024
Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics
Final Score: PHI 118 – BOS 104
The Sixers pulled off, by far, their greatest win of the season on Christmas, scoring one over their bitter rivals. Despite Jayson Tatum’s 32 points and 15 boards and a late surge by Jaylen Brown, the Sixers managed the upset. While Al Horford and Derrick White combined to hit ten threes, Caleb Martin nearly matched them himself, going 7/9 from deep. Something about the Celtics brings out the best in Martin, and if that ends up mattering in the playoffs, no one will care that Martin has struggled to start the season.
It’s a good thing, too, because George struggled immensely on offense, going 4/15 from the field and 0/7 from three. He played strong defense, but you still want more from a max man. Luckily, both Maxey and Embiid picked up the slack. Embiid finally had a good game from three, hitting four of them en route to 27 points, while Maxey poured in 33 and also had 12 assists. Maxey has shot much better after a poor start to the season, with a 46/40/81 percentage line in his past five.
This win was incredibly unexpected, but it does show the potential of the Sixers when they are fully healthy. Did Caleb Martin have a career game? Sure. Did Payton Pritchard have the opposite when he’s been one of the best three-point shooters this season? Also yes. But the Celtics starters all had good games (eventually, in the case of Brown), and the Sixers still pulled it off. In fact, the Sixers had control of the game in the fourth before kind of collapsing. Luckily, Maxey pulled off some heroics yet again.
Perhaps this is an overreaction from the high of a most unexpected win, but it feels like this game proved the healthy Sixers are a legitimate threat.
Michael Dwyer/AP
Game 29: Friday, Dec. 29th, 2024
Philadelphia 76ers at Utah Jazz
Final Score: PHI 114 – BOS 111
The Sixers managed to sweep the week, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. They moved to 12-17, barely behind the 14-18 Detroit Pistons for the 10th seed and a play-in spot. While this was only possible because the Eastern Conference is so bad, at least they are taking advantage.
A large part of that is taking care of business against bad teams, which they have done in December. It is not always easy, but right now, any win is appreciated. This one was a game of runs in the first half and then pretty much back-and-forth in the second. Maxey finished off a great week as the hero again. He hit two massive threes late in the fourth to give the Sixers the lead. Maxey and Embiid combined for 64 points, which covered again for Paul George’s offensive deficiencies. The five steals are nice and a symbol of his strong defensive game so far, but he also made some questionable passes late and missed two free throws at the end to give the Jazz a prayer.
George’s numbers did trend up in December after a horrendous October, but he went from outrageously bad to just bad. He can do things besides score, but this is not what the Sixers wanted when they gave him a max. He was supposed to take the weight off of Embiid’s shoulders. Outside, about three games have not remotely come close to happening.
Regardless, the Sixers won three straight and are officially in the playoff mix. They’ve gone 8-3 in December, with one more game against the Portland Trailblazers to end the year. If they can continue this momentum into January (which is a much harder schedule), avoiding the play-in is not out of the question. That can’t be taken for granted, given where they were one month ago.
Rick Egan/AP
Patrick Yen is a contributor on Back Sports Page. He has written for NBC, SB Nation and a few more websites in his journalism career. He has been the Back Sports Page beat writer for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Patrick, a graduate of Ohio State University, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but moved to Columbus, Ohio, early in his life and has lived there ever since. You can find more of Patrick on Twitter @pyen117.
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